Which is Better—a Central Air Conditioner or a Window Unit?

When choosing how to cool your home you have two basic choices: a centralized system or single-room units. As you can guess, these units are very different and come with a unique set of requirements, pros, and cons. Here is everything you need to know about both air conditioning systems and some tips to help you find the best unit for your home.

What is a Central Air Conditioner?

As you can imagine, these units involve way more parts. For central air conditioners the condenser is typically in the backyard or on the roof. Pipes run coolant from the condenser to the air handler, usually located near the furnace. This air handler blows the cooled air through the ducts in your home and into the separate rooms.

What is a Window-Mounted Air Conditioner?

For this type of air conditioner all the parts are contained in the unit itself. There is a condenser, evaporator, thermostat, and fans. It does not connect to the duct work of your home. Instead manufacturers designed these units to be wedged in a window frame and effectively cool a single room.

Advantages of Central A/C

Central air conditioning units will:

• Provide better air filtration, which is especially good for those with allergies or bad asthma
• Circulate the air more efficiently, evenly cooling the rooms in your home
• Cool the whole house instead of just the room where the unit is installed

Disadvantages of Central A/C

Central air conditioning units are:

• Way more expensive and difficult to install, and probably not something you can do by yourself
• Take regular maintenance to remain in top shape
• More expensive to repair if something breaks down

Advantages of Window Mounted A/C

Single-room air conditioning units are:

• More affordable to purchase
• Simpler to install, in fact most you can probably do yourself
• Cheaper to operate because you only need to cool the room you are in

Disadvantages of Window Mounted A/C

Single-room air conditioning units are:

• Getting better at filtering the outside air, but still cannot compete with central air
• Not as efficient at cooling an entire room, and you will notice cold spots near the unit and hot spots on the other side of the room

Which is More Energy Efficient?

This isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Average window air conditioners use between 500 and 1,400 watts whereas central air conditioners require around 3,500 watts. But window units cool only one room at a time. If you tried to cool your entire home with several window mounted air conditioners it could become costly, and less energy efficient. Especially because new technologies like zoning and automation make central air conditioning more energy efficient than ever before.

Which Air Conditioning System is Better for my Home?

When determining which air conditioning systems is best there are five main things to consider:

1. The local climate
2. The amount of room you have
3. The insulation of your home
4. Your budget
5. Your personal preferences

Sometimes you may not have a choice. Central air conditioning units need a lot of extra space. So if you live in an 8-story apartment built before the advent of central air, you will probably have to settle for single-room units to cool your home.  And even if you do have room for a central air conditioner, you may not have the money for this type of upgrade.

To figure out your heating and cooling options, or to scheduling air conditioning repairs San Jose, CA visit Pelle Heating & Air Conditioning at 1045 N 10th St San Jose, CA 95112. Or contact us at (408) 800-2791.