Category: Air Conditioning

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions- Adding New Ductwork

Getting cool air to a room that doesn’t have any windows can be a challenge sometimes.

But depending on what type of room and what size of a room you were trying to cool, the answer may be closer than you think.

There are so many different scenarios of rooms that need cooling but do not have any windows.

One example is a garage that has been converted or closed in to add another bedroom.

Garages are typically not part of the HVAC zoning system of your home.

So you don’t have cool air running to your garage from the main hub of the central heat and air.

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions- Adding New Ductwork

Running ductwork from your existing HVAC to your new room can be a solution if:

1. You have an adequate size HVAC that can handle it.

2. You have other rooms in the house that are not being used

1.  Adequate or bigger size HVAC than you need.

Many times the HVAC system in your house is bigger than you actually need.

In this ideal situation, running new ductwork to your new room will be relatively simple and do a decent job.

For specifics, you will need to know the size of the room you were trying to cool and the tonnage of your HVAC system.

  An HVAC tech will be able to tell you whether or not this suits you are not.

Diy 

When you have rooms in the house that are not in use.

This is something I’ve seen in a rented house where someone was using the garage for a podcast studio.

He portioned off part of a single car garage to set up his equipment and built a makeshift studio. Since this was a rented house and he didn’t plan on living there forever, he converted the garage in a way that he could take it apart whenever he decided to move.

The problem was that there wasn’t any heating or air in the garage and it was extra hot throughout the summer.

  And by no means is this a recommendation, I’m only telling the story to give you an idea of things that can be done if you think outside of the box.

In this specific rental house that he lived in, there was an area next to the garage that was supposed to be a dining room (maybe). The room didn’t make a lot of sense and he was just piling stuff in there.

So to cool his studio area that he had built into his garage, he got into the attic, removed the duct that was running to the dining /storage room he wasn’t using, and extended it to the garage.

A pretty good solution since he had a room that was only being used for storing stuff.

  This was a good idea for him since he was a single man and wasn’t using one room for anything besides storage and didn’t care whether or not it ever got cooling or heating to it.

  This idea can also work if you have a house with a room or two that you keep closed off but do not want to completely remove the heat or  air from the room

In the above scenario, the man could have tied into the existing ductwork and ran a new duct to the garage.

Then added vents that could be completely closed to both the dining area and the new garage area.

That way both rooms could share the Heat and Air in an either/or situation.

I say either/ or situation because simply tying off a new duct from an existing room will probably not give you enough air into the new room for you to be satisfied.

Summary

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions- Adding New Ductwork

If you have a room in your house that doesn’t get air from your existing HVAC, sometimes a solution to cooling the room is to add an extra duct from the HVAC hub.

This works if you have a bigger HVAC than you need or if you have rooms in the house that are closed off.

If you do have rooms that are closed off you can run the duct from those rooms to the room you want cooling,

Or you can tie in from the ductwork going to those rooms and add vents that completely close off, to the room you’re not using and the new room that you’re running air to. That way you can still open the vent and get air to the old room in an either/ or situation.

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions- PTAC

How do you cool a room with no windows?
Is there such a thing as a windowless air conditioner?

There are a few types of air conditioners that you can use to cool a room with no windows.

Some expensive, some not as much. Some that take a whole lot of installation knowledge and work, and some that take less.

One solution that falls under the moderately expensive side and does take a moderate amount of installation is the PTAC.

PTAC or packaged terminal air conditioners are through the wall air conditioners that require the wall that they are installed to to be an outside wall that has the outdoors as one side of the wall.

PTAC air conditioners are known as commercial hotel air conditioners because that is where they are seen the most.

  But they can be used in almost any type of application where you have a room that has an outside wall.

Advantages of Packaged Terminal air conditioners

1. Quality.

PTAC air conditioners are commercial grade ACs that can literally last you 20 or more years.

2. Work as both air conditioners and heaters.

If you have ever stayed in a hotel that has a Packaged Terminal air conditioner installed in the room that you were sleeping in, you know very well how intensely cold that room can get using a PTAC.

