When it comes to choosing an air conditioner unit, large is not always the best choice.
The choice of unit size depends on the floor area of the room to be cooled.
Before buying an air conditioner, it is smart to know the BTU requirement of your home.
The BTU or British Thermal Unit is a measure of heat, which is used to characterize the power of heat pumps or air conditioners.
Higher BTU labels on air cons that they have higher cooling power.
For example, a 300 to 350 square feet room requires an air con with about 5000 BTU.
You can calculate the floor area of your target room.
If the room is rectangular, you simply need to multiple the length and width.
If it is triangular, you can estimate the area by multiply the length and width, and then divide it by two.
A room floor area larger than 500 square feet requires at least 9000 BTUs.
Do not buy an air conditioner unit which is higher than the prescribed BTU rating.
Definitely, cooling will be faster but it will be highly inefficient.
Higher BTU demands more power; thus, your electric bill will unnecessarily increase.
Because of the rather rapid cooling, excess BTU units will cause the room to remain humid.
This will cause a clammy and unpleasant atmosphere in the room.
On the other hand, do not purchase an air con with BTU lower than the prescribed rating.
This is because the desired temperature cannot be achieved.
Air cons work more strenuously until the cool temperature is achieved.
If the BTU is insufficient, it will be forced to work more.
This will increase power consumption and it may negatively affect the lifetime of the conditioner.
Also check if the EER or the Energy Efficiency Ratio is at least 11.
Lastly, if you have a large house with many rooms, it is more practical to install a centralized air conditioner unit.
A single machine will facilitate the cooling of several rooms through air ducts.
Installation can reach thousands of dollars but, in the long run, this setup will save you maintenance and power expenses.