Need more motivation to check out your air conditioner and properly insulate it? In New York City, the costs of fuel lost through gaps around air conditioners is sometimes as much as the cost of the building's entire cooling bill. The main culprit in a recent report by the Urban Green Council is the window-mounted, usually self-installed air conditioner. When improperly seated, or lacking insulation around every potential opening, the average air conditioner leaves something akin to a fist-sized hole in your wall, letting both heating and cooling escape. The best move, the report suggests, is removing your air conditioner as soon as possible at the end of the hot season. If you're looking to start fresh with your own window-mount installation, Popular Mechanics' guide to proper mounting and insulation is a great place to start. How to Install a Window Air Conditioner [Popular Mechanics]Keep the unsightly out of sight! Use an old book cover to conceal your router. Or stash it away in a decorative box.

A hinged painting will conveniently cover a fuse box or wall outlet. The same concept can be used to tidy up your entertainment center if you’re handy enough to cut a storage shelf into the wall. Or you can simply use a hollow wall mount to hide the cords. Use a staple gun to dress your exposed box spring in tasteful fabric. Install a pegboard underneath your computer desk and organize all your cables and boxes. Or simply use drapes to cover up the mess. Use the same trick on open storage shelves. Cover your wall-mounted AC unit with an adorable chalkboard cover. And a simple curtain will do the trick for your window unit. Turn your grimy balcony into a backyard with astroturf. Or go all-out with some blinds, wicker fencing, decking slabs and stones. Hide your dog’s crate under a desk and conceal it behind a set of curtains. And keep its food and water bowls off the floor by hiding them away in a secret drawer.

Similarly, disguise your cat’s litter box as a small cupboard or end table. Install electrical outlets in drawers and charge your devices out of sight. Turn wires into wall art. Use cutlery trays to declutter your bathroom counters and cabinets. Tuck your printer away behind a hinged-drawer. Click here for the how-to. Shutout ugly utility meters with shutters.W x 48 in. H Reversible Resin Screen Enclosure Perfect for concealing unattractive items Two sided decorative panels to match existing landscape Product is easy to clean, rust and rot resistant The Suncast Reversible Resin Screen Enclosure is the perfect way to hide your air conditioner, garbage cans and other unsightly items. The fence panels are reversible so you can choose one of two designs to match your home or landscape. Panels are tall enough to conceal large 96 gal. With a durable resin construction, this screen enclosure is easy to clean and will not rust, rot or dent.

Reversible 2-pattern solution perfectly accents any home Decorative screen conceals air conditioner, trash carts and more Sized to ideally conceal 96 gal. Galvanized steel posts make in ground assembly easy and secure Long lasting blow molded resin construction Connectors included to create straight lines or turns One panel per purchase 3 Does it come with 2 panels for that price? 3 Can these panels be cut? I have a concrete slab 5' by 5' for my trash cans. air handling unit germanyCan the referenced panels be cut to fit the slab? cheap window air conditioners gold coastTwo panels together will be too long for the area I have available. air conditioner window unit not cooling well

2 can a panel be opened once installed to gain access to whatever is behind it? I'm thinking about enclosing an oil tank that is outdoors and want to know if I will still have easy access when it comes time to get an oil delivery. 2 How far do the ground stakes extend below the panel when installed? I live on the 18th floor of a building in Hong Kong. In summer, all of my neighbors turn on their air conditioners, which generate a huge amount of heat. I have a little balcony like gardening area out of my window (see below). The problem is the heat -- the heat killed most of my plants last year. This summer is coming. Is there any way to avoid the heat killing my plants? I do not want to install a fan to blow off the heat, because construction is troublesome. I want an eco-friendly method, if there is any. Now, my ultimate strategy is to plant some heat-resistant plants (ideally herbs, fruits, other things that can be eaten and aloe vera). In general, summers in Hong Kong are hot and rainy.

