How to know what size air conditioner to buy? Air conditioning is a superior and efficient method of keeping your home cool. While there are different types of air conditioners, each presents its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Let us discuss the ins and outs of purchasing an air conditioner for your Surrey home.
How to Know What Size Air Conditioner to Buy?
Air conditioners come in different sizes, each designed to cool different volumes of air. You need to take a look at a BTU chart to figure out the most suitable size of the AC unit for your home. BTUs refer to ‘British Thermal Unit’. These charts demonstrate the rating of different air conditioners (BTUs), and how many BTUs are required to cool a specific room based on its size. All you have to do is measure the length of the room and multiply it by the width to get the size of your room (Sq. Ft.), and match the BTUs.
|
Size of the room (Sq.Ft.) |
BTUs |
|
100 – 150 |
8,000 |
|
150 – 250 |
9,000 |
|
250 – 300 |
10,000 |
|
300 – 350 |
12,000 |
|
350 – 400 |
14,000 |
|
400 – 450 |
18,000 |
|
450 – 650 |
25,000 |
However, the higher the BTU, the more energy you will need to run the unit.
If you need help deciding what size air conditioner will work in your room or property in Surrey, you can contact us for a consultation.
What types of air conditioning are available?
How to Know What Size Air Conditioner to Buy? Try Portable for Ease of Use
In addition to being the most popular type of air conditioner, portable air conditioning units offer versatility. Portable air conditioners come with exhaust hoses which blow air extracted from the room, outside. You will need to direct the exhaust hose outside the room through a window, a hole in the wall or into an adjacent room. The exhaust hose is generally 1 to 1.5 meters long. But, you should not try to extend it beyond that. If you do so, the heat will back up inside the air conditioner.
Portable air conditioners are powerful enough to cool most rooms. And, you won’t need to bother with installation. Simply plug it in, adjust the venting and you are good to go.
How to Know What Size Air Conditioner to Buy? Try Wall Split for Heating and Cooling
Also known as “fixed air conditioners”, there are two units to wall split air conditioners – indoor and outdoor. Unlike portable air conditioners, you would need our help to install wall split air conditioners. If you decide to go for a wall split air conditioner, we would mount the indoor unit to the wall. The outdoor unit can be installed on the ground or fixed to a wall using brackets. The good thing about this option is that you would save space and these tend to be a lot quieter than portable air conditioners. The biggest advantage however, is that wall split air conditioners can heat your room as well as cool it.
How to Know What Size Air Conditioner to Buy? Try Ceiling Cassette to Save Wall Space
These are similar to wall split air conditioners, but mounted on the ceiling. You would need a professional AC technician to install your ceiling cassette air conditioners properly. This is a good option if you prefer to save wall space. You can use ceiling cassette air conditioners to cool and heat the room.
How Do Air Conditioners Work?
Air conditioners draw in air which passes over a cold evaporator coil, cooling the air and removing some of the moisture. Next, the air re-circulates around the room, efficiently managing the overall temperature and humidity. In the meantime, a chemical refrigerant within the system absorbs heat from air prior to venting it outdoors through the hose.
The unit continues this process until the room’s temperature reaches the set temperature on the thermostat. And, when the temperature rises again in the room, the air conditioner resumes the same process.
As a byproduct, air conditioners release water into a tank which requires emptying.
Why Do You Need to Vent an Air Conditioner?
You need to vent your portable air conditioning units. The unit extracts heat from the room, which needs to be vented outside for the air conditioner to work.
Ideally, portable air conditioners need to be vented through open windows. This will allow hot air to be extracted and sent outside the home safely. You need to keep the window sealed except for the duct that directs air outside. Most portable air conditioners come with a window kit, which keeps the window sealed, so that only the duct is directed outside.
If you are planning to use a portable air conditioner permanently, you could opt to drill a small hole in the wall to direct the duct outside.
If neither of these options are practical, you can vent the unit through a slightly ajar door.
What Are the Features of Air Conditioners?
Air conditioners include ‘mode settings’ such as fanning, dehumidifying, reducing fan speed and noise level control.
Adjustable thermostats included in air conditioning units allow you to control the overall temperature levels of the room.
The ‘timer’ function in your conditioner allows you to set the unit to switch on and off automatically to save energy.
Most portable air conditioners have the fan only mode, which means you can use it as a fan if you simply want a light breeze.
A number of high specification air conditioners incorporate Wi-Fi compatibility, which means you can remotely operate it using an app.
Moreover, all air conditioners dehumidify the environment as the cooling method includes removing excess moisture from the air.
How to Maintain an Air Conditioner
Maintaining air conditioners is important for longevity of the unit and its efficacy. Filters on these units tend to accumulate dirt rather quickly. Hence, you need professional help to clean those. And, sometimes a small amount of water can collect in the internal tank, which needs to be emptied regularly. If you are looking for heating and cooling solutions in Surrey, contact our team to book an AC Service call out or contact us for maintenance and service quote.