In most literature I see it measured by square footage per room and that it wont cool anymore than that and it wont cool correctly if unit is too big for that room. Hello Joy, thank you for your kind words.
These are the kind of issues you get with window ACs. The total square footage is about sq ft. Normally, you would need a 13, BTU unit for that. If you account for hallways, a 15, BTU portable AC unit placed on the hallway between the rooms might be the most optimum option.
You can check some of the best portable ACs with a high-efficiency rate here. Hello…I live in Mesa, Az and want to install a Mitsubishi mini-split for my garage. I want to be able to cool the garage down to 80 to 85 degrees from to degrees outside temp.
Even in those conditions, the safer way is 25 BTU per sq ft. For a 9 foot garage, 30 BTU per sq ft might be more appropriate. With 1 window, good insulation, 18, BTU might just be enough, yes. You can check some of the air conditioners appropriate for the garage her e, maybe it could help a bit.
This subject can be much more complicated…. My room is So not much for attic space. So I have the heat load of the equipment to also consider. It is on the west side of house as well. I am also in central Texas! I have a 10,btu window unit in there now that is just enough, but way too noisy. I have window coverings that are insulated.
What do you recommend for a mini-split for v with no heat and is whisper quiet? Thank you It only. Mini-splits might be a good idea because they have whisper-quiet noise levels. I have sq foot house. Currently a small unit in living Room.
Hello Selena, 20, BTU unit has the right size, and will deal both with hot and humid indoor air. If you will have to upgrade your electrical grid just for that, it might make more sense to buy an additional 12, BTU or 15, BTU unit.
Together, they will also create a more homogenous cooling without hot spots ; this might be a problem with 1 20, BTU unit if it has a low airflow measuring in CFM. Your site has given me a lot of ideas… but not fully addressing my specific need.
There are shaded non-glass windows tax reasons on two of the four walls. In a normal situation, a 6, BTU would suffice. You can check out the LG unit in our list of the best thru-the-wall AC unit. The master bedroom is on the 2nd floor, sf, including the bathroom. That area is about or sf, with many windows and a cathedral ceiling in the living room up to 25 feet or more. Any advice? Anything we need to be aware of for electrical systems? Or single vs dual hose units? Thanks for your help!
Hello M, nice plan. Your calculations for the master bedroom with bathroom and another bedroom sound about right. The cathedral ceiling open concept area is fun indeed. For that you would need somewhere between 40, and 50, BTU; depending on insulation, sun exposure, and so on. Obviously, dual hose units are better higher efficiency, lower long-term costs; based on EER rating.
That just might be sufficient given your in the northeast US; your calculations are again on point. You might want to check out our article about the best dual hose portable air conditioner here ; you will find very efficient 12, BTU and 14, BTU units with a very good reputation. Overall, you do have a remarkably good eye for these BTU calculations and the general layout of portable AC units.
Cool DIY mini split configurations. My home is years old, 8ft ceilings, mostly shaded except along the south facing side, located in Los Angeles. Dining area and kitchen along the sunny south wall. The 3 bedrooms, bathrooms and hall can be closed off by a door. Will a solo mini split unit in the center master cool the 2 side bedrooms at all? An alternative option is the 27k 22 SEER 3 zone unit, with a 9k handler for each bedroom, likewise seems more than suggested for the per room sizes but is the lowest btu multi 3 zone unit.
But it is true the home has no insulation and long thin glassed windows, perhaps higher btu are needed. What would you suggest? Hello Deborah, that was quite a read.
Two indoor units here are minimum; a 3-zone mini-split would be the most optimum option. You can check the best three-zone mini-split systems here ; Senville units, for example, are both cheap and highly efficient. Total BTU output of 36k seems to be a good estimation. Having 3-zone mini split, or even 3 individual 12, BTU Mr. Cool DIY units would be most optimal. The source of sound in portable AC units is compressor and airflow. You can see that very well in our article about the quietest portable air conditioners.
I have a bit of a complex room I am looking to install a window ac unit and was hoping for some btu guidance.
