For most homes and offices, an air conditioner is one of the most essential appliances a person could have. Window air conditioners have many advantages and one of them is saving much-needed space by placing the unit on the wall. However, it needs support to keep it up there. Special brackets provide this support and hold the air conditioner in place. Installing a window air conditioner bracket is not rocket science. It is very simple but some tips and tricks can be learned to make life easier for this part of the installation. Window air conditioner brackets are there to provide support for your air conditioning unit for as long as it’s being used. An air conditioner is an investment, and it only deserves the best bracket out there in the market. For you to be able to achieve a long term use of your unit, when choosing a bracket, you should check how durable it is. Cheap, flimsy materials will need replacement sooner rather than later, and if they fail abruptly, it could total your unit.

Your brackets should also be compatible with the size and the weight of your air conditioner to reduce the number of problems it might have otherwise. A bracket too small won't work at all, but something too big won't keep the unit tightly secured. Over time, even a little extra movement can have major consequences. Successfully installing a window air conditioner bracket does not end your job if you wish to ensure a long life for your unit. You have to be able to back the bracket for it to hold the AC properly. You can get a mounting kit to support your bracket from your local hardware store. By attaching it, you provide extra security to keep your AC unit from falling. Also, it is advised that you make sure your screws are secured properly and as tightly as possible since a loose, squeaking bracket means it’s doing a poor job. Aside from having your air conditioner properly screwed into all the holes you have made with your drill, you should also consider having the air conditioning bracket firmly welded upon the steel frames of your windows if it’s going to be a permanent fixture of the room.

Before even installing your air conditioner, first make sure that your bracket fits perfectly to the wall itself. This will prevent possible damage to your unit later as a result of too much movement. A lot of people take necessary safety measures when installing window units so that they are not caught unawares later. Before installing an AC bracket, make sure that the location for your hole is high enough that burglars can’t reach to push the unit through your window and break into your home. Also, when the air conditioner is placed higher, it regulates the temperature more efficiently compared to when it is too low.Tami Love never imagined her air conditioner could be a burglar's ticket into her home.But on a Saturday morning in June, Love, 44, walked into her first-floor apartment in North Lawndale to find her window air-conditioning unit lying on her living room floor, a curio shelf and knickknacks knocked to the ground, and telltale signs that someone had been rummaging through her stuff.

Worried the intruders still were in her house, Love said she grabbed her house phone and cell phone and ran outside to call police."wall unit air conditioner best buyIt was horrifying," said Love, who said she was gone from her home for just an hour and a half when the break-in occurred. air conditioner unit 3 ton"I've lived there for eight years, and I've never worried about my air conditioner."used ac units for rvWhile the threat of break-ins always looms, summertime is a burglar's paradise. Air conditioners, open windows, unlocked deck doors and homes left empty by sun-loving and vacationing residents make homes easy targets to opportunistic prowlers. Burglary reports spike during the summer, according to police, with July typically registering the most incidents.

Overall, however, burglaries are down. There were 8,939 reports of burglaries in Chicago between January and May of this year -- the most recent data available -- down 4.4 percent from the same period last year, according to police. The 24,114 burglary cases reported in 2006 continued a decade-long drop in burglaries, from 40,441 cases in 1996.Burglars tend to strike during the day when people are at work, but evening burglaries have risen in the summer months, said Sgt. Deborah Gold of the Belmont Area Robbery, Burglary and Theft detective division on the North Side."Even when people are home, someone can slip in through the unlocked patio doors, grab a laptop and slip out without anyone noticing," Gold said. "Laptops are a really big commodity right now."The burglars who hit Love's home left the computers and electronics alone, but made off with $150 in cash that had been stashed under a mattress and another $150 in jewelry that Love kept in a jewelry case in her bedroom, Love said.Love, who was ruffled ("I don't think it was a random thing," she said), went immediately to Home Depot to buy two-by-fours, which she used to fasten her air conditioner to the window so it can't be pushed in.

She also bought window stoppers to keep the window from being pushed up and said she has been more careful about closing her windows and drawing her blinds."I feel secure now," Love said.Home security often becomes a priority only after a burglary, said Brett Blessen, president of Security Solutions, an ADT-authorized dealer in Lincoln Park. But with burglars always looking for the easiest opportunity for a break-in, people can not afford to be more lax than their neighbors, he said."Security used to be perceived as something for the wealthy, something of a luxury," Blessen said. "But today it really is a necessity."- - -Highs and lowsFirst-floor and garden apartments are at the most risk for burglaries, said Brett Blessen of Security Solutions in Lincoln Park. Install double locks and safety locks on windows, and draw curtains so people can't see what you have inside. You could install a grille over a garden apartment window, but window bars are not a good idea because they could hinder your escape in a fire, Blessen said.

People living on upper floors shouldn't get too comfortable either. Any window within 13 feet of a surface is vulnerable, Blessen said. A burglar can scramble to the roof of a garage or pull a Dumpster over and stand on it to reach your window.-- Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, RedEye- - -Safe at home?Can't imagine burglars prowling your street? You may be surprised to learn how many homes near yours have been hit in recent weeks. and clicking on "Crime Incidents."- - -PROTECT THIS HOUSERedEye asked security consultant Chuck Mishoulam (far right) of Alert Protective Services in Portage Park to walk through a staffer's Lakeview apartment and point out key vulnerabilities that need burglar-proofing.-- Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, RedEyeLight the outside of your home. This gangway could be equipped with a motion-detector light that floods the yard when someone walks near, startling a would-be burglar.Trim trees and hedges. Foliage provides cover for burglars, giving them a hiding place and helping them sneak into your home undetected.