You also know how hot one can get in the winter.

3.  Energy efficient.

PTAC disadvantages

1.  Installation

Not nearly the amount of installation that a mini split requires,

but installing a Packaged Terminal air conditioner does require a large rectangular hole to be cut through an entire wall. And for most people that means that they will have to hire an outside Carpenter to do the work.

The size of the hole that you are cutting pretty much dictates that you are invested in using the package terminal air conditioner for a very long time.

And once the hole is cut, you are stuck with that location for the air conditioner.

Of course you can always fix the wall if needed. But that would be an entire job on its own.

2.  Single room only

PTAC air conditioners only work in the room that they are installed in.

And they are a point of origin type of air conditioner. In other words, they are very cold, the closer you are to the air conditioner.

Back to the hotel reference,

If you ever stayed in a room with two beds that used a PTAC air conditioner, you know that the bed closest to the air conditioner is going to be the one you want if you like to sleep with a lot of covers.

Otherwise, it may get a little warm on your side of the room.

3.  Noise

Just like a window air conditioner, all the components of a HVAC system are located in one package with a Packaged Terminal air conditioner.

There is no getting away from the sound of the compressor running and cycling on and off while the air conditioner is on.

  Because of that point, PTAC air conditioners are not very suitable for use in recording studios or podcast studios where you need as much quiet as you can get.

Summary

Packaged Terminal air conditioners are a commercial grade windowless air conditioner solution when you have a room with no windows.

PTAC air conditioners are known as hotel air conditioners because that’s where you see them the most.

But anywhere you have a room with one wall that is an outside wall, you can use a package terminal AC.

  The installation for a Packaged Terminal air conditioner requires that a large rectangular hole be cut into your wall.

So not only are you looking at the installation cost, you are also looking at a fairly permanent solution when you install a PTAC.

And though they are very powerful air conditioners with a long lifespan,

They do have the disadvantage of being a single room air conditioner that has a noisy compressor built right in.

And they are a point of origin air conditioner that can be freezing cold when you are next to it.

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions -Mini Split

How do you get air conditioning into a room that does not have any windows?

In a series of articles, we are presenting different options for air conditioning when you have a room that doesn’t have any windows.

We explore through the wall air conditioners, portable evaporative coolers, HVAC options, mini split, PTAC, and more.

  In this article we are talking about the mini split as a windowless air conditioning solution.

Mini Split Windowless Air conditioner

Mini split air conditioners are a windowless air conditioner solution that are a very close cousin to a traditional HVAC central heat and air unit.

The difference is that mini split air conditioners are more of an afterthought and usually go into a house after the house has already been built.

Where HVAC systems are built into the house and ductwork is installed as the house is being built.

That’s not always the case, but it is true most of the time.

Just like a HVAC system, the compressor of a mini split is outside of the house.

The compressor runs to an air handler( or multiple air handlers) inside of the house via conduit on the outside of the house. And on the outside of the walls inside of the house.

That is why we say that many split air conditioners are more of an afterthought because they are installed via the outside of the walls.

  Mini splits are a much more sophisticated way of getting air conditioning into a room with no windows then say a portable evaporative cooler.

But the price and the installation of a mini split is considerably more also.

Mini split air conditioner Benefits

There is a number of benefits to using a mini split air conditioner:

1.  Quiet

Since the compressor of a mini split air conditioner is outside of the house, the only noise coming from the air conditioning is the light sound of the air handler.

This is a good solution if noise is a problem. For instance, a recording studio for a podcast room needs silence as a prerequisite.

With the mini split air conditioner, you can achieve less noise.

2.  Individual temperature settings

Another big advantage of mini split air conditioners that even HVAC systems don’t have is the ability to set the desired temperature for every room individually.

Since each room has its own air handler with a mini split, the temperature of each room can be sent differently.

mini split in room Mini split downsides

1.  Installation

The installation of a mini split air conditioner requires quite a bit more than other types of portable air conditioning.