It is a square foot bedroom with 8 foot ceilings. There is also an additional raised platform space that is about 4 feet high from the platform to the ceiling and is inches wide and 27 inches deep. The building is a townhouse with 3 floors and the room is on the 3rd top floor and is directly under the roof which gets the hot sun of San Diego.
The bedroom also has an attached bathroom and is the only thing on the top floor next to a very small hallway up a flight of stairs. This is also the only room in the house that will have an ac we are renters and that is nonnegotiable at the moment and the house in general and especially that room gets quite hot in the summer.
As far as I can tell, based on square footage alone I would be looking for a btu unit, but I am wondering if might be better given the location of the room and those additional factors. I definitely do not want to cause moisture issues by getting too big a unit, but do not want to undersize and have a unit not work either.
It has 2 one exterior doors, 6 windows, and 2 skylights. There are 3 oaks but midday does get a lot of sun through the skylights. Live in Savannah, GA. Hello Steven, patios are notoriously difficult to get a good BTU estimate. The exterior wall faces west with 2 standard and 1 double window. There are doors to the bathroom and hallway but I keep them closed at night. I also keep the blinds drawn all the time but even still it gets hot from the afternoon sun and can be uncomfortable later for sleeping.
The calculators seem to point to the btu unit being sufficient but I would love to hear your thoughts. Hello Steve, the total square footage is sq ft and you have an above-average 9 ft ceiling. For a standard room, 8, BTU could be enough. However, the west-facing wall, hot bedroom, and so on do indicate that you would need something a bit more powerful just to be safe.
It does help and thank you for the reply. I was thinking that the 10, unit was the better choice but then got worried about all the warnings about having a unit too big causes.
The Midea looks like a really slick air conditioner. Thanks for your feedback on it. Thank you so much for doing this. I wanted to follow on from an earlier question where you advised the extra BTU is not necessary if you are not an active user of the kitchen. My question relates to how the kitchen bump up intersects with the common advice that if you oversize your unit, then it can lead to short cycles that leave you with humidity and wear out the equipment.
There are different ways to cut this where I could calculate anything from 7, to 15, units, but am considering to go with a 12, unit on balance. Does this seem reasonable?
All your presumption about oversizing a unit, short cycles, wearing out, higher bills are on point. Hope this helps a bit. For the kitchen, you should add an extra BTU due to high-temperature devices.
We have a sq. Casement windows are along the full wall in the living room and a sliding door in the kitchen — east exposure. Both bedrooms and bath located between the two bedrooms are west exposure with large double hung windows. The cabin is divided equally with open kitchen, dining and living room on one side.
The center of this area leads to the other half of the cabin with both bedrooms and bath — west exposure. Our temps in the summer can be in the upper 80ss with high humidity. With sq. Hello James, in-wall AC units are quite popular in the Northeast.
Despite little insulation, this is still Minnesota. If you need some ideas, you can check our article about in-wall ACs. I am looking to cool down a room that is 12x10ft with 9ft ceilings with one window that gets the sun in the morning, for two people sleeping and living in it. You can check some of the smallest air conditioners on the market for 10x12ft rooms here. Hi, Thanks for your website, you are a real life saver!
I am tired to install them 3 each year. One BTU in my bedroom 14X10 ft with 8 ft ceiling, window gets the sun in the afternoon. One in the living room BTU I was thinking of a BTU in my bedroom and a second unit for the rest of the apt. I am afraid that with one unit only, my bedroom wiill not be cool enough and the living room will be like a freezer. Also , which brand is the quietest. What is the max DB I have to check to be sure it is quiet. Thank you so much for your input, very helpful.
Hello Monique, thank you for the question. Noise-wise, the quietest portable ACs have the highest noise levels of below 55 dB. This comment section is fabulous to get feedback!
Hello Anthony, thank you for your compliment; we do try to help everybody out. As far as your situation goes, the 4, BTU for the kitchen but you do have a refrigerator there; adding 1,, BTU is reasonable.
