When you are deciding whether to purchase a wall-mounted air conditioning unit or to install central air conditioning, one of your deciding factors may be whether you can cool your entire home with a single wall-mounted unit or whether you will need a unit for the upstairs and another for the downstairs. The following guide should give you a solid idea of whether a single unit will be sufficient to meet your cooling needs or whether you need to invest in two units.
Is Your Wall Unit Powerful Enough for Your Home?
If you have a large home, you will likely need multiple wall units on each floor of your home. However, if your home is small, it is possible to get a single unit that is strong enough to cool your entire home. Wall units operate up to 24,000 BTU per hour. These larger units will likely be able to efficiently cool a small two-story home.
Does Your Upstairs Suffer from Extensive Heat Gain?
Many homes have greater heat gain on the second floor than the first floor. Often, the first floor is shaded by trees or other buildings, reducing the heat gain on the first floor, while the second floor is exposed to the sun, making it hotter. A proper attic ventilation system can help reduce some of your second floor heat gain, as can keeping your curtains shut during the day. However, if you have intense second floor heat gain, you will likely need your air conditioning unit installed on the second floor to effectively cool that area.
Can You Cut Off Each Floor of Your Home?
Most people use the lower floor of their home during the day and the upper floor at night. This means that your air conditioning unit only has to efficiently cool one floor of your home at a time if you can cut off the other section of your home. Installing an accordion door at the top and bottom of your stairs and placing your air conditioning unit in your stairwell can give you the option of cooling each floor of your home at different times, which may make a single unit sufficient enough for your needs. If you cannot cut off each section of your home, then you will likely need two air conditioners that work in tandem.
Strategically Placed Fans Can Assist In Cooling Both Floors of Your Home
Whether your air conditioner is installed upstairs or downstairs, you can improve its efficiency in cooling your whole home by strategically placing fans around your home. Fans should be placed in such a way that they pull cold air away from cold areas and push it towards warm areas of your home. It will be best to install a fan at both the top and bottom of the stairs to help increase air flow. However, if you can only install the fan on one floor of your home due to space constraints, it should be installed on the opposite floor of the air conditioning unit. This way, the floor that does not have an air conditioner will benefit from the extra air flow.
Do You Actually Need to Cool Both Floors of Your Home?
Many people overestimate their cooling needs. For example, if you spend most of your day on the first floor of your home and your evening is relatively cool in your area, then you may not need to cool your second floor at all. However, if you use both floors of your home equally throughout the day and night, you may be more comfortable with two units.
Contact a local company, such as Shakley Mechanical Inc, for more information.
Share5 August 2016
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