Factors to consider when purchasing an air conditioner

You'll notice the massive range of variations and options when choosing an air conditioner for your home, especially regarding capacity, heating, and energy-efficient controls. To help you choose the best system, consider the following factors.   

Capacity  

While expert contractors can advise you on the right capacity unit to install, it's helpful to know what they'll deem relevant. First, the room proportions affect the cooling power required — obviously larger rooms demand greater capacity. Also relevant is how hot the room will get and how much heat the air conditioner will need to compensate for. In an un-insulated west-facing room with large, expansive windows that receive direct sunlight, for example, an air conditioner will have to work overtime. Alternatively, in an insulated small room with south-facing windows, the job will be easier. Of course, the contractor will consider the total area you need to cool, whether that be one or several rooms or the entire house. Also crucial is the local climate, as hotter weather will push your air conditioner harder.  

Heating Mode  

You should also think about whether you want a reverse-cycle unit that can also function as a heater. Air conditioners work by absorbing the warmth from the air in a room and releasing that heat outside via the refrigerant coils that travel to the outdoor compressor. To work as a heater, they do the reverse. For example, they'll extract warmth from the air around the outdoor unit and carry the heat indoors.   

These units thus consume power to relocate the heat from one place to another. They don't use electricity to generate warmth itself, as a radiant heater does, for example. Because of the way they operate, reverse-cycle air conditioners offer an efficient form of electric heating.  

Energy-Efficient Features  

When selecting a system, consider what energy-efficient features you want it to have. For instance, a multi-zone system provides centralised control, allowing you to adjust heating and cooling in specific rooms and areas. With this precise regulation, you'll not waste energy heating or cooling an empty guest room, for example.   

Another way air conditioning can target where to focus is via motion sensor detectors that recognise when people are in a room. Once the feature notes that a room is vacant for a specific period, it reduces or stops the hot or cold air blowing into that space. You'll save money as these systems work around your household and make changes without any specific direction.

To learn more, contact an air conditioning contractor.