We live in a mobile home in the southwest.
The central A/C unit is about 10 years old.
When the unit needs replacement, could I get comparable cooling by installing
3 X 5K window units throughout the house ?It would certainly be a helluva lot cheaper.....
How about efficiency ??
Good plan? or not ......
Check the total current draw of the 3 units compared to the single that you would have instead. Next, consider the air circulation It may not be adequate to keep the entire place completely cooled. Bathroom, for instance may be a hot spot. This can be overcome some with a fan. That will give you at least a start on your comparison.
Well, it would look like shit and your energy consumption would go way up, Darwin. Bubba
Window-shakers would make it trivial to zone the cooling, maybe more than you really want. Depending, they are noisy.
Their side-curtains for sealing opening in window are typically lousy, which doesn't boost efficiency.
Window-units should really be on a circuit such that there's minimal voltage drop from the panel to the outlet, so some rewiring may be in order. Of course, for motor-loads, the outlet should not be "back-stabbed", but with screw-terminals.
JFor comparable cooling, your current central air conditioner would have to be 15,000 BTU, and they don't make them that small. Your current unit is probably 230 volts, and most 5,000 BTU window units are 115 volts. To match the BTUs you have now, 115 volt units, it will cost you twice as much in electricity.
Are you assuming that the averaged SEER of window shakers is going to be half that of a central AC unit?
Richard Perry
How do you figure that? Amps drops when voltage doubles, but watts is what we pay for.
Hi, Higher voltage unit would have better efficiency but not to a tune of double amount. Watt is unit of power. Energy is measured in Watt hour. Tony
If you know the amperage and the voltage, you can find the wattage. Amps x volts = watts
1 watt x 1 hour = 1 watt hour
Exactly!
All the previous posters are full of it.
The windows units will cool your house just fine and at half the cost of your central unit. Assuming of course, that you do the smart thing and only buy high EER units. Nothing lower than a 11 EER.
And you can buy 220 or 110 and have a line run if one is not there. You probably aren't using that 220 line behind your gas stove, anyway.
I didn't know they made 5,000 BTU window units in 220 volt.
I didn't know that they had 11 EER window shakers. Did you mean 11 SEER? Anyway, yes, the window unit configuration can actually cost less to run, that is, given the inherent zoning capability that goes above and beyond the control offered with typical zoned central systems. Also vs an initial install they would be much much cheaper up front due to lack of ductwork. But I'll stick with my central AC nevertheless :)
Richard Perry
There is NO difference in the units efficiency or operating costs based on whether it operates on 230-volts or 115-volts. Doubling the voltage halves the amperage for the same wattage requirements. a 230-volt load reduces the amperage load on conductors, etc. The EER rating has to due with the design of the A/C NOT the voltage it operates with. - udarrell
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.