Choosing an Air Conditioner

Getting through the hot summer months is a lot easier with a good air conditioner. Air conditioners are important for more than just comfort, however. Hot, humid weather can cause mold, and other bacteria to build up inside causing potential health threats to you and your family. Selecting the correct air conditioner to make sure all rooms are covered is important, and depends a lot on the size and setup of your living quarters.

Pros and Cons of Portable Air Conditioners

Portable air conditioners have a lot of attractive qualities that make them a good choice for air conditioning homes of many sizes. They are small, easy to move and install, less expensive than a whole-house central air system, and easy to operate. The draw backs to a portable air conditioner are few, but important to consider. Most window air units can only control the temperature in a single room. A larger unit may be able to cool off up to two room, depending on the air flow. For a larger home that can mean the need for quite a few air conditioners. One of the biggest drawbacks to portable window air conditioners may be aesthetic. They are big blocks of machinery stuck in a window, protruding from your home, and blocking the view from inside.

Pros and Cons of Central Air

Central air conditioning is a very reasonable alternative for larger homes. It can control the temperature in every room from one central unit, and provides cost-effective cooling of large spaces. Central air units are expensive to buy, and replace when needed. They require an outdoor unit, and connection to a main blower, usually combined with the home's furnace. Installation can be difficult to impossible in older homes that weren't constructed with the placement of air ducts in mind. Central air conditioning units require large metal ducts to run from the unit to each room where a vent is located. Central air conditioners are much more aesthetically pleasing. The outdoor unit can be placed out of the way, and even hidden by decorative landscaping or fencing, and indoor vents are virtually unnoticeable compared to the large window units.

Size of Rooms and Size of Home

The size of your rooms, and the layout of your home will make a big impact on your decision between window air conditioners and central air units. A small home with few rooms that are laid out in an open floor plan can be handled by one or two portable units, and be cooled more effectively at a lower initial cost. A large home of any style will likely require too many portable units to make portable units feasible, and central air conditioning is a much better choice provided the home is capable of handling the ducts required to install the central air.

Added Value

The one plus that central air conditioners have over portable air conditioners is added value to the home. Central air conditioning already installed is a very attractive feature in homes where summer temperatures require cooling. Homes in colder climates where summers do not get excessively hot are less likely to increase in value due to a central air conditioner, and portable air conditioners can be moved along with your belongings to your new home, making them attractive if you do not plan on staying in your home.