Window Air Conditioners: Cooling Problems

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Window Air Conditioner Not Cooling Properly

Darlene K. from Fresno, CA wrote:

Dear DIY Today,

I have a portable window air conditioner that is not cooling properly. Do you have any ideas or tips that could help me?

There are many factors involved with the performance of a air conditioner. I assume your air conditioner is running OK but it's not cooling the space designated for it. If it's not running you should check the circuit breaker. It could also be a fuse. You could also check the thermostat to insure it's set properly.

If everything checks out OK with the above electrical checklist than it may need to be recharged with refrigerant. If your don't know how to recharge the refrigerant you will probably need to get a service technician.

Where is your air conditioning unit located? If your air conditioner is too small for the area you intend to cool it's not going to do the job. What size is your air conditioner? British Thermal Units (BTU) measure the cooling capacity. Room air conditioners have a cooling capacity of 5,000 to 14,000 BTU per hour. Efficient cooling depends on the proper size of the unit. Believe it or not a larger unit may not be better as it won't cool an area uniformly. In contrast, the smaller unit can operate more efficiently over an extended period.

Is your air conditioner mounted near a corner of the room? Does it have the ability to send the airflow to the area you are trying to cool? Air conditioner blowers aren't very powerful and usually don't work for connecting rooms. Generally speaking, it's not designed to cool more than one open area.

If the above trouble shooting tips don't work you may need to consider purchasing another window air conditioner. Make sure you place it at the opposite end of your home. If your home has more than one floor keep the additional AC unit on the same floor as your current one. The upstairs floor will require additional cooling as you probably know the heat rises. This may not be the advice you were looking for but remember you can't expect too much from portable AC units as they are only meant to serve one open area.

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