Floor Standing AC Units vs. Window AC Units: Choosing the Right Cooling System

If you are looking for a new air conditioning system for your room or common living space, then you can go with a floor-standing or window AC unit. These units are economical and low-maintenance, unlike central cooling systems that involve complicated ductwork and the installation of various air handlers.

Some people find it hard to choose between a portable and a window AC unit since both these systems have their own merits and limitations. If you are among these people, then you will find this information extremely helpful.

In this article, we are going to give you a brief comparison between these two AC systems so that you are able to make a better decision.

What are Floor Standing AC Units?

Floor AC units can be set anywhere in your room. The AC unit stays entirely inside your room and you need a power source to plug it in. These air conditioners come with a window kit and a hose.

The job of the window kit is to seal off your window and leave a small opening where you insert the hose. Floor-standing units take air from your house, cool it, and then circulate it in the room giving you a pleasant indoor experience.

Some units use two hoses; one for pulling fresh air from outside and the other for venting the moisture and warm air. These units can be easily moved to any room you want thus eliminating the need to install multiple expensive AC units in your house.

What are Window AC Units?

These AC units fit on your open window where they pull hot air, cool it, and then circulate it inside your space. These ACs eliminate warm air and humidity from your room which reduces the temperature while giving you a consistent performance.

Window AC units are installed after carefully considering the size of your window. These units are heavier and you need to be extra careful during installation. Unlike floor-standing units, these AC systems do not have separate indoor and outdoor units.

A window AC unit is placed so that most of its body is outside the room and only its face is inside which makes installation a bit trickier.

Window AC Units VS. Portable AC Units

Pricing

You can find both floor-standing and window AC units in a variety of shapes and sizes each having a different price. The factors that affect the prices of these units include BTU ratings, brand, the square footage they can cover, etc.

Installation

These AC units are easy to install. There is a portable indoor unit that you can place anywhere you want. The outdoor unit can either be placed on the wall or on the exterior floor.

The window AC units are heavier which makes them difficult to handle during the installation. These units hang out of your window which means if anything happens to the external system it can abruptly stop working. Some window AC unit can weigh as much as 50 pounds which mean you will need to be extra careful while moving these around during installation.

Portability

Window AC units do not offer portability. If your window is located too high or too low, it can affect the performance of these AC units and there is nothing you can do to prevent that.

As these AC units weigh more, you can easily move these from one room to another. This makes them a bad choice for a large house with multiple rooms that need cooling.

On the other hand, floor-standing units are easily portable. They do not weigh much and their installation is also pretty straightforward. The portability of these AC units makes these an ideal choice for houses with more family members that need cooling in different rooms at different times.

Noise

In terms of noise, window air conditioners are a much better choice than floor-standing AC units. A large part of window AC units hangs outside your room which directs most of the noise outside. 

The portable AC units are placed inside the room which means the noise they produce has no way out. Always make sure to consider the decibel rating of the AC unit you are going to buy.

The lower the decibel rating, the quieter will be the operation of your AC. If noise is a big concern for you, then you can choose an AC that has a lower decibel rating. Such ACs usually cost more but they are worth it when you consider their noise-cancelling performance.

Space Requirements

If you are looking to save some space inside your room, then window AC units are the way to go. Though floor-standing units offer more portability and ease of installation, they can take up more space. These AC units have separate indoor and outdoor systems which means you will have to arrange for a proper space for both these components. 

The low spACe requirement of window AC units makes them the best option for small houses and studio apartments that do not have a lot of floor space.

Final Thoughts

The choice of a floor standing vs widow AC can be very difficult. The type of AC you need depends on the size of your room, the availability and positioning of windows, and the number of rooms you need the AC for.

Usually, window AC conditioners are preferred by people who live alone in a small space such as a studio apartment. If, however, you live in a big house and you need to have cooling in different rooms at different times, you definitely need a portable floor-standing unit.

Visit York to explore our wide array of Floor standing and Window AC units for residential and commercial spaces.