  Installing a mini split is more like installing two air conditioners because you have to install the outdoor compressor and the indoor air handler.

They also have to be connected via conduit.

  Other factors to consider are that electricity has to be run to the compressor which means a new circuit.

And a condensate line has to be installed to drain the moisture outside.

2.  Maintenance

Maintenance is also a huge part of owning a mini split air conditioner.

Two separate parts of the air conditioner required two separate maintenance.

The air handler has to have filter replacements and cleaned at least once a year.

The compressor outside requires disassembling to clean and also needs at least a yearly cleaning.

And the condensate lines need checking and unclogging if a problem appears.

Summary

A mini split air conditioner is a good solution for a room that does not have any windows.

A good solution but one that comes with a big price tag and requires installation and maintenance.

But they do have the benefit of being extremely quiet when noise is as much of a factor as getting cool air into a room without windows.

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions – Evaporative Cooler

Riddle.
What kind of room has no doors or Windows? A mushroom. Haha.

But what kind of room actually has no windows?

I can think of a few… A recording studio, the basement, storage shed, garage, laundry room, converted closet… It starts to be a pretty big list when you start trying to think of all the kinds of rooms that don’t have Windows.

There’s all kinds of scenarios where rooms are built without windows for one reason or another. And it seems that these rooms pretty much always lack Air conditioning.

So what do you do when you have a room with no windows but you need air conditioning?

One Windowless Air Conditioner Solution is a portable evaporative cooler

If you’re doing a search on Google for a windowless air conditioner, evaporative coolers are pretty much the only suggestion that you will get.

So what exactly is a portable evaporative cooler?

  An evaporative cooler is an air conditioner that uses a fan blowing over water to cool the air with evaporation.

Kind of similar to the feeling you get from the wind blowing over a pool.

A cool breeze.

   What makes a portable evaporative cooler a good option for a room that does not have any windows?

It’s because they do not exhaust heat in any form.

Other portable air conditioners or window air conditioners use a refrigerated air cooling method that creates a large amount of heat that exhausts either through a hose or by sitting in the window.

But when you do not have a window, you do not have anywhere to exhaust the Heat.

  Portable Air coolers come in different size packages. Larger ones have wheels for mobility while smaller ones are more like the size of a small ice chest with a handle that you can carry it around by.

Portable evaporative cooler downsides

1.  Water

The number one maintenance that a portable evaporative cooler requires is filling it with water.

And of course the mess that comes along with filling it with water.

Some air coolers have removable basins that you can fill under a faucet similar to a humidifier, other types you have to externally fill the water by carrying the water to the machine.

And most modern air coolers have a compartment to put ice into them.(optional)

There are larger portable air coolers that have a garden hose hookup so that you do not have to continuously carry water to the machine.

2.  Mold and bacteria

Related to the first required maintenance of filling the air cooler with water,

Is the necessity of dumping the water that is not used out of the air cooler when you are done.

Stagnant water can start growing bacteria and getting moldy in as little as 48 hours.

So it is a requirement to keep an air cooler clean and dry when it is not in use.

Turning on an air cooler that has germy stagnant water in it,

will distribute all the germs and bacteria in the water, into the air where you will breathe it.

Airborne mold can cause symptoms similar to the flu or pneumonia.

And there’s also a disease called legionnaires that originates from bacteria growing in water.

Nothing you want to mess around with.

3.  Don’t cool very well in humid climates

Another issue with evaporative air coolers is that they use humidity as a source of cooling off the air.

But when the air is already humid, adding more humidity to the air makes the air feel hotter .

And that kind of makes using an evaporative cooler pretty much useless in the high humidity months or if you live in an area that has a higher year-round humidity.

Summary

A portable evaporative cooler is a windowless air conditioner solution.

While most air conditioners require that you have a window to exhaust the heat that they create while cooling,

Evaporative coolers do not create any heat at all. So in turn they do not require a window to vent any heat.

