Window air conditioners work well in apartments and small areas in houses. Window air-conditioning and heating units can be an effective way to control the climate in small areas of your home. They can also offer much-needed summer refreshment in older houses built without central air-conditioning systems. Unfortunately, homeowners often find that these small units generate big energy bills. There are, however, some simple things you can do to avoid getting a shock when you open your next electric bill. While it is helpful to look for an appliance with a high energy-efficiency rating, there are many things you can do to help keep operating costs down even if you are using an older, less efficient unit. Select an air-conditioning unit that is the proper size for the area you wish to cool or heat. A unit that is too small will have to run continuously to keep the area comfortable and a unit that is too large will use unnecessary energy. Calculate the square footage of the area you plan to regulate before you go shopping so you know you are getting the optimal size for your space.

Clean or replace the air conditioner filter once at least once a month. If you have a dusty environment you may need to check the filter more often. Choose the window that will best help you meet your goals. If possible, the window unit should be placed in the shade during the summer months and in the sunlight during the winter. Keep heat sources as far away from the air conditioning unit as possible during the summer months. Stoves, ovens, hair dryers and other appliances that generate heat will work against the air conditioner and make it work harder. Also consider switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which create 75 percent less heat than traditional bulbs. Seal any leaky doors or windows with weather stripping. Use your bathroom’s exhaust fan when taking a shower during the summer months to keep down the humidity, and use cooler water. Humidity and hot water make you feel warmer and more inclined to turn the air conditioning up. Close curtains and blinds on windows that let in direct sunlight when you are cooling your home and open them when you are heating it.

: /Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionWhy Shouldn't I Buy a Combo AC Heater Unit? Good Questions: Why Shouldn't I Buy a Combo AC Heater Unit? I recently discovered a portable Air conditioner + Heater unit which seems to be a genius idea. But I can hardly find any review about most brands of portable AC+heater units. best buy window air conditioning unitsWhy aren't people buying them? ac dc power supply design guideAre they too new? air conditioning units not in windowsWhy do New Yorkers use window unit ACs and separate portable heaters for extra supplemental heat? I have small studio apartment (200-250aq), so it's kinda funky looking to have a 20"W X 18D" X 31H portable AC+heater, but it sounds so promising.

Shall I go ahead and purchase? Thanks, Kelee (Pic: Amcor Portable Air Conditioner/Heater from the editor) (Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to:editor(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)Link To All Good QuestionsWhat is the purpose of the vent open or closed on a window air conditioner? An open vent on a window air conditioner allows fresh air from outside to come into the home and circulate along with the cool air produced by the unit. A closed vent prevents warm, fresh air from entering the home. What is a furnace fresh air intake vent? How can you use a portable air conditioner without an exhaust hose? How do you clean an air conditioner? While an open vent is not ideal for efficiency, since the unit has to work harder to cool down the warm air, it does serve a purpose. Leaving the vent open refreshes stale air and removes odors from the room. Additionally, the vent makes it possible to run the unit on the fan-only setting, which simply pulls in air from outdoors on cool or mild days.

How much routine maintenance does a window air conditioner need? At least once a year a window air conditioner must receive routine maintenance, or else the unit's performance and efficiency may degrade while the risk of... What are the steps to install air conditioner window kits? To install an air conditioner in a double-hung window, lift the unit into the window, align the bottom flange with the outside edge of the sill, and then c... Are window air conditioners easy to repair on your own? Some portions of windows air conditioner units are simple to repair, but the compact design of window air conditioners might require users to disassemble a... How do you install an air conditioner in a basement window? Window measurements should be taken before buying the air conditioner, and when installing the air conditioner, it might be necessary to remove the window ... How do you light the pilot light on an Empire Corcho wall heater Model R-15? What are some benefits of waterless coolant?

