If you’re in the market for a window air conditioner, making sure that you purchased the right size for your room it’s probably the most important information that you can have.

Sizing the air conditioner to your specific square footage will make all the difference.

But what happens when you have an old window AC in the shed that you’re wanting to pull out and use?

Is there any consequence to having the wrong size window AC?

The results of using a window AC that is not correctly sized for your room may actually have more impact than you would have thought.

What can happen if your window AC is too big for your room?

If your window AC unit is too big for the room it’s intended to cool, it can cause multiple negative consequences. Inefficient cooling, short cycling, higher energy bills, and increased wear and tear on the unit. It simply will not work at top performance and will cost much more up front and on your bill.

Here’s a little better breakdown:

1.Inefficient cooling:

An oversized AC unit will cool the room quickly, but it won’t remove enough moisture from the air.

This can leave the room feeling damp and clammy. And since humidity is usually one of the primary reasons the air is hot in the first place,

Using a window air conditioner that is too big can actually end up defeating the purpose.

2. Short cycling:

Short cycling is when a window air conditioning unit turns on and off frequently rather than running continuously.

This can cause you a few problems:

a. Inadequate cooling:

When the air conditioner short cycles, it doesn’t run long enough to properly cool the room.

b. Increases energy bill

Short cycling causes the unit to turn on and off more frequently,

Which means more power is being used, and more power results in a higher electricity bill.

c. Shortened lifespan

When the AC short cycles, it is frequently turning on and off.

Which can shorten the lifespan of the air conditioner simply by causing it to run much harder than it is intended to in the right space.

d. Dehumidifier doesn’t work well

Short cycling also means that the unit doesn’t have enough time to remove moisture from the air.

Window air conditioners reduce humidity as they cool the room.

That is one of the primary ways that a Window AC works.

Which will result in the room feeling humid.

What happens if you use a window air conditioners that is too small for your room?

As you may have guessed, having a window air conditioner that is too small for your room is not good either.

In fact you will end up having some of the same consequences using a window AC that is too small as you would when you have one that is too big.

1. Not enough cooling power

A window air conditioner that is too small for a room simply will not have enough power to cool off the room and keep it at a comfortable temperature.

2. Overworking

And though it doesn’t cause short cycling as in the case of an air conditioner that is too big,

When an air conditioner is too small it will continuously run to try to keep up. Which will eventually shorten the lifespan of the air conditioner.

3. Higher energy bill

An undersized AC will consume much more energy because it will work so much harder to try to keep the room cool.

Conclusion

What can happen if a window AC is too big or too small for your room?

You may think that a window AC that is too big would actually cool off a room faster and work better.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

A window air conditioner that is too big will short cycle. Meaning it will turn the compressor on and off much more frequently.

The result will be that it will not dehumidify like it should and decrease its cooling capacity.

Not only will it not cool like it’s supposed to it will end up jacking up your energy bill because of the amount of power that it uses to turn on and off.

A window AC that is too small will simply not be able to cool the room because it doesn’t have the power.

And it will also raise your energy bill because it will continuously run trying to keep up with a demand of cooling off your room.

The best money is on sizing the room specifically for your square footage.