But they do require a little more maintenance in that they have to be continually filled with water.

  And they must be cleaned and left dry when not in use.

   And one of the biggest issues with evaporative coolers is that they do not work in high humidity.

Which describes a large portion of the world as well as a couple of the months in summer where temperatures are at their hottest.

Windowless Air Conditioner Solutions – Through the Wall

Finding a solution to cool off a room with no windows is not always the easiest thing to do.

Adding in other things into the equation like needing a room to be quiet besides cool, can add a whole another layer of difficulty.

One solution for a windowless air conditioner is using a window air conditioner through the wall

Using a window air conditioner straight through a wall can be a solution:

A. if you have a room with no windows but at least one of the walls is an outside wall.

  In other words you have a wall that is on the other side of the wall, outside of the house. The same kind of wall that you would normally have a window in.

(This is a good place to point out that if you are willing to cut a hole through your wall to put a window air conditioner in it,

  Installing a window instead, maybe the better play.}

You can always put a window air conditioner into a window and when you don’t need the air conditioner, have a window for light or fresh air, etc.

B. Or you have a wall that leads to an area that is suitable for exhausting Heat into.

In this scenario, one of the walls in the room that you need air conditioning in leads to a storage area, like a garage or a permanent storage area that won’t be affected by the exhaust.

Keep in mind that you will also have to have a bucket underneath the air conditioner to capture any dripping caused by the condensation the air conditioner creates.

Why do you need a wall that leads outside?

Window air conditioners exhaust heat out of the rear and drip condensation water through a drain hole.

They are also excessively noisy on the side of the air conditioner that sits on the outdoor side of the air conditioner.

Every once in awhile I will hear somebody ask why can’t they just bring the window air conditioner inside of the house and set it on a table

And that would be an awesome solution if it weren’t for the amount of heat that a window air conditioner creates through the rear while pumping cold air out of the front.

The result will not only be canceling out the cool air with the heat, it would raise the humidity in the room and cause condensation to form all over everything around it.

Not to mention the noise from the compressor in the air conditioner would drown out all the other sounds in the room.

Obviously cutting a hose to the wall is not the easiest ideal to come to terms with.

Especially if you are talking about a wall inside of the house.

  But there are all kinds of scenarios where people use storage areas and other types of rooms that don’t have windows for offices and crafting rooms for instance.

Summary

A window air conditioner can still be a windowless air conditioner if you have a wall that you can put the air conditioner through.

The stipulation is that the outside of the wall is either outdoors or is in an area where the exhaust coming out of the rear of the air conditioner will not affect anything.

Putting an air conditioner through the wall is a good solution in certain circumstances.

But obviously not for all circumstances.

Getting air conditioning into a room with no windows is a problem that requires thinking outside of the box.

Windowless Air Conditioner -What Are Some Options?

What do you do for AC when you do not have any windows?

What kind of air conditioner would qualify as a windowless air conditioner?

This is a problem that can come up when you are using a renovated basement as a living space.

It can also be an issue when you are in a room that is inside of another room.

For instance, my family recently built a separate closed in shop inside our garage to use as a crafting area and a studio area to record music and videos in.

The walls of the shop consist of a brick wall that leads to the outside, a wall that’s connected to the inside kitchen and two walls that are inside of the garage.

The air conditioning option that we decided on was to put a window air conditioner through one of the walls that leads into the garage.

It’s a good solution because we don’t use the garage much other than to park the cars and store tools and such.

And the heat that is exhausted from the window air conditioner goes into the garage. And it’s really not a problem. The condensation drips into a bucket.

  That’s just one example of something that can be done to get AC into a room with no windows.

There are a few options for getting air conditioning into a room that does not have any windows.

1. Through the wall air conditioner
2. Evaporative cooling
3. Mini split AC
4. Tying in new ductwork and creating a new zone in your central heat and air set up.
5. Portable air conditioning that duct into the ceiling

1.  Through the wall air conditioner.

A through the wall air conditioner can be a simple as putting a window air conditioner through the wall instead of into a window.

