How to Size Window Air Conditioners
A window air conditioner usually is responsible for cooling only one room, such as a dorm room. The size of the window air conditioner that you need is dependent on the size, structure and use of the room. If you get a window air conditioner that is too small, it will not adequately cool the room. Getting an AC unit that is too large is also detrimental because it will cycle on and off which wastes electricity and raises your utility bill. The AC capacity is measured in British thermal units (Btu). Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Determine the size of the room that you want to cool. You can measure a rectangular room by multiplying the length times the width. The area of a circular room can be found by squaring the radius and multiplying by pi (~3.14).
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2
Use a sizing chart to estimate the number of Btu your window air conditioner will need (see Resources). For example, a 600-square-foot room would need about 14,000 Btu.
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3
Add 600 Btu per person beyond the second that will stay in the room. For example, if your dorm room had three people in it, you would add 600 Btu to the capacity found in step two.
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Add 4,000 Btu if the room will be used as a kitchen.
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5
Add 10 percent to the capacity if the room will receive excessive sunlight or subtract 10 percent if the room will be heavily shaded.
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Tips & Warnings
Determine where in the room the window air conditioner will be located and look for a window air conditioner that blows the cool air in the right direction to best cool the room.
