Window Air Conditioners

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Sea Moose

Diamond Member
May 12, 2009
6,936
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it's a pretty safe bet that in 99.9% of the apartments you'll ever live in, your landlord won't let you punch out a giant hole in the wall, and older buildings (re: the entire North East/Mid-Atlantic) are prohibitively expensive to setup central air in.

Split systems need an 80mm hole, window units need a 600x380mm hole?

Hey dont shoot the messenger.

I think they may be a couple of expensive high efficient units on the market. But they really are an old technology and i doubt manufacturers are going to invest in research for these.

Split systems are a much better option
 
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Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
lol are you in the bilge sniffing oil fumes again rubycon?

Just using smart dither on LSBs to conserve bandwidth even though I have 400X more than normal. It's a hoarder's dream.

While you're stuck with sucking tin cans dry we go on the roof and vent R11 and dance with virtual wolves floating higher than the most heavenly kite imaginable. There is no ozone layer, life is good! Get out while you can or become a toucan of the scorched forest.
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
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Like it or not, they are being phased out. Split sytems are far superior and far quieter. There are now solar split systems on the market so this will push the end of the window rattler.

And good riddance they are noisy pieces of crap

No, they are NOT being phased out, if one was building a home or buying a newer one split systems would be 100% however this is not Australia, it's hard to justify the expense of a full bore split system if your cooling season is only 6-8 weeks out of the year, if it were longer than the added efficiency (and much less noise) would make sense. If I had an old 1975 truck that ran OK but swilled gas and I only drove it 1K miles a year for home depot runs or to tow a boat to the ramp would it make sense to buy a new truck for better mileage? of course not, you wouldn't be using it enough to justify the purchase of a replacement.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
8
0
Lowes had some last I checked.

Just make sure it is energy efficent as they seem to be more quiet and make sure it is installed well.
 

Tristicus

Diamond Member
Feb 2, 2008
8,110
5
61
www.wallpapereuphoria.com
get one at bestbuy, use your discount.

Doh, have to work there for however much time..haven't even started.



I literally checked everywhere in town, and nobody had one. Not even Walmarts in other cities, and you couldn't get site to store on BB or Walmart because they were "sold out". Ridiculous. I ordered that one off eBay.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
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Haha, I love the AC. Its awesome. I also love it when tree huggers like AL Gore uses AC.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,547
651
126
Like it or not, they are being phased out. Split sytems are far superior and far quieter. There are now solar split systems on the market so this will push the end of the window rattler.

And good riddance they are noisy pieces of crap

Won't happen til all older housing/buildings are replaced. Another 100 years maybe.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,547
651
126
Doh, have to work there for however much time..haven't even started.



I literally checked everywhere in town, and nobody had one. Not even Walmarts in other cities, and you couldn't get site to store on BB or Walmart because they were "sold out". Ridiculous. I ordered that one off eBay.

Walmart? Try Home Depot, Sears, Costco(one's near me have tons of them), Lowes, Local Appliance stores, Craigslist, etc....
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
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I've tried all of them ace. There are no Costcos here, and nobody has them.

Wow, makes me want to load a U-haul up to NC and sell 'em out of the back at 100% markup, unusual that every store would be out but it has been a brutal summer all over..
 

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
I like calling them window shakers. This way we don't worry about mice! :p
 

MrPickins

Diamond Member
May 24, 2003
9,019
586
126
Split systems need an 80mm hole, window units need a 600x380mm hole?

Hey dont shoot the messenger.

I think they may be a couple of expensive high efficient units on the market. But they really are an old technology and i doubt manufacturers are going to invest in research for these.

Split systems are a much better option

I was under the impression that most split systems require a licensed installer to to charge the system with coolant.

Window units don't have that requirement.
 
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AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
Split systems need an 80mm hole to be drilled in the wall, window units need a window that can open?

Hey dont shoot the messenger.

I think they may be a couple of expensive high efficient units on the market. But they really are an old technology and i doubt manufacturers are going to invest in research for these.

Split systems are a different option for different situations

fixed

I agree I doubt any companies are going to spend a lot of money researching new window AC tech, but window AC units are not dead nor will they be any time soon. They'll keep making them and people will keep buying them.
 

Rumpltzer

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2003
4,815
33
91
fixed

I agree I doubt any companies are going to spend a lot of money researching new window AC tech, but window AC units are not dead nor will they be any time soon. They'll keep making them and people will keep buying them.

For sure.

Also keep in mind that the U.S. is not the only country in the world. In some (most?) parts of the world (and North Carolina), window ACs are still a pretty common solution for home cooling.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a house in Taiwan there with central AC. New houses come either with a hole and ledge built in for a "window" AC or they come built for a split system.
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
I was under the impression that most split systems require a licensed installer to to charge the system with coolant.

Window units don't have that requirement.

He does not understand that a tenant in an apartment can't put one (split system) in without the landlords permission nor is he/she qualified to install and charge it nor can it be removed upon lease end and finally a renter just wants a cool room to hang out in during heat waves and can't afford a $1,500 solution that's cannot be removed and reused-resold..
 

mjrpes3

Golden Member
Oct 2, 2004
1,876
1
0
Have considered portable air conditioners? (the kind that sit on the floor with a hose snaked to the window)
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,422
8,386
126
Like it or not, they are being phased out. Split sytems are far superior and far quieter. There are now solar split systems on the market so this will push the end of the window rattler.

And good riddance they are noisy pieces of crap

split systems are all over asia but they're almost non-existant in the US. people see central air as the top of the totem pole. split systems are also much more expensive than window units up front.

split systems make a lot of sense, though, and if i were ever to build i'd probably go with split systems and just turn off the parts of the house i'm not in.
 

Sea Moose

Diamond Member
May 12, 2009
6,936
7
76
Yeah guys, sorry i do sometimes forget i am in Australia (and you guys are in the us). Different climate and conditions in the US of A.

I dont believe that America has signed the Kyoto protocol? i am not going to bother to check.

But Australia has. The state government here makes laws determining the efficiency requirements of A/c units. They bumped it up last year here which has ruled out most window units. There are only a few sizes left on the market.

I dont like window units, cause they are noisy inefficient and a general pain in the arse (from a mechanics point of view.) And I generally dont fit them, cause any dope can do it and there is no money in installing them.

I appreciate your guys point of view on the matter. Gets me thinking.

Brb getting a beer.


mmm beer

someone earlier mentioned that example about the truck and the boat ramp. The problem with air conditioning is that everyone fires them up the same time of year.

So imagine that truck you use once a year to take your boat to the boat ramp. well imagine that everyone in town does the same thing. Your boat ramp will become overloaded. Now using this example back on air conditioning, when everyone fires up their a/c for those hot 8 weeks, your power grid will be over loaded.

mmm beer.


Yeah so inefficient a/c = bad.

efficient environmentally friendly air conditioning = good.
 

DougK62

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2001
8,035
6
81
Wow, we still have them all over the place in stores here.

Try Newegg? They do free shipping on many of them.