Another type of through the wall air conditioner is the air conditioner units that you see in a lot of hotels. These air conditioners are called PTAC air conditioning or packaged terminal air conditioning.

PTAC air conditioning require a much larger hole through the wall than a window air conditioner. But they are also commercial air conditioners that can perform well in a very large room.

The main thing you have to have for this to work is for one of the walls to be a wall that is connected to the outdoors. Or like in the example above, a wall in which you do not care whether the heat from an AC exhaust there.

Through the wall air conditioners can also be purchased as combination heater units which as you know, is perfect for the other half of the year.

2.  Evaporative cooling

Evaporative coolers come in many  portable styles that do not require a window to sit in or to exhaust heat out of.

But they do require frequent refills of water or a continuous water line connected into the air conditioner.

Evaporative coolers work better in dry climates. And are not a good ideal for areas that have a lot of year-round humidity.

And not the best solution if you have to carry the water long distances or up and down stairs.

But for apartments where there is less than adequate AC throughout the building, evaporative cooling is an option that doesn’t take any modifications to the walls or ceiling. 

In a lot of ways, evaporative coolers are the best option for a windowless air conditioner.

3.  Mini split

Mini Split air conditioners are a type of HVAC system ( central heat and air) that can be installed into a room or a whole house that doesn’t require any windows.

With this set up, there is a compressor that is installed outdoors and routed to as many rooms as you desire through external hoses.

This gives you an HVAC type effect without the cost of installing an entire HVAC system and ducting the entire house. Which can be very expensive in an already finished home.

Mini splits also give you the advantage of being able to heat the same rooms.

4.  Splitting an HVAC zone

Running ductwork to a room with no windows can be an option.

  This can work okay if you have a room where there are multiple vents that don’t warrant it.

In other words you have a room that doesn’t need as many vents and you want to route One to a different room.

I’ve seen this work where someone took the ducting off of one vent inside of a kitchen/dining area and extended it to reach into a garage that was modified to live in.

This left him with one vent in the kitchen, and one vent extending into the garage.

Which of course, left less cooling in the kitchen, but added cooling to the garage.

This is a fairly simple modification that will work to a certain extent.

Just don’t expect a huge result because you were basically taking the cooling from one room and cutting it in half to use it in two rooms.

  Don’t expect to call in a professional for this. This is definitely a gamblers project.

But it’s a fairly simple operation that you can do yourself with some duct tape, some extra duct, a sleeve to connect to the existing duct, and a new vent for the room that you’re running the duct to.

And if you don’t get the result you want, it will be pretty easy to remove it and return it back to the way it was.

5. New HVAC zone

Adding a new zone to your existing HVAC is a possibility if you have a system that is big enough to handle the extra room.

Adding a new HVAC zone will require installing a zone control panel, new thermostats, and adding zone dampers into your existing duct.

In other words, having a professional price it and do the work for you.

6.  Exhausting a portable air conditioner into the Attic.

Portable air conditioners typically require a window to exhaust the heat from the air conditioner out of.

But what if you have a windowless room that needs AC?

This idea can work if you have a room that has an attic that is connected to the ceiling.

If so, you do have the possibility of exhausting your portable air conditioner into the Attic instead of out of a window.

  The Attic is an area that is generally very warm already. And usually comes with some type of vent for the hot air to escape.

  So adding a little extra heat from the exhaust of a portable air conditioner is not going to be a problem.

This method will take a little bit of modification to your ceiling. Which if it’s done right, will look intentional and not add a huge eyesore to your room.

The idea is to put a vent into your ceiling and run the hose from the portable AC into the vent, instead of a window.

So finding a vent that matches the connection of the hose on your portable AC is going to be the best. Not only for what it looks like but for sealing it up.

Summing it up

Finding ideals for a windowless air conditioner can be a little bit of a challenge.

  The most obvious windowless air conditioner is going to be in the evaporative cooler.

