Types of Air Conditioning Systems
- Air conditioning systems are available for all types of budgets.window air conditioner image by Aaron Kohr from Fotolia.com
Air conditioning was once a luxury, but now it is found in many homes. In hot climates, it is essential in offices and schools and, when temperatures soar to the point when it is hot all night, air conditioning helps people get a good night's sleep. Residential air conditioning systems fall into three categories: split, portable and ductless systems. - Split systems are the most popular form of air conditioning for homes. One advantage of this type is that the cooling unit is outside the home. These units generate significant levels of noise, so securing it on a window ledge or in a laundry room reduces the sound, making living with it more bearable. Homes using the split system need ducts to conduct the air to the rooms requiring air conditioning. These are usually the same ducts used for a central heating system. Another advantage of this system is that all the main rooms are cooled at the same time. Systems use either manually controlled or remote-controlled programmable thermostats. Some have a central thermostat controlling the temperature in all rooms, while other systems offer individual thermostats for each room.
- Homes without air ducts have another solution -- ductless air conditioning. These units are typically wall-mounted on a room's external wall. Vents from the units run through the wall to the exterior and are covered by grilles. These are discreet and do not affect the external appearance of the property. Ductless units are available in cool-only or cooling and heating models. The units are thermostat-controlled, usually with a remote, and start at around $1000.
- Portable units are relatively inexpensive and convenient for cooling smaller spaces. The units are easily moved from room to room and are powered by plugging in to any wall socket with a 13-amp power supply. The units have a thick hose that is placed in an open window, for example, and this extracts the hot air.
Portable split units are more expensive; however, they are more powerful and have separate evaporator and condenser units. The main unit is placed in the room where cooling is needed, and the condenser is placed outside a window or door. The two units are connected by a flexible pipe that extracts the air from the room unit and passes it through the condenser. As they cool spaces more efficiently, the split portable unit is recommended for offices as well as homes.
