When you take the air conditioner remote and turn on the machine, almost a magic happens! The warm and humid air in your home suddenly turns into cool and fresh. Most of the apartment complexes today have central air conditioning, but this is not true for standalone buildings. If you have your own standalone home, you need to have one or more air conditioning machines installed. Your air conditioning machine not only keeps you nice and cool, but also lets you breathe purer and fresher air. Which air conditioning unit should you buy? Let us help you make your choice.

Choosing your Air Conditioning

Consider the types of air conditioners

If you have your own home, then a ducted air conditioner is what you should invest in. But this is not an absolute choice. Whether you stay in a rented place or just don’t want a ducted air conditioner, there are choices in air conditioning for you.

Split air conditioners consist of compressors installed outside your home and with one or more air outlets that open indoors. These are among the most popular air conditioning machines now.

Window air conditioners are still the most popular options because of their prices and these have the entire units that are installed in windows or walls.

Portable air conditioners are units that can be carried from one room to another. These need no installation and usually have wheels for them to be carried along.

Some people also prefer evaporative coolers that cool the air by evaporating the water contained inside the units. However, these coolers only work in areas where the climate is dry.

Get the size of your air conditioner right

The size of the air conditioning machine is the next consideration for you. If the machine is not large enough for your room, the cooling will not be optimal and if it is too large, there will be excess cooling and more consumption of electricity. For instance, if you have a room that measures 9m², then you should have an air conditioner that measures 2.5KW (C)/3.2KW (H). This measurement is in BTU (British Thermal Unit). Browse the internet and you will find guides that help you choose the right sized air conditioner depending upon the size of your room. Remember that if you stay in a sunny place, add 10 points to the BTU and otherwise, reduce 10 points to the BTU and you will have the right sizes AC.

Air conditioners with energy saving are the most popular

Air conditioners can eat up a lot of electricity and you should always consider the EER (Energy Efficiency Rating) before making your purchase. The EER range is from 8.5 to 11 – higher the EER, more is the energy saved. The Energy Star rating can be seen on most of the air conditioning machines today and you should check this when purchasing.

The fan speed should also be taken into account

The fan speed of an air conditioning machine indicates how soon the air can be circulated inside a room. For the best cooling or heating, opt for air conditioners that have multiple fan speeds and wide airflow range. You should also check that the fan doesn’t cause too much noise even when operating at high speeds. Your air conditioner should also have different operating modes – dry, cool, auto and fan only and others.

Other features in air conditioners

There are some additional features for you to consider.

You should always opt for an air conditioner with remote control. This will allow you to run the machine from anywhere inside the room. This feature especially helps at night, when you are almost asleep and want to increase or reduce the temperature.

The sleep mode is a feature that keeps the temperature controlled when you are sleeping. This is to ensure that you don’t wake up in the middle of the night.

Restart delay is a feature that doesn’t allow the air conditioning machine to start immediately after it has been switched off. This is a safety feature.

Human presence sensor is available in some of the top models – when the machine detects that there is no one around, it automatically goes into a slower mode and vice versa.

Which air conditioning for which use?

If you are in a drier place, then an evaporative cooler should do for you. The best evaporative coolers in Canada are Honeywell 100 Pt. Evaporative Air Cooler and UltraCool Portable Evaporative Cooler CP70.

Window or wall air conditioning machines still sell the highest number of units among all air conditioners. These are cheaper and are easier to maintain. Some of the top models in window or wall air conditioners in Canada are Arctic King 5,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner, Arctic King 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner with Remote and Electrolux Frigidaire Window Air Conditioner.

Split air conditioners are able to cool rooms much faster than window air conditioners. People who own their homes usually prefer this kind of air conditioning. Some of the models worth looking at are Global Industrial Ductless Air Conditioner 9,000 BTU and Electrolux Frigidaire Ductless Split Heat Pump.