The location is sheltered with half sun (it faces east, gets good sun in the morning and the afternoon is normal). The plants are typically grown in pots and should preferably be less than 1m in height. What kind of plants will survive in this condition in addition to the heat from the air conditioner? The temperature is about 31-32 degree C If you want to grow kitchen herbs look for varieties that are hearty in warm climates. Basil is a good one, I'm not sure of others. Make sure that plants that want to be watered are watered well and others that do not like as much water are kept to appropriate moisture levels. Rosemary, sage and thyme grow really well in heat if you have good soil and keep them well watered. (I live in Arizona, think 105-110 for most of the summer). Rosemary likes to dry out a little between waterings. Try to find herbs/plants that are native to your climate and region, they will be better adapted to the heat and light you have available. I would try a cactus or other fleshy plant.

Very few plants will tolerate hot air blowing on their leaves. An echo-friendly method of solving the problem doesn't spring to mind - unless you can find some way of deflecting the hot air (perhaps with screens) - and installing a fan would seem to be the only way forward. However, you could try the following plants, which adjust well to hot, dry conditions: Curry Leaves (Murraya Koneigii - not to be confused with Curry Plant, Helichrysum italicum) as well as the herbs mentioned by @Bill in 'Comments':Given your edit, stating that the heat generated is about 31-32 degrees C, I think that the plants I have suggested would be unlikely to survive. Hosta's might be a good choice in your situation, if they weren't exposed to the midday sun. I planted a Hosta garden this year on one side of our house, air conditioning compressor unit is in the middle of this garden. They only get late afternoon sun. Hosta's do incredibly well here in St Louis, MO when they're not planted out in full sun (or exposed to the midday sun).

Cold winters, will drop below 0°F (-18°C). Hot, humid summers, today was 101°F (38°C), but felt like 113°F (45°C). 2011-06-16, Hosta has been in front of air conditioning compressor unit for over 2 years now (10 additional Hostas where planted this year to turn this "dead" area into a Hosta garden) During my daily walk, I've noticed a lot of people screen (hide) their air conditioning compressor units behind: I know you can get specific varieties of the above plants that are suitable, will do well in containers (pots). Of course around here, Canna lily and Elephant ear do not provide screening during the Winter months... Listening to podcast, "Sunday August 28 2011 hour 2" from "Gardening Naturally with John Dromgoole", starting at 20mins:23secs John recommends a few plants to "hide" an air conditioning compressor unit, he highly recommend: Today (2011-09-02), while waiting at the school bus-stop (for Alpha son) I noticed the nearby apartments screened their bank of conditioning compressor units behind:

Burning bushes (Euonymus alatus) You can get "Dwarf" varieties, I have one in my front garden, screening an above ground utility cover: Height: 2 to 2½ft (600 to 750mm) Spread: 2½ to 3ft (750 to 900mm) 2010-11-10, Dwarf Burning Bush 2011-04-30, Dwarf Burning Bush Now that it's their flowering season (late Summer, early Autumn/Fall), I'm really noticing a lot of "Stonecrops" around here: Hylotelephium 'Lajos' Autumn Charm Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude' Autumn Joy Hylotelephium telephium 'Samuel Oliphant' Personally I like the look of the flowers, plus the ones listed above (and others, like Hylotelephium telephium 'Blackjack') have good looking foliage, at least I think their foliage is attractive. I'm thinking I might put one in garden... After thought: From what I can remember and know of Hong Kong weather, isn't high levels of salt in the air another factor that needs to be taken into account when choosing suitable plants? I would try to make the area more hospitable to plants through a variety of means:

place some sort of barrier between your plants and the nearest air conditioning unit that will deflect the hot air up or outwards mulch your plants deeply (2-4" deep) to keep soil temperatures cool, especially on sunny days make sure that they are getting enough water.. water will evaporate more quickly in higher temperatures, and plants will transpire more. if you have enough space to work with, you can create a living barrier of heat-resistant plants (see others' answers for specific plants) that may work as well as or better than something constructed. You could also use both approaches in combination. A more electricity-intensive strategy would involve placing a fan at the edge of your gardening area and using it to redirect some or all of the hot air from the A/C unit. On the north east corner of my house I have hostas in a raised bed about a foot off the ground about 3 ft from the AC condenser....they look good in spring early summer ....but when it gets hot and AC runs a lot the hot air makes the leaves turn brown on edges .