Evaporative coolers do not need a window to exhaust any heat out of.

But they do require continuous refills of water.

And they do not work too well in  humid conditions.

  Some other ideals to get AC into a windowless room;

1.Put a window air conditioner through the wall,

2.Use PTAC air conditioning ( hotel air conditioners)

3.Have another HVAC zone installed.

And if you like to think outside of the box,

4.You can split an existing HVAC zone,

Or exhaust a portable air conditioner into an attic instead of through a window.

Remember, any modifications you do to  your ceiling are going to be there whether you end up using an ideal or not.

This article is in no way professional advice.

These are just things that I have seen done that will hopefully spark your own imagination, and help you get your windowless room cooled off during the summer.

Is There a Silent Window Air Conditioner?

Window air conditioners are an excellent way to cool off a room provided you do not want the room to be extra quiet.

That’s because the cycling of the air conditioner becomes a backdrop to your life anytime that the air conditioner is on. Yes it’s kind of annoying.

Is there a silent window air conditioner?

There is no such thing as a completely silent window air conditioner.

A window AC that creates zero noise is a impossibility because of the fact all the parts of a window air conditioner that make noise are located in the same “all-in-one” unit.

The running motor noise that a window AC makes is literally behind the vents where the cool air blows out of.

And there’s no way to have a refrigerated type air conditioner without having a condenser and compressor cycling on and off.

There is a reason that anytime you do a search on Google or a silent air conditioner you find yourself on a search result page of top quietest air conditioners.

A window AC is a all-in-one unit.

And when I say “all in one”, I mean all the components that make an air conditioner work, including the compressor and the fan.

And although there are other noises that a window air conditioner make from time to time, the compressor and the fan are the main running sound that you hear when you operate a window AC.

  Window air conditioners use the same type of technology that a central heat and air unit (HVAC) uses.

But the reason that a central heat and air unit seems to cool the air very quietly inside of a house is because the compressor is located outside of the house.

The distance between the part that blows the cool air in the house and the outdoor compressor is far enough from each other that you do not hear the compressor noise.

But if you a window that is next to the outdoor HVAC compressor running then you know very well that they are far from silent.

In fact, they can be very loud. Loud enough that there are people who build sound barriers around them to keep the noise down.

What is the Quietest Window AC?

The type of window AC that is the quietest is the inverter u-shaped style.

It is because a u-shaped window air conditioners like the Soleusair allow for the window to come through the center of the air conditioner, which makes the actual window a barrier between the blower section of the air conditioner and the noise and compressor in the back of the AC.

The noise level of the Soleusair comes in at only 38 decibels. That’s about the same as running a very quiet refrigerator.

Other window ACs like the Haier Serenity achieve a very quiet result by ensuring that each component inside of the unit is insulated.

Haier Serenity achieves about 42 decibels. Very close to the inverter u-shaped window ACs.

Summary

Is there a silent window air conditioner?

Window air conditioners are a convenient way to get refrigerated air cooling your room. They are all in one solution that work well because they are able to exhaust the heat that they generate directly outside the house.

But being that they are a complete packaged unit including all the components that actually create the cool air including a noisy compressor, it is impossible to have a window air conditioner that creates zero noise and is completely silent.

But that doesn’t mean there are some very quiet window air conditioners on the market.

   If it is very important that you have zero noise, other solutions like a mini split air conditioner, that split the location of the air conditioner and the compressor so that the noisy compressor is located outside.

Still not a completely silent option, but nearly.

 

Can a Window AC be Used Inside?

Just recently A friend of mine told me that he had a window air conditioner sitting in the garage but he didn’t have a window that it would fit in.

Him and his wife decided that they would just bring it in the house and sit it on the table. Unfortunately that didn’t work out too well for them. Let me explain why.

Can a window air conditioner be used inside?

Exhaust


A window AC is not meant to be used inside of a house.

  Just placing a window air conditioner on a table and turning it on will not give you the intended result of cooling off your room.

