I am going to buy an air conditioner. Any advice or recommendations?

[Siddhartha]

I'm going to buy a 5000 to 70000 BTU air conditioner today. Can anyone give any advice or recommendations? I know July is not the best time of year for buying these but......




Thanks

 

[murphy55d]

Lowes has Sharp and Whirlpool 8,000 BTU air conditioners for $219 and $239 respectively. the Sharp even comes with a remote control. Originally we were gonna get a GE one from WalMart w/ my discount BUT Lowes has the better deal even after my discount.

 

[bozo1]

I would highly recommend getting something more than 7000BTU. I purchased an 8K one at Sears last year and it doesn't really even cool my living room. It does a great job of getting out the humidity and drops the temperature to a bareable level but it is no where near what I hoped it would be.

 

[Carbo]

Yeah. Make sure it blows cold air.

 

[Vette73]

Make sure you get one that is NOT a power hog. Some of them out there have a very low rating and eat a ton of power up. Just because it is cheaper does not mean it is REALYY cheaper. Take into account how much power it will eat.

 

[Sepen]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Make sure you get one that is NOT a power hog. Some of them out there have a very low rating and eat a ton of power up. Just because it is cheaper does not mean it is REALYY cheaper. Take into account how much power it will eat.

Yes, look for an Energy Star one. And like others have said, spend a few extra dollars and get one a little bigger than you really need. Also, check with your local or State governments for any type of rebate program. Here in NY if you buy and energy star one at an approved retailer you get $50 back. (oh----you have to trade your old one in.)

 

[RossMAN]

What's your budget?

Read this thread.

If you have a CostCo B&M near you I'd buy the LG M8003L for $239.99 which is 8,000 BTU and includes a remote control.

 

[Thegonagle]

Anyone know how to calculate ideal number of BTUs the unit should extract?

For example, I have about 500 sq. feet to cool, with 8 1/2 foot ceilings.

That LG (used to be known as Goldstar) looks good.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: Sepen

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Make sure you get one that is NOT a power hog. Some of them out there have a very low rating and eat a ton of power up. Just because it is cheaper does not mean it is REALYY cheaper. Take into account how much power it will eat.

Yes, look for an Energy Star one. And like others have said, spend a few extra dollars and get one a little bigger than you really need. Also, check with your local or State governments for any type of rebate program. Here in NY if you buy and energy star one at an approved retailer you get $50 back. (oh----you have to trade your old one in.)

not just energy star. the SEER should be taken into account as well. you can have an AC unit that dosent use a lot of power, but it may not be as efficient as other models

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Garfang
Anyone know how to calculate ideal number of BTUs the unit should extract?

For example, I have about 500 sq. feet to cool, with 8 1/2 foot ceilings.

That LG (used to be known as Goldstar) looks good.

You want a BTU calculator, right? There's several out there but I seem to like this one, it's pretty specific.

Let me know if that URL doesn't work.

 

[Siddhartha]

I got an 8000 BTU Fedders unit from Best Buy. After running for 7 hours it has not cool down my room as much as I would like so in retrospect I probably should have gone with a 12,000 BTU unit. It was about 95F in here and now it is about 75F.

Lowe's was sold out in air conditioners and Best Buy was a hour or two away from being sold out.

 

[Vette73]

Where do all you live that you don't have central heating and air.

There are some REALLY old houses and trailors that don't have central, but they are either being replaced or fixed up.
Just curious, as around here most places never sell out of Window A/C units and have to reduce them at the end of summer.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Where do all you live that you don't have central heating and air.

There are some REALLY old houses and trailors that don't have central, but they are either being replaced or fixed up.
Just curious, as around here most places never sell out of Window A/C units and have to reduce them at the end of summer.

i'm not sure 100% if they dont have central air, but sometimes the central system dosent cool enough, or works well in one part of the house and not too well in another. my house has central air, but my bedroom is on the south side and is warmer than the rest of the house. i dont know why, but it just is. they might have the same problem, but in a larger room, perhaps the family room or computer room (quit OC'ing in that case).

also, supply may not be in pace with demand. there might be a lot of new construction/need for window ac in that area coupled with a heat wave, in which case a shortage of units is inevitable

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Where do all you live that you don't have central heating and air.

There are some REALLY old houses and trailors that don't have central, but they are either being replaced or fixed up.
Just curious, as around here most places never sell out of Window A/C units and have to reduce them at the end of summer.

I live in a 60+ year old building that does not have A.C.
.

 

[spanky]

hahha... whatever is cheap dude

 

[Jerboy]

Pay attention to SEER/EER more than the initial price. Air conditioners use alot of power and electricity is not cheap when you run it constantly. Larger units are usually more efficient than smaller units. A 10,000BTU A/C is going to need it's dedicated circuit though. Get an electrician to pull 20A circuit by that window. Running a long extension cord from kitchen or laundry room for permanent use is a violation of NEC and can cause fire. By the way, since you'll have to pull a new circuit anyway, you should consider a 240V/220V unit and get 240V wiring done.

 

[murphy55d]

I would avoid those Fedders AC's. There's routinely 5-6 of them sitting in the back at work from people returning them.

 

[Scott1]

Epinions.com AC Buying guides

Has some good advice that helped me when I got mine.