There’s nothing better than walking into a cool, refreshing home after being outside on a hot summer day. Thankfully, homeowners have plenty of options when it comes to keeping your home cool during those sweltering summer months.
Recently, we were in a customer’s home that was cooled entirely by window AC units, and he had never had central air conditioning. This led to the discussion:
What would actually be better for his home…Window AC Units or Central Air Conditioning?
The answer to this question depends on several factors, so let’s dive into some pros and cons of window units and central air in case you’re curious what might be best for you!
Up Front Costs
The average window unit costs anywhere from $150 – $600 according to the Department of Energy. This is considerably less money up front than a central air conditioner, which can range between $5,000 – $10,000+ depending on the SEER rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) of the air conditioner. So many homeowners decide to go with window units for 2 reasons:
1) They don’t want to make a big down payment or pay entirely up front for central air conditioning or 2) Their home is small enough to adequately keep it cool with just 1 or 2 window units.
Thankfully, at BOSS, we have a solution for homeowners who want central air conditioning, but don’t want to make a big payment up front. We recently created the only program of it’s kind in Southwest Michigan: the BOSS Freedom Plan. This plan allows homeowners freedom from making that big down payment and freedom from the typical headaches of HVAC maintenance and repairs. With this plan, you can get a new central air conditioner in your home, for just a low monthly, interest-free payment, plus free maintenance, free repairs, and more for the life of the plan.
Click here for more information on the BOSS Freedom Plan.
Energy Efficiency:
If you have more than 3 rooms you need to cool, you may want to consider purchasing a central air conditioner. Here’s why: central air conditioners are more efficient when you’re running multiple window units at the same time. One window unit generally only cools the room where it’s located. However, if your home is smaller, you can probably get by with 2 window units to effectively cool the entire household .
However, if your home is bigger, especially if it’s two stories, it will require multiple window units to cool each room, causing energy bills to skyrocket, defeating the purpose of purchasing window units to save money.
Indoor Air Quality:
Besides maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home, central air conditioners also take the hot air from your home and pass it through a filter before distributing cold air through your ductwork. This improves your overall indoor air quality, eliminating dust, allergens, and other particles that would invade your household otherwise. Unfortunately, window units don’t have a filtration system to get rid of these unwanted particles, which often cause allergies. So if you or someone in your home has allergy problems, a central air conditioner will likely help with allergy flare-ups.
Also, since central air conditioners filter the air throughout your home, you’ll notice the humidity is lower, especially if you keep all the doors in your home open often so your AC can work to do its job removing moisture from inside the house.
Need Additional Help Deciding Between Window AC Units and Central Air?
Whether you just moved into a home without central air or you’re considering the pros and cons of replacing your window units with central air conditioning, it’s important to weigh what is most important to YOU and your needs for cooling your home. If you’re still not sure what may be best for your particular situation, a BOSS Comfort Advisors will be happy to come out to your home for a consultation to explore different options to meet your goals.
