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Installing a wall air conditioner below a window?

J

Jugernot

Diamond Member
Living in Alaska, you wouldn't think we'd need air conditioners (I'd guess less than 5% have central air here), but it gets quite hot here. I've personally seen 97F here in Fairbanks, which isn't Phoenix hot, but it's really hot for us.

So I'm looking at installing a in wall air conditioner on the second floor of my house as it gets into the 80s in the summer inside.

The recommended method for install a wall unit is below a window, at least that is what I've found searching online. I suppose it looks better than mounting at eye level, but it makes no sense to me. Heat rises, so you are going to be pushing the air from near the floor up into the already hot room. Seems to me that installing higher up would perform much better? Anyone have a unit installed down low versus up high? Does it work OK?

Jugs

 
Maybe it's because the internal bracing & stud layout is normally more accomidating below a window than elsewhere.

*shrug*
 
I've only ever seen them done up high. Are we talking a generic A/C unit, or one of those special Samsung wide type ones?

Edit:

Here http://www.creativehomeowner.c...ect&projectid=chhva196

If you're placing the air conditioner in a solid wall, you will have to build a header--a horizontal beam that picks up loads from studs that are cut short and carries them to the sides of the opening. In most cases, you can avoid this step by installing an in-wall unit beneath a window (see instructions below). The space already has a header and should have double studs running down each side all the way to the floor. You may have to make the air-conditioner space smaller than the window, which is easy, but you won't have to worry about supporting loads from above. An in-wall unit also looks better if it's installed under a window. A metal box poking through a clean wall of siding will grab your eye. It's less noticeable under a windowsill, particularly if you trim the exterior of the conditioner the same way the window is trimmed.
Click to expand...
 
id say that the bracing was secondary to the circulation aspect. pushing cool air low into your room makes it circulate more i suspect. those units arent heavy enough to really matter where you put them, as long as youre between two studs and on a cross it should be all good.
 
the weight of the unit?

I havent thought about why its like that, but yeah, nearly every hotel is like that too.

curious.

how humid is it in Fairbanks?

would an evaporative cooler aka "swamp cooler" be a cheaper / viable option?
 
The reason is mostly convenience and safety concerns for non-experts.
One, you aren't lifting it as high, and there is less chance of it falling on someone if improperly braced during or after install. Two, the bracing for the window above means that part of the wall is definitely not load bearing, so the chance of an amateur causing themselves to be buried by removing load bearing walls is much less.
 
Actually, everything that I"m finding says you should mount it below a window purely because the window is already protruding from the surface of your house. Therefore it doesn't catch your eye as much with a big metal box sticking out of your house.

I'm looking at a 18,000 BTU unit that cools 1000sf, weights around 180lbs.
 
Near the ceiling is probably best for a air conditioner.
The reason that lots of hotels have them down low is that those are usually dual units, meaning they also heat the rooms.

I see no structural reason why you couldn't put it anywhere you want.
Just frame it like you would for a window.
 
I can see the possibility for easier installs, easier access to the controls if it is low, and better asthetics under a window. But, I would instead think about the cost. Do you really want to cool the top few useless feet of a room? Or do you want to cool the portion of the room where you sit/stand/sleep? I say leave the top few feet hot and just cool the portion where you are - you'll save a little bit of money that way and be better for the environment. Due to conduction/convection, there won't be a big savings, but there will be some.
 
I would think that you may as well put it about eye level, or window level. Its basically a window mounted one, mounted in the wall, so putting it about the same height as a window, seems very logical.

I used a window mount one on the second story of my old town house, and it worked very well.
 
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