Air conditioning unit placement--please help!!!

12 years ago

We are building a large historic-style home and are having a tough time deciding where to put one of the air conditioning units (we need two). this unit will handle the second floor's air conditioning and our options for its placement are in the front of the house (which i strongly do not want) or in the back next to the patio. We have family and friends whose units are next to their patio and it can be really noisy and annoying. Our land is incredibly peaceful and we don't envision hearing our unit while relaxing on the patio. But, the thought of this in the front of our pretty house is rather irritating, too. The only other option is the other side of the house, but the HVAC man says the distance the cold air will have to travel will render it less than optimal (over 80 ft. i guess) compared to the short distance of piping if it's in front of or in back of the house. any advice would be very helpful, thank you!

Also, I posted this on the HVAC board, too. thanks.

Featured Answer

crazy_in_mason

12 years ago

Don't do it near the patio. The noise is horrible. Make them do a longer run. My geothermal run for my second floor in my house is close to 90 feet. There should not be much difference for air conditioner.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

david_cary
12 years ago
Best bet is HVAC forum. But the cold air comment is just plain wrong.
threeapples
Original Author
12 years ago
thanks, David. i posted on the HVAC forum, but was hoping to get a comment here since we need to decide by tomorrow and we were just made aware of the issue today.
Related Discussions
Strange puzzle with heating/air conditioning unit
Q
Comments (8)
Maybe it is this? http://www.hvacpartstore.com/product_details.php?products_id=14 Or perhaps this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260419514629 This is an interesting article/response to a somewhat similar problem. Though for the life of me I can find no little white button to temporarily save the day: >>>> http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/heating-air-conditioning/hvac-split-unit-heat-works-fine-c-compressor-fan-off-364882.html Old Jun 14, 2009, 12:01 PM #2 Joshdta Ultra Member Joshdta is offline Joshdta's Avatar Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: West Virginia Posts: 1,802 Joshdta See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page. Send a message via AIM to Joshdta sounds like your fan center relay has went bad. pull the little white botton on the fan limit intill you get one and you should have ac the rest of the weekend. >>>>
...See More
Air conditioning unit not working
Q
Comments (1)
Check the circuit breakers or fuses that supply power to the units. There may be breakers in your electrical panel and also fuses in a disconnect switch that is near the furnace. Do you have a digital thermostat and is the display working? Open the front cover of the furnace and look for any obvious problem or any reset buttons. Also check the disconnect box outside the house near the outdoor section of the A/C system. What kind of system do you have Heat pump,Gas furnace with A/C or Oil?
...See More
Masking a hole in a brick wall where air conditioning unit was?
Q
Comments (32)
Well, I went ahead with hiring a pro to re-brick where the hole was. I was able to find the same style brick but they had to special order it. Cost me about $50 for the bricks and $200 to have them installed. Unfortunately the bricklayer said he couldn't properly patch in the bricks near the window as he said it could cause the bricks above the hole to fail (some joints had already cracked above the hole), so he left it a straight shot there. He did patch them in on the right where he had to cut out some bricks. i think he did a pretty decent job. The mortar seems to be lightening since it was done last week. I thought it seemed too dark then but i guess it was still drying. Once I get the caulking off the bricks where the air conditioner was it will look better. I'll probaby also rub some dirt into the new bricks then hose them off to see if i can make them look a little dirtier like the old bricks. Here are a couple pix of the finished job... I'd considered trying to patch in the 4 bricks near the window to eliminate the straight line, but i'm not so sure anyone will even notice it. I could also try adding mortar there to bring the joints to the level of the bricks then painting it to look like the bricks I suppose. Just enough to make that line less obvious maybe. I don't know. For now I'll just leave it alone. Planning on trying to use a heat gun and wire brush to clean the caulking off.
...See More
No central air possible? Xpost w/ heating & air conditioning
Q
Comments (5)
I know nothing about why your home is not set up for central air. I can speak knowledgeably about split a/c units. We installed them when we lived in Thailand. They are remarkable, in that they usually feature a dehumidify setting, to get the moisture out without making it too cold, as well as a cooling setting. If they worked at 17 degrees from the equator during monsoon season and hot dry season they ought to work well in Washington state. We went with small units in each bedroom, so that we were only cooling the area we were in, and one larger 20kbtu unit for the entire downstairs.
...See More
lyfia
12 years ago
It's just the compressor right that they are putting out there? Where is the internal unit?
brickeyee
12 years ago
Unless you are using a 'packaged' unit and not a 'split system' with a separate evaporator coil in the furnace plenum and a compressor with condenser outside the distance is made up with copper tubing and extra refrigerant.

