Buying Central Air Conditioning Units

Hot advice on how to buy an air conditioner

If buying an air conditioner is on your to-do list, move it to the No. 1 position.

If you wait to shop until a heat wave is melting your brain, you might go home with an expensive unit that's all wrong for the room, said Robert Thompson, assistant store manager at Lowe's in Bedford Heights.

That location stocked air conditioners in February and March and found eager buyers. Last year's procrastinators are this year's early-bird customers, Thompson said.

Of course, central air conditioning is the ultimate in cool comfort. But small air conditioners that fit in a bedroom window are an affordable alternative. Compare $100 to $400 on average for an air conditioner, versus writing a check for more than $1,000 for central air, especially if central air requires new duct work, said Mark Powers, senior technical editor at This Old House.

Powers, Thompson and consumerreports.com contributed to this list of tips on how to buy, install and maintain an air conditioner.

• Before you shop

Be sure the window that will hold the unit is in good shape and can bear the weight. Measure your window and your room.

Check the power supply; you may have to upgrade from a 110-volt line to a 220-volt line. And check the distance between the window and the nearest electrical plug. You can buy an extension cord for air conditioners, but you don't want it to be more than 3 or 4 feet long.

• Know your options

Most models are designed to fit in double-hung windows, but other models fit casement and slider windows. There are models made to be installed in a wall instead of a window.

Portable air conditioners sit in the middle of a room and have tubes that vent to the outside, and trays to catch condensation drips. Portable units come with wheels so they can be rolled into a closet during the winter.

But at $299 and up, portable units are usually more expensive than window units.

Is it a good idea to replace your old model for something more energy efficient? Energy Star offers a savings calculator on its website. Go to energystar.gov, click on "Find Energy Star Products," then "Air Conditioning, Room" and then "Savings Calculator" on the right side of the page.

• Know the size you need

Buying the wrong size of air conditioner is probably the biggest mistake homeowners make, Powers said.

The right size will cool the room at a low or medium setting and be more energy efficient. If the unit is too small, it won't cool the room enough. Too large, and it won't dehumidify properly, leaving you feeling cold and clammy.

Central Air Conditioning Prices – Choose to Buy Central Air ...

Cost about $ 3,000 to $ 6,000 (including installation), the central air conditioning is not what you would pull from the shelves and take home. To the central air conditioning in your actual store, you must first master the right information to help you own a system that suits your needs and keep costs low, as low as possible choices. As long as you know, the price of central air conditioning in large part by the size and capacity of cooling equipment decision.

Now, before you decide which system to buy, here are some things you consider.

Employ professional

First, the purchase and installation of central air conditioning system is not doing the project yourself. As I mentioned earlier, it is not you can only pull from the shelves and take home. This is the best professionals in the hands of the left. No more than a qualified HVAC technician, your home air conditioning needs and structural challenges, and better assessment.

If you do not know, there are many factors to take into account only to find out the size of unit you need to install in your home. These factors: Things around your house, such as trees, other buildings.

Can affect all the other things, the temperature in your home. Then, there are things about it, if your house with central air conditioning system ready to install … catheter, already exists? If not, it has a convection heating and air conditioning can piggyback on? Does your house have central air conditioning system of the different provisions?

Unless you are trained, so that we will be better, because a qualified HVAC technician, working for you. If there is anything you can do is to make sure your qualified person say or do the real work.

So, how can technicians? Well, for one thing, you can ask how long he has been in business. Of course, the longer he has been operating, more reliable and predictable is. Rule of thumb is to always select the HVAC Who here more than a year in business and technical personnel. But we can not all. You can also find friends and / or who have been asked to install central air conditioning relatives recommendations.

In addition, each statement of the technicians, making it a point, he received the first certification, asking work experience and training.

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