The reason you can’t use a Window AC inside is that window air conditioners exhaust heat from the rear of the unit.

If you have ever walked behind a window air conditioner while it is running, you probably noticed that the air was hot directly behind it.

It is the same thing if you have walked by a large compressor sitting next to somebody’s house while it is operating.
The air coming off of the compressor is hot.

Just sitting a window AC on top of a table and turning it on will cool the air from the front and heat the air from the back which will essentially cancel out each other.

The entire reason a window air conditioner is meant to sit into a window is the fact that it needs a place to exhaust the heat.

can the window AC be used insideCondensation

Another reason why you can’t simply place a window air conditioner inside besides the heat exhausting from the rear is the condensation that drips out oh the bottom of the unit.

  Window air conditioners pull the hot air out of your room and drag it across refrigerated coils that condense the air and remove the humidity.

The humidity exits the air conditioner as liquid out of a drainage hole on the bottom of the air conditioner.

If you run a window air conditioner inside of a room, it will exhaust heat out of the back and drip water onto your table or surface that you put it.

Portable Air Conditioner

A portable air conditioner runs on the same type of technology but it has the added advantage of being able to move around the room a little more freely then a window air conditioner.

But even a portable refrigerated air conditioners have to have a hose running to a window to exhaust the heat out of the room.

Evaporative Air Coolers

The only type of air coolers that do not require any type of way to exhaust the heat coming over the air conditioner is evaporative air coolers.

   Evaporative air coolers use water to cool off a room. Very much like the way the wind blowing over a body of water like a pool or lake cools the air.

But even though they do not require a way to exhaust the heat, they are maintenance heavy machines because they require water to be refilled frequently.

They also must be cleaned frequently to avoid mold and bacteria that can easily grow inside of them if the water is allowed to be standing for too long.

Summary

Can a window air conditioner be used inside?

A window air conditioner will not cool a room by bringing it inside and sitting it on a table or other surface.

It is because a window AC exhaust heat out of the rear and cold air from the vents.

Without a way to exhaust the heat through a window, the heat will cancel out the cool air.

Window air conditioners also dehumidify as they run. Which means that they pull the water out of the air as a means of cooling the air.

When the humidity is pulled out, it becomes liquid that needs a place to drain to.

Which in normal situations is outside because the window AC is sitting in a window.

But bringing a window air conditioner inside means the condensation will be dripping inside of the house or room.

Why Does a Window AC Have to Be in the Window?

Why does a window AC have to be in the window?

A window AC is designed to sit in a window because it needs a place to exhaust the heat that it creates and a place to drip the water that it makes as it dehumidifies.

Window air conditioners are also called through the wall air conditioners sometimes too.

With a through the wall air conditioner, the concept is the same.

The air conditioner sits inside of a wall with the face of the air conditioner inside of the room that you want to cool and the rear of the air conditioner sitting on the outside of the house.

Window air conditioners are a type of miniature HVAC refrigerated air conditioner that are all in one box.

Other type of refrigerated air conditioning like a central heat and air unit (HVAC) for a mini split air conditioner use a separate compressor that is located outside of the house.

If you’ve ever walked by a compressor sitting on the side of someone’s house or business, you probably noticed the heat coming off of the unit.

It is because refrigerated air conditioners exhaust heat as they cool the air.

Window air conditioners are basically a convenient all in the same box type of HVAC, and just like a full size HVAC,  they create heat as they cool as well.

But since the compressor of a window AC is built into the same box, one side of the air conditioner needs a place to exhaust the heat and drip the condensation.

That’s why it is designed to sit into a window.

Portable air conditioners

A portable air conditioner is a refrigerated air conditioner that is basically the same thing as a window air conditioner but sits inside of the room instead of sitting in a window.

  But it still requires a window to exhaust the heat from.

The difference is it exhausts through a hose instead of directly out of the rear of the machine.

The condensation created in the process goes into a drainage catch that has to be emptied from time to time.

A portable air conditioner can also be exhausted into the Attic.