For the living room sq ft, 9 ft average ceiling height , you would need about 7, BTU. For connected sq ft bedroom, additional 3, BTU. If you find it useful, you can check out the best 12, BTU air conditioners here. Do keep in mind that if you choose a window AC unit, you have to — due to regulations in New York City — also have a support bracket for window AC units. Thanks for this!! Will there be a detriment if i go up one step more and go 14k BTU?
Trying to work out what is overkill and what is not. Now, those are some impressive keyboard skills! Never seems so astute a sketch with just a keyboard. Of course, you can go with a 14k unit as well. We have a 2, sf home in the upper midwest. The first floor is about sf with 9 ft ceilings.
The second floor is the other sf with 8 ft ceilings. Our south facing windows are about sf and north facing are about sf.
We also have an extra refrigerator and a freezer along with the usual appliances. We estimate we would need a 4 ton AC unit.
We are wondering what you would estimate with this info. Hello Shel, thank you for all the specs. To get a bit of information, you can check how much 4 ton central AC units cost here. I have a complicated air conditioning situation. I live in southwest Missouri, with a hot, humid climate in the summer.
The house, which I grew up in, is a one-and-a-half-story s Craftsman-style house not true Craftsman , with central air. Like my father, I keep the door at the bottom of the stairs closed to save on utilities. The upstairs consists of two bedrooms, which are divided by a hallway, which gives onto a stairwell from the gabled landing.
The bedroom doors face each other, and the two windows in the south bedroom more or less face the single window in the north one. When my dad first put in central air in , he bought me a Carrier Siesta II, 8, BTU unit which has since literally disintegrated for my bedroom measuring about sq. When my brother came to visit in the summer, it had to do for both bedrooms and the hall. The former was a 2. Given these this range of uses—one for the whole upstairs and one for the south bedroom only—do you think I need a unit with more than 10, BTUs?
Hello Julie, sounds like a lovely house. Given that you have a problem with high humidity, a 12, BTU unit would be even better, however. Given your situation, a 12, BTU unit with the highest possible dehumidification rate would be the most optimum and adequate choice. Hope you find this helpful. Great article! But I am still doubting myself. The ceiling and walls are insulated.
The building gets sun for most of the day. No stove or oven, but there are several arcade games and pinball machines that generate some heat, though not nearly as much as an oven. I was thinking a 24, btu single zone minisplit? Or would 18, be sufficient. Would like to keep the building at in the summer. Considering good insulation, 18, BTU should be sufficient. Thank you so much.
I have my eye on that Mr Cool, but would really love the ceiling cassette. I think going for an 18k BTU unit would allow for me to go with a cassette size that would fit between trusses.
Not completely DIY, but I can at least get everything done except the lines. This is wonderful information…Thank you! My central AC unit just went out in my 1, square foot house. I am unable to afford a new unit at this time and intend to buy window units for now. My problem is, there is no way to put a window unit in the central living area. Would buying two 12, BTU units and placing them on opposite ends of the house do the same job to cool the entire area?
Thank you for your time. Hello Kris, this is an unfortunate situation. It might suffice; but the safer option would be to get three 10, units, for example. Sorry, this is truly a difficult situation. It has 4 windows in the bedroom 2 in the bathroom and has a lot of afternoon sun exposure. Should I go with 10,btu or 13,btu? Hello Lindsay, it really depends on how much cooling output your central AC. Hello, I have a tiny sq ft room in the garage that I am trying to turn into a hair salon.
Additionally, when it cools too quickly, this means that it will cycle on and off more often to keep your home to its set temperature.
This means that your unit is at risk for wearing out and breaking down much sooner than you may have anticipated. On the other hand, having an air conditioner with too few BTUs is also problematic.
Without enough power, your air conditioner will constantly be running to keep your home cool. Not only will this cause your air conditioner to wear out much faster resulting in replacement sooner than you might have anticipated , but you will also be paying a lot for your energy bills.
When choosing a new air conditioner, BTUs is a very crucial component to consider. You can calculate the necessary number of BTUs you need yourself, but for the best results, it is always best to consult with a professional HVAC technician. We have serviced the Inland Empire communities for more than years now. A family-owned and operated company with a strong commitment to outstanding customer service.
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