Are Window Air Conditioners Energy Efficient?
Installing a central air conditioning unit isn’t always the most cost-effective option. Some people spend the majority of their time only in one or two rooms of the house. In situations like these, it might be better for their budget to purchase a window unit that cools down only these areas. They are significantly less expensive upfront, but are they energy efficient in the long run?
Before you make a purchase to improve the overall comfort of your home, you should know how much these window units are going to cost you. Let’s take a look at whether window units are cost-effective for you to run in the middle of summer.
Choosing the right model matters
Not all window air conditioners are made equally. You need to do a lot of research or check with a local HVAC company before you make a decision on one brand and model. The major item that homeowners should be looking for is the energy efficiency ratio, usually abbreviated as the EER rating. Higher scores mean that the window unit will have better efficiency. A model with an Energy Star rating is even more likely to give you the efficiency that you need.
Consider how much of your home needs cooling
Even a highly efficient window air conditioner is bound to use more electricity than your central air conditioning unit. However, it might cost you less to run a window unit if you only need to cool down one or two rooms. This allows you to only pay for the electricity you need to enjoy the rooms that you actually use. Energy efficiency is bound to decrease dramatically if you attempt to put a window unit in every room of the house. View our guide on more optimizations you can make for your winow ac unit.
A central air conditioning unit has to cool down the entire home or at least a single zone because of the way it is designed. Naturally, this requires more electricity than it a window unit that is only cooling a single room. If you need to cool down the entire home, a central air conditioning unit will be more energy efficient. It all boils down to determining how much of your home needs air conditioning.
Buy the right size
Once you know how much of your home needs cooling, it is essential to purchase a window unit that is the right size. Most people need 20 BTUs per square foot in the room. An overpowered unit with far more BTUs than the room can use will be less energy efficient than an appropriately-sized unit. It will require more electricity without any significant benefit, lowering its overall energy efficiency.
It is possible to find a window air conditioner that will be relatively energy efficient for cooling down just a single room. Central air conditioning will be more energy efficient if you need to cool the entire house though. We can help you to make repairs to your central AC unit.
