What AC unit should I get - single room?

[xBlizzDevious]

It looks like I might be moving house some time soon and, if I do, I'm going to need to purchase an Air Conditioning unit for the room I'll be in.

 

All information I can find on Google is how big a unit I need to cool my whole house in the USA, but I'm in the UK and only need to cool one room.

 

The reason I'm going to need an AC unit is that I'll have two computers, one of which is on 24/7 and one of which is on all the time I'm at home, sitting in the same room that I'll be sleeping in. At the moment, I live in the north of Scotland and the warmest the house ever gets is about 20C without heating in the few days of summer that we get. If I move, I'll be going to the south-east of England and the coldest the house will be is around 22C... I'm guessing you can see my problem?

 

I'm not exactly sure of the size of the room I'll be in, but I'm pretty sure that it's less than 4m x 4m.

 

So... What type of unit should I get eg. floor unit, window unit, etc?

How big/powerful a unit should I get?

What makes would you recommend?

Is there anything else I should know about AC?

 

Thanks!

[Tocsin_786]

It looks like I might be moving house some time soon and, if I do, I'm going to need to purchase an Air Conditioning unit for the room I'll be in.

 

All information I can find on Google is how big a unit I need to cool my whole house in the USA, but I'm in the UK and only need to cool one room.

 

The reason I'm going to need an AC unit is that I'll have two computers, one of which is on 24/7 and one of which is on all the time I'm at home, sitting in the same room that I'll be sleeping in. At the moment, I live in the north of Scotland and the warmest the house ever gets is about 20C without heating in the few days of summer that we get. If I move, I'll be going to the south-east of England and the coldest the house will be is around 22C... I'm guessing you can see my problem?

 

I'm not exactly sure of the size of the room I'll be in, but I'm pretty sure that it's less than 4m x 4m.

 

So... What type of unit should I get eg. floor unit, window unit, etc?

How big/powerful a unit should I get?

What makes would you recommend?

Is there anything else I should know about AC?

 

Thanks!

window units a fine, and since its such a small room getting a medium sized AC (around 4-6k BTU) would be good. but i personally recommend a floor unit. i have this in my room and though it takes as much space as 2 cooler master cosmos side by side,  it is quieter (objectively) and is more pleasing because you don't have to worry about it ever fallout out of a window when it comes time to clean it or cover it during the winter. 

[xBlizzDevious]

window units a fine, and since its such a small room getting a medium sized AC (around 4-6k BTU) would be good. but i personally recommend a floor unit. i have this in my room and though it takes as much space as 2 cooler master cosmos side by side,  it is quieter (objectively) and is more pleasing because you don't have to worry about it ever fallout out of a window when it comes time to clean it or cover it during the winter. 

 

I'm thinking that maybe a floor standing unit won't be suitable as I'll not have any floor-space left before I try and put the AC unit in. How do the window ones work? Would an above-the-door unit be suitable?

[Alurit]

why did I read it as "what AC Unity should I get"?

[xBlizzDevious]

why did I read it as "what AC Unity should I get"?

 

Because you've been plagued by the abomination that is Unity? Haha! I dunno; I've never actually played it so don't know what it's like.

[Alurit]

Because you've been plagued by the abomination that is Unity? Haha! I dunno; I've never actually played it so don't know what it's like.

me neither, the last ac game I played wasn't even an ac game but a damn good pirate game, black flag that is

[0ld_Chicken]

It looks like I might be moving house some time soon and, if I do, I'm going to need to purchase an Air Conditioning unit for the room I'll be in.

 

snip

So... What type of unit should I get eg. floor unit, window unit, etc?

How big/powerful a unit should I get?

What makes would you recommend?

Is there anything else I should know about AC?

 

Thanks!

size-like Tocsin said 4-6k btu would be plenty.  wouldn't go any higher 

floor units are nice and easier to install and you can move the unit to direct airflow (to a certain extent), window units keep your floor clear and are easier to drain since you just run it outside.  usually you've got to empty the floor models or run a hose to a drain that may or may not exist.

edit: looks at profile, sees 3x AMD gpu's.... maybe you could go higher like 8k if it gets really hot there regionally

[Counter-Strike Player]

Well, having just bought a new Frigidaire window unit last month, I thought I might comment. A 5K BTU unit is going to be enough for a small-to-medium room (they rate it for 150 sq.ft.) Anything with a higher BTU just gets more expensive more quickly. It's pretty funny on the box too, the 5K appears to be the lowest "rung" from a list of different sku's they sell. Assuming you pay more (pence? -- I'd like to know the exact number btw) per kilowatt than we do (since we (I) have the luxury of living close to a 1.1MW nuclear plant and thus supposedly more electrical supply around here -- and since "everything" is more expensive in Europe/UK compared to the US) then it would be in your best interest in spending a little more on a more efficient model (that has a higher EER ratio they call it here in 'murica.) That model I bought is actually very close to being an "energy star certified" appliance which is a good cert if you have something similar. Be aware that a window unit will dehumidify air so that's why you need to install it correctly (tilted very slightly up in the window so it can drain from the outside part) and double-check a unit to see the measurements of a window it will fit.

