Central AC today is as common as …well, air itself! However, you would be surprised to know that up until the 1950s, the concept did not exist! In fact, most houses had no air conditioning – and the few that did were window units whose effectiveness was confined to a single room. The 1960s, however, saw a huge change in this regard, courtesy the entry of central AC in the market. As they turned out to be more efficient and affordable than their window unit counterparts, they gained immense popularity and within a decade, ended up becoming a standard part of the American home.
Window units never did enjoy such popularity – and it is not hard to understand why. These were cumbersome at best and expensive at worst – a single window unit could keep only one room cool – so if someone wanted to cool down their home, they would have to get one each for every room, which is highly inconvenient. On the flip side, central air conditioning is a single unit that effectively cools down the entire house, which is less money spent on purchase, installation, and of course, energy bills.
That’s not all though – central air conditioners do have some added benefits. For starters, they make much less noise compared to window units. The latter tend to make more noise as they need to be installed near an outside-facing wall to vent out hot air outdoors. And these often end up being living rooms and bedrooms – the few places where people expect quietness. Central Air Conditioning, on the other hand, does not come with such requirements, and can be installed outside the home, which creates much less noise.
Last but not the least, central AC can control temperature and humidity levels much more efficiently. This is due to the way they are built – a central AC has a built-in dehumidifier, which prevents the air from becoming too dry and even gives the user the ability to control the level of humidity. Window units, however, do not offer such options as they work by cooling the air with a cold metal coil, which offers little to no controllability.
While central AC is common these days, window unit are still in use in some places. If you are among these few, you should consider switching to the former! Here are three key reasons why:
- You can cool down all of rooms in your house at the cost of a single unit
- You will save more on installation, service and energy bills
- You will have more peace and quiet, while also being able to control the humidity and temperature levels
Are you still window units for your home? Perhaps it is time for you to make an upgrade! All Things HVAC can help you make the switch to central AC today.