should you cover outdoor ac unit

Many of us have air conditioning units, especially if we live in hot climates. If you are a happy owner of one of these, then outside it may look not the best way and spoil your landscape. Wanna hide this eye sore? I’ve prepared some DIYs for you to cover the AC unit and get a decent look. The first cover is made of furring strips and one bundle of lath. The piece looks like an outdoor shower, it’s kind of a box built of wooden planks that are painted white. You can actually use any other paint or finish.The next DIY was inspired by Pinterest. It’s a three-sided screen that would be placed on the ground around the unit. It’s made of corner posts, lattice, outside and interior wood trim pieces. This cover makes the AC unit look good and adds character to the garden look.The third craft is made of lumber, and it’s big enough to cover not only an AC unit but also pool equipment. Build a box of lumber of required dimensions making up a frame first. Here the lumber wasn’t painted, just finished but you can go for any color or pattern.
The screen in this tutorial is just two-sided because shrubs will help soften it. The screen is built of frames that are made of wood planks. A finish or a color is up to you.In this craft we’ll cover the AC unit with plywood. cost of home ac unitsPlywood weighted down with bricks does a good job of protecting your air conditioner condenser in winter.ac window units reviewsThis AC cover was built of reclaimed wood, you can also use pallets here. split ac parts diagramYou may stain it or paint the way you like. The last step was to attach an awesome hose holder.No wood for this cover, to make it you’ll need plastic privacy lattice screens. The author picked up wooden pickets and hit them into the ground with a rubber mallet. A few bags of river rocks allowed not to worry about the lawn.
The next cover is more solid and took more time to make it. The cover was made of wooden boards, the authors first built a solid frame and then attached planks on it. It was given a weathered and worn look with a cool stain. A couple of potted flowers on the sides finished the look.In this project the cover is made of wooden planks and fabric. It’s not to cover it to save your garden look but it will help the unit to survive a winter. Read how to make a frame and attach the fabric to it right.This cover for the air conditioner is for inside. It perfectly hides the conditioner and with a chalkboard finish you can leave messages and images on it, so practical and so cool!Here’s another outdoor AC screen built of louvers. The item was assembled and painted and then put right on the ground to hide the ugly unit. The kids helped a lot to build the screen, so you can ask your children to help too.A building's central air-conditioning system must be periodically inspected and maintained in order to function properly.
While an annual inspection performed by a trained professional is recommended, homeowners can do a lot of the work themselves by following the tips offered in this guide. When the cooling season is over, you should cover the exterior condenser unit in preparation for winter. If it isn’t being used, why expose it to the elements? This measure will prevent ice, leaves and dirt from entering the unit, which can harm components and require additional maintenance in the spring. A cover can be purchased, or you can make one yourself by taping together plastic trash bags. Be sure to turn the unit off before covering it. Identifying and Describing Heating Systems Take InterNACHI's free, online How to Inspect HVAC Systems course now. InterNACHI's Green Resources page.“Closing vents in rooms we don’t use will save me money.” Many Arizona homeowners think this, but it’s 100% wrong. It’s even worse than wrong; closing vents can actually cause your A/C or heat pump to run inefficiently and eventually break.
If you close air vents, your air conditioning and heating system will not run less and therefore you won’t save money as hoped. Imagine that you’re walking at a brisk pace, and you’re breathing by inhaling through your mouth and exhaling through your nose.  Moving air like this is how your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system works; the blower pulls air from the house through the return ducts and then pushes it back into the house through the supply ducts. Now, imagine you decided to close one of your nostrils, but you continue to walk at the same pace. By doing this, you’re trying to move the same amount of air but have less pathways to do so. So, you either move less air (making you oxygen deprived), or you put in more effort to breathe comfortably. Similarly, when you close a supply vent, you’re not causing your air conditioner to work less. All you do is increase pressure in your air ducts. Which is bad news for the blower because it’s designed to deliver a certain amount of air against a certain amount of pressure.
Closing vents will cause different problems depending on the type of blower: OK, so now you know what happens when you close air vents. But how does that actually hurt the system? Well, since a PSC blower (the most common type) slows down when you close vents, less air is delivered over your: And if you don’t have a warranty that covers these parts? You might as well replace the entire outside unit or furnace respectively because it would be more cost efficient than replacing those pricy parts. So, we’ve covered the most important problem with closing vents: a damaged system. But there are a few other important problems closing vents can cause, including: Remember, a PSC blower delivers less air, the more vents you close. That means your home will take longer to cool down or heat up. The average home loses 20-30% of the air blowing through it thanks to air duct leaks, according to ENERGY STAR. That means you’re paying 20% to 30% more than you should on your utility bills.