Central air conditioners include equipment that is installed outside of your home. There are two broad types of permanent installations for air conditioning units. Central air conditioners cool the entire house using one central system, whereas wall mounted units are more like window air conditioners that are permanently installed. There are benefits and disadvantages to both systems, and choosing between the two necessitates having an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Duct Work Central air conditioners require ducting to deliver conditioned air to the different rooms in your house. This can be a problem in older homes that do not have adequate space between floors or in the attic to accommodate ducts. Wall air conditioners don't require any ducting, as they are self-contained units, pulling air in from outside the home, cooling it, and blowing it directly into the room where the unit is installed. Energy Efficiency Central air conditioners can be more energy efficient than their wall mounted counterparts when a homeowner wishes to cool many rooms in their home.

Installing separate wall units is generally less energy efficient than cooling many rooms with one larger, central unit. Wall units can also be difficult to air seal in the winter, and may allow heated air inside the home to escape to the outside. Uniform Temperature Central air conditioning is more able to keep an entire home to a designated temperature, as they can have multiple thermostats in separate rooms, controlling when the air conditioner is cycled on or off. Wall air conditioners treat each room as a separate zone, and each room must have its thermostat independently set. As such, the room with the wall air conditioner can become very cold, triggering the unit to shut off, while the adjoining room remains warm. Cost Wall air conditioners are typically significantly less expensive than central air conditioners. Wall air conditioners are designed to cool at most a couple of rooms, and generally have less cooling capacity. This means that while a wall air conditioner is cheaper than a central air conditioning unit, you will need to buy several units in order to cool the same square footage that one central air conditioner can accommodate.

References On the House: Air Conditioning Central vs. Window UnitsConsumer Energy Center: Window Air ConditionersEnergy Star: Air Conditioning, Central Photo Credits Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionShop Wall AC Units A Wall AC Unit is very similar to a window air conditioner with the difference being that it rests in a sleeve through the wall and not in a window opening. Many homes built prior to central air included a wall AC unit. Typically, apartments and condominiums will use wall air conditioners to give each resident local climate control. When choosing the correct wall AC unit, it's necessary to consider the size of the room you're trying to keep cool. Larger rooms require units with higher BTU's, whereas smaller rooms need less. Not to mention, the best wall air conditioners double as heaters, making them a great choice for homes in need of a complete climate control solution. Shop Abt's selection of wall air conditioners below, which includes AC units from top manufacturers such as GE and Friedrich.

Head over and check out our Air Conditioner Buying Guide to get additional information on choosing the right AC unit for your home. Price ($ to $$$) Price ($$$ to $) Nothing beats staying cool with wall air conditioners during summer. Wall air conditioners make a great choice for the safety conscious. mobile home central ac unitsWindow air conditioner installation can be a tricky process, with the unit running the risk of falling out while being installed or removed. how to size a room ac unitA wall AC unit simply slides into an air conditioner sleeve that is secured tightly in the wall. window ac units price comparisonWall air conditioner units, however, do require creating a permanent hole in an exterior wall, which is something to keep in mind when choosing an AC unit.

Brick walls or stud placements may make a wall unit an impractical choice.Filter Ductless HVAC Systems Consider a mini-split ductless system that provides heating and cooling for a single zone using one indoor unit, an outdoor unit and a remote control. Indoor high wall mount Heating and cooling system Have a space that isn’t connected to a central HVAC system? Mini-split ductless systems provide heating and cooling for a single zone with steady comfort. A multi-split indoor system allows for easy future expansion and can be connected to up to five individual indoor zones or areas to one outdoor unit. Indoor high wall heat pump Indoor cassette ceiling mount Indoor floor ceiling mount Connect up to five individual indoor zones or areas to one outdoor unit. You can control each zone individually for flexible comfort where you want it. For use in multi-split systems Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Indoor Unit Indoor variable refrigerant flow systems are available in a variety of configurations and applications to fit your needs.

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Outdoor Unit Customize your ductless heating and cooling system to connect multiple indoor zones or areas to one outdoor unit. You can control each zone individually for flexible, reliable comfort where you want it. SEER rating up to 18.5 HSPF rating up to 9.4 Compatible with all Trane VRF indoor units Designed for multiple indoor unitsBefore getting into the cost of repairing a window air conditioner, it is important to understand the basics of these devices. A window air conditioner unit is simply any small air conditioner that can be installed in a window. The main use of these air units is not only to cool down an entire house but to cool down specific rooms in a home. Although these units may be limited in their uses, they make up for it in versatility. Unlike large air conditioners, a window air conditioner can be installed in just about any room in a house that has a window. The great thing about window air conditioners is that they can be installed in the rooms that homeowners use the most.

This way, homeowners are able to run their central air less and instead run their window air conditioner. In the long run, this saves a lot of money in power consumption. The cost to have a window air conditioner serviced differs depending on the labor cost. Although labor costs differ from company to company, the average rate usually runs about $30 an hour. Installation costs can run a little bit higher but generally cost around $45 an hour. Besides the labor costs, homeowners are also charged for the materials that are needed to fix the window air conditioner unit. In some cases, new pieces are not needed, and the unit just needs to be cleaned. If this is the case, homeowners are still charged the labor rate. As stated above, this generally costs about $30. Below is a breakdown of the costs of some basic materials to fix window air conditioner units. Prices are based on universal parts, so some prices may be higher for name brands. Blower Wheel - $71 per unitCapacitor - $122 per unitCurtain Frame - $43 per unit Filter - $76 per unit Fan Motor - $294 per unit Thermostat - $103 per unitCompressor - $128 per unit

Repairing a window air conditioner is not always a good idea. A lot of this has to do with the way that electronics in general are made. Instead of having electronics like window air conditioners repaired, companies prefer for homeowners to just buy new units. That is why, in some cases, it is actually cheaper to buy a new unit instead of repairing a window air conditioner. Below is a more detailed breakdown of the pros and cons. If the window air conditioner that the homeowner is trying to replace is an older model, it can still be cheaper to repair the unit instead of buying a new one. This is because there was a time when devices were meant to be repaired and not replaced. Also, buying a new unit requires going to the store and physically buying one. This takes time and a lot of labor when trying to dispose of the old unit and carry in the new one. If homeowners are able to repair the window air conditioner that is currently in use, they can simply have a repairman come out to their home to fix it.

No extra trip required. If the homeowner is using a newer model air conditioning unit, then it is often cheaper to simply replace the unit instead of having a repairman try to fix it. It should also be noted that replacing an older air conditioning unit with a newer one will give the homeowner access to newer features that their old unit may not have had. The most common problem as to why window air conditioning units need service is because dirt starts to clog up their parts. Over time, dirt, insects and other foreign objects can cause window units not to cool as much. Simply taking apart the unit and cleaning the inside can make a world of difference. Bugs generally get into these machines during the fall and winter when the unit is not in use. Homeowners should store window air conditioners inside when they are not in use. Leaving them installed all year around will cause them to need maintenance more often. There are some minor maintenance projects that homeowners can do monthly to help keep their units running longer.