 

edit: lel 3 amd gpu's gg m8

[xBlizzDevious]

Well, having just bought a new Frigidaire window unit last month, I thought I might comment. A 5K BTU unit is going to be enough for a small-to-medium room (they rate it for 150 sq.ft.) Anything with a higher BTU just gets more expensive more quickly. It's pretty funny on the box too, the 5K appears to be the lowest "rung" from a list of different sku's they sell. Assuming you pay more (pence? -- I'd like to know the exact number btw) per kilowatt than we do (since we (I) have the luxury of living close to a 1.1MW nuclear plant and thus supposedly more electrical supply around here -- and since "everything" is more expensive in Europe/UK compared to the US) then it would be in your best interest in spending a little more on a more efficient model (that has a higher EER ratio they call it here in 'murica.) That model I bought is actually very close to being an "energy star certified" appliance which is a good cert if you have something similar. Be aware that a window unit will dehumidify air so that's why you need to install it correctly (tilted very slightly up in the window so it can drain from the outside part) and double-check a unit to see the measurements of a window it will fit.

 

edit: lel 3 amd gpu's gg m8

 

One of the major advantages to this place is that I'll only have to pay a small amount of rent - no electric etc. And yes, I do have three 7970s and they do like to eat power. They're not as bad as you'd think, though!

 

Sounds like it doesn't really matter what I go for - just get a decent one of 4-6K BTUs and I'll be good?

[Tocsin_786]

I'm thinking that maybe a floor standing unit won't be suitable as I'll not have any floor-space left before I try and put the AC unit in. How do the window ones work? Would an above-the-door unit be suitable?

no, unless you wanna run a drain pipe to somewhere that collects or drains the water that will be dripping from a window unit on-top of a door. the floor units have a water tank that collects the water so you can drain it later, and it fills up in a long time.  

[Counter-Strike Player]

One of the major advantages to this place is that I'll only have to pay a small amount of rent - no electric etc. And yes, I do have three 7970s and they do like to eat power. They're not as bad as you'd think, though!

 

Sounds like it doesn't really matter what I go for - just get a decent one of 4-6K BTUs and I'll be good?

 

Well good luck then considering you don't pay utilities. I would say a higher EER still might be worth it because let's say you move out in 2.5 years and still have 2.5 years on the warranty (Frigidaire gives you a (limited) 5-year on the sealed system) and in that situation you'd still like to pack it up and move along with it, but your new place charges you half the utilities. And like I said in the UK, paying some ridiculous amount of money per kwh like 20p (not an unthinkable number if your "green" politics party wants to "do away with" nuclear power (post Fukushima) and use renewables ONLY from now on) then having a 11.1 EER (on a 5K BTU unit) versus the same-costing 9.7 EER unit (on a 6K BTU unit -- a 2010 model) -- will end up saving you more money if plan on using the unit for say like, 7+ years, like a lot of people will do. You might think, "Hey I can be 1K BTU cooler for the same price today so I'm definitely getting the 6K model," but try to resist thinking that. Like I said though, costs really go up on higher(er) BTU models. Going from 5K to 8K will cost $100+ more easily.

 

I did some rough calculations on f@h costs because I was bored a few months ago (with only a single, somewhat-lowly r9 280 (non-x) Amd card mind you.) If I had to live in the UK and put up with a ton of the politically-correctness you guys deal with over there and forced to pay 20p per kwh, I would be effectively spending $52.87 per month on folding alone (versus $15.42 what I pay now) -- on just a single r9 280 card AND all before taxes as well. That kind of money adds up fast and that's fairly generous of you to "donate" those kinds of resources to Stanford University so they can essentially turn around and come up with a new designer drug that makes other big pharma companies billions in profits. Times that by 12 and you're giving the University a very significant $634.42 per year that might even be eligible as a donation tax write-off (if you decide to itemize your expenses), lel. (Cynical view, I know, so that's why I'll stop here -- call me a hypocrite too with the badge but I'll claim that it was just an interesting, fun 1 month experiment.)

[xBlizzDevious]

Well good luck then considering you don't pay utilities. I would say a higher EER still might be worth it because let's say you move out in 2.5 years and still have 2.5 years on the warranty (Frigidaire gives you a (limited) 5-year on the sealed system) and in that situation you'd still like to pack it up and move along with it, but your new place charges you half the utilities. And like I said in the UK, paying some ridiculous amount of money per kwh like 20p (not an unthinkable number if your "green" politics party wants to "do away with" nuclear power (post Fukushima) and use renewables ONLY from now on) then having a 11.1 EER (on a 5K BTU unit) versus the same-costing 9.7 EER unit (on a 6K BTU unit -- a 2010 model) -- will end up saving you more money if plan on using the unit for say like, 7+ years, like a lot of people will do. You might think, "Hey I can be 1K BTU cooler for the same price today so I'm definitely getting the 6K model," but try to resist thinking that. Like I said though, costs really go up on higher(er) BTU models. Going from 5K to 8K will cost $100+ more easily.

 

I did some rough calculations on f@h costs because I was bored a few months ago (with only a single, somewhat-lowly r9 280 (non-x) Amd card mind you.) If I had to live in the UK and put up with a ton of the politically-correctness you guys deal with over there and forced to pay 20p per kwh, I would be effectively spending $52.87 per month on folding alone (versus $15.42 what I pay now) -- on just a single r9 280 card AND all before taxes as well. That kind of money adds up fast and that's fairly generous of you to "donate" those kinds of resources to Stanford University so they can essentially turn around and come up with a new designer drug that makes other big pharma companies billions in profits. Times that by 12 and you're giving the University a very significant $634.42 per year that might even be eligible as a donation tax write-off (if you decide to itemize your expenses), lel. (Cynical view, I know, so that's why I'll stop here -- call me a hypocrite too with the badge but I'll claim that it was just an interesting, fun 1 month experiment.)

 

Sounds like you were bored and decided to have some fun! Haha. And everyone is allowed whatever view they want on things, I guess you bring up some good points on the F@H. And as for politics over here... Yeah, it's screwed up. And electric is way too damn expensive.