Casement Window Air Conditioner Find the Best Casement Window Air Conditioner for your room

Choosing a window air conditioner

Casement window air conditioners are generally good at cooling one room, but more that one room, or even large rooms can present problems.


Here are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing what casement window air conditioner unit to purchase:

The size of your casement window.

Make sure that the unit is the right size for the window you plan to mount it in. Be sure to pick a casement window air conditioner that will fit your window. Usually casement window air conditioners come with installation kits to fit certain common window sizes – just because the unit will fit in a window does not mean that the installation kit will fit. Also, make sure you have enough help in installing the unit (most are very heavy).

The energy efficiency and energy requirements.

Look for high efficiency units. Efficiency is measured by the EER (energy efficiency rating). All new units sold in the US must clearly display the EER. You should be mindful of the EER of the casement air conditioner that you choose. A higher EER is better, and a higher EER air conditioner often costs less in the long run than a less efficient unit.  As far as electrical requirements, most casement window air conditioners do have robust energy needs, and even if the unit you are purchasing does not require a 220 Volt outlet, you might want to make sure that it can have a dedicated circuit (otherwise, if you run other high amperage appliances on the same circuit, you might trip a breaker). Of course, you should at least make sure you have the appropriate electrical connection (120 Volt or 220/240 Volt) before purchasing the air conditioner.

Your BTU requirements.

The ability of a unit to cool an area is measured in BTU/hour. The higher the BTU, the more cooling power the unit has. This is probably the most important consideration. You want to get a unit with a capacity as closely matched to your needs as possible. A unit that is not powerful enough will run constantly and will never properly cool the room. A unit that is too powerful will “short cycle”- it will cycle on and off over and over again, only remaining on for short periods of time. Short cycling is bad for the compressor- it could substantially shorten the life of the air conditioner, and the air conditioner will not dehumidify appropriately- so while the air in your room might be a comfortable temperature, there could be an uncomfortable level of humidity. The ideally sized unit will run at its maximum capacity on the few hottest days of the year and run somewhat under capacity at other times. Make sure you have a rough estimate of the sizes of the rooms you want to cool before you start shopping.