Since it has a hose that extends from the machine around 6 ft.

If the room you are in has an attic but no windows, there is the possibility of exhausting into the Attic. This is most likely a do-it-yourself project. Good luck finding any type of commercial conversion kit.

Portable air conditioners are also good in situations where there are odd shaped or smaller than usual windows.

  A lot of times rooms like basements will have very small windows that do not accommodate a window air conditioner, but they can accommodate the exhaust hose on a portable air conditioner.

Summary

Why does a window AC have to be in the window?

Window ACS are placed in a window for 2 reasons.

1.  They create heat that needs a place to exhaust.
2. They need a place to drip the condensation that is formed while the unit is running.

  Placing a window air conditioner through an outside wall is also a common installation process that does not require a window. But it does require cutting a hole through the wall.

Portable air conditioners work on the same premise, but they exhaust the heat through a hose which is meant to sit in a window.

A portable air conditioner can work anywhere that there is a place to run a hose that can accept heat. An attic for instance.

Why are Window Air Conditioners So Loud?

Window air conditioners are an easy solution for people who need air conditioning but do not have the luxury of Central Heat and Air (HVAC).

Easy. Maybe. Convenient. Yes they are.

But they are not quiet.

Why are window air conditioners so loud?

A window AC is a refrigerated air conditioner that contains all the components of a full sized HVAC all in one box.

Noisy AC components like the compressor and fan motor that are normally separated completely outside from the house in a full Central Heat and Air unit,

are packed into a tight package within a window air conditioner.

That means that the noise that is usually separated and contained outside is instead included with your window AC.

1.  Compressor and fan

The main reason that a window air conditioner is so loud is there is a noisy compressor directly behind the vents that the cold air comes from.

Like we talked about before, refrigerator air conditioners use a compressor and a condenser fan. Without these two components, you do not have a working air conditioner.

And since these components are located directly inside of the window air conditioner, there are very few options for getting away from the constant cycling noise that they make.

But the compressor is not the only source of noise coming from and out of a window AC.

Other reasons that window AC are so loud are:

2.  Outside noise

Even though a window AC fits between the window and the window seal easily enough, it is rare that you would ever purchase a unit that fits a window on the sides.
  That is why there are plastic inserts that come included with the AC purchase.

Those plastic ” fillers” are meant to keep the outside air from getting inside.
But they are not thick enough to do much in the way of keeping the outdoor noise from coming through.

Making your own “fillers” out of some thicker wood is an easy do it yourself project that can help cut down the noise leaking through the sides quite a bit.

 Window ACs are very heavily vented on the outside of the unit. The sides of the AC have a slotted grill to help keep the compressor cool. But they also allow noise to come directly through the air conditioner.

3. Rain and gurgling

One of the most annoying noises that a window air conditioner can make is the sound of water gurgling inside of the air conditioner.

This usually happens when the air is extra humid and the air conditioner is condensing more water than usual.

Blowing rain is also a source of water that can get into the rear of the air conditioner via the side grill vents.

It is also a good indicator that the drain hole that allows the water to drip out of the air conditioner has a blockage and is not letting the water drip as quickly as it needs.

And/or the drainage hole is clear but the air conditioner is not sitting in the window level.

  Depending on where the drain hole is on the bottom of the window AC in question, the unit may need to sit exactly level for the water to drain out correctly.

Or the unit may need to have a slight tilt to the rear for the water to move towards the rear end of the air conditioner.

The window unit should never be tilted forwards. That is just asking for the water to drain towards the front of the air conditioner which is located inside of the house.

Summary
“Why are window air conditioners so loud?”

The main reason window air conditioners are so loud is that they have all the components of a standard size central heat and air unit,

But they’re all packed into a little box that sits in your window.

Some of the parts inside of a window air conditioner like the compressor and fan that on a full size HVAC would be separated and placed outside,

Are all sitting right inside of the window air conditioner so that you can hear them running directly through the vents where the cold air comes out of.