What is a simple comfort thermostat? How do you care for a hibiscus plant? What is the best way to cover a broken car window? Is a Peerless heater eco-friendly?You are reading one installment in a 10-part series devoted to exploring Mitsubishi Electric ductless heating and cooling. In the market for a window air conditioner? Before you make any purchases, be sure to weigh all your options. Seen against the rich background of today’s cooling and heating technologies, window units are becoming increasingly outmoded. For all their enticing pros—low initial cost, portability, ease of installation—these appliances come with a host of off-putting cons. For one, even the most energy-efficient models are expensive to run over the course of the cooling season. Plus, because of their bulk and in-window position, portable air conditioners obstruct the view to the outdoors and block out the natural light that would otherwise stream into the home. When you also consider that window units are noisy and that they severely undermine home security, it’s easy to comprehend why so many people have gone looking for a better method of cooling one or more rooms.

Countless budget-conscious, comfort-craving homeowners are discovering cost-effective, high-performance ductless cooling and heating systems from industry leader Mitsubishi Electric. By design, window air conditioners are temporary solutions. Mitsubishi Electric ductless systems, on the other hand, are permanent installations handled by qualified contractors. That’s not to say the technology takes up a lot of space or requires extensive remodeling work. On the contrary, ductless systems are streamlined and compact, consisting of two discrete components—an outdoor condenser and an indoor unit. Connecting the two is a pair of refrigerant pipes that run through a three-inch-diameter hole in an exterior wall. A three-inch hole: That’s the extent of the changes necessary to accommodate the system. Because it’s so nonintrusive, the installation process usually takes less than a day. And once it’s up and running, a Mitsubishi Electric ductless system lasts much longer than the average, expendable window AC.

Having already earned widespread popularity in Europe and Asia, ductless cooling and heating may represent the future of climate control in this country too. Continue reading to learn more about why more and more American homeowners are choosing to go ductless. True, a ductless system costs more up front than a window unit. Over the long term, however, Mitsubishi Electric pays you back with the system’s remarkable energy efficiency. Compared with the average window unit, a Mitsubishi Electric system consumes 40 percent less energy, allowing you to enjoy lower monthly utility bills during the cooling season. Those savings wouldn’t mean much if you were uncomfortable, though. So, what truly sets apart Mitsubishi Electric is that, even though the operation costs are relatively low, the system still provides unparalleled comfort. Thanks to a variable-speed compressor—and accurate monitoring of conditions in the room—the system continuously adjusts its output to match the demand.

That way, the technology steadily maintains your target temperature. The average window AC either keeps running until the room gets too cold, or it cycles on and off, creating unpleasant, sometimes extreme temperature variations. That’s not the case with Mitsubishi Electric. Here, the temperature you set is the temperature you get. Whereas there’s only one way to install a window air conditioner, the twin components of a ductless system can be configured in any number of ways, leaving you free to seek the most inconspicuous solution. For starters, within a set radius that depends on your chosen system, the outdoor unit can be placed on the portion of your property where it’s least likely to draw attention. You may also conceal its presence with strategic landscaping or even a curtaining structure, such as a trellis. Meanwhile, sleek, low-profile indoor units can mount either high on the wall, near the floor or within the ceiling, wherever you think it would look the best. No matter what you decide, the windows in the room would remain completely unobstructed.

That’s right: You no longer have to sacrifice daylight and your view to the outdoors, as you would with a window unit, for the full duration of the summer. Another factor to consider is noise. Even the quietest window air conditioners tend to make a racket. Not only in comparison, but objectively speaking, Mitsubishi Electric ductless systems are ultra-quiet. When running, indoor units reach volumes as low as 19 decibels—quieter than a whisper! Though many homeowners rely on Mitsubishi Electric for cooling one or a couple of rooms, others employ the technology for whole-home climate control. In such a setup, multiple indoor units work in concert to maintain a comfortable temperature across the full square footage. For the time being, you may be interested only in, say, cooling down the bedroom. But if in the future you decided to extend your ductless system beyond the bedroom, you wouldn’t need to scrap what you’ve got and start over from scratch. Being that some outdoor units are capable of accommodating multiple indoor units, you would need to add only the latter into any room or rooms you wanted to make more comfortable.