If it gets very long it can affect unit performance, especially if the lines are not sized up for the distance correctly (longer distances need larger lines and more refrigerant).

80 feet should be possible with a little adjustment of the line set.
athensmomof3
12 years ago
We have 4 units. 3 would go beside the house. The 4th had to go fairly close to our downstairs patio (walkout basement). I would say within 20 feet. There was simply no other choice. The distance was too far for that unit. It is only one unit, though, so how loud can it be ;)? White noise, right??

I am concerned about hearing it on the screened in porch (20 feet over and a story up), but we really had no choice. I definitely would not do it in front of your house, but double check the distance run issue. I know we had the same one but I think it was longer than 80 feet (we have a very long but not deep house).
suzyqtexas
12 years ago
You are right to be concerned. Also if you are doing a septic system, be sure the aerator motor is far from windows and the patio also.
threeapples
Original Author
12 years ago
We were able to put the unit in the attic and the air conditioning fan unit on the side of the house with the other one. We just need to get the hvac on board. we're doing a perimeter line in the attic instead of a trunk line down the middle and this now allows (hopefully) the air conditioning units to not have to be in the front of the house or next to the back patio. thanks everyone for your help.
User
12 years ago
The cold air comment suggests you need to describe the system.
User
12 years ago
We had a similar decision. I placed it in the front of the house and landscaped around it. I wouldn't want it in the back if I were planning on spending time outside.

Here is a pic...the unit isn't very visible. It is on the left side by the secondary entry behind the tree/shrubs. I wouldn't want it near the front door however.
From dba_pics
buckheadhillbilly
12 years ago
I hesitate to make this comment, since it sounds like you are too far along, but perhaps it will help someone else. This problem is one of the reasons that we decided to do a geothermal system.

I know of a historic style house (a Deerfield house to be exact) that was built in the 80's with a geothermal system. When the well went dry during a drought (it was an open loop system), the homeowners put in AC condensers. It totally ruined the look of the house. There was no good place to put it and it was noisy. Their experience made me think about the placement of units and ultimately decide against them.

My story does have a happy ending. Incorporating geothermal into my new build inspired the owners of the Deerfield house to redo their geothermal system and the ugly units are gone! They are back to beauty on all sides and no racket.
brickeyee
12 years ago
"This problem is one of the reasons that we decided to do a geothermal system. "

While there is not a condenser coil outside, there is still a compressor (and some have small cooling fans) and they can also make noise when running.
Gene Dryden
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
do not talk to this guy about air conditioner placement
millworkman
2 years ago
"do not talk to this guy about air conditioner placement"

I doubt anyone is since it is a 9 year old post.............

Air conditioning unit placement--please help!!!

crazy_in_mason

Comments (14)

david_cary

threeapples
Original Author

Related Discussions

lyfia

brickeyee

athensmomof3

suzyqtexas

threeapples
Original Author

User

User

buckheadhillbilly

brickeyee

Gene Dryden

millworkman

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Air conditioning unit placement--please help!!!

Comments (14)

threeapplesOriginal Author

Related Discussions

threeapplesOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

threeapples
Original Author

threeapples
Original Author