How to put in air conditioner in front non-corner bedroom?

amother

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 9:48 pm

One of dc bedrooms is in the front of our semi attached house, not corner of the house- it's sandwiched between the neighbors house and living room. There is no air conditioner in the room. How can we put in an air conditioner, without it looking ugly, without seeing anything on the outside of the house. A regular air conditioner won't work and a split unit has to have a duct outside too and the compressor somewhere outside. A portable air conditioner also needs a large hole in the wall? Is there anything we're not thinking of. Is there a way to put a split unit without having a duct go all the way through the living room?

amother

Fuchsia

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 9:57 pm

There are portables that are just a hose to the window. The under window ones aren't super ugly. Especially if you then plant something pretty in front of it.

amother

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 10:00 pm

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

There are portables that are just a hose to the window. The under window ones aren't super ugly. Especially if you then plant something pretty in front of it.

How do you cover the hole in the winter for portable? Which under window ones are you talking about? This a second floor bedroom so we can't plant in front.

zaq

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 10:26 pm

Portable a/c doesn’t require a hole in the wall. The flexible duct fits into a frame that adjusts to the width of the window, and you pull the window down to meet the top of the frame. The main unit sits on the floor like a big office paper shredder.

For security reasons, I would not leave the duct in the window when nobody’s home. Unlike a heavy a/c, the duct Is light and can easily be kicked in.

Frankly, I don’t think window a/c’s materially affect the looks of a house. I would go for a regular a/c, not a portable. Portables take up a lot of floor space and are underfoot all the time.

amother

Amber

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 10:41 pm

I live in an old city where many many people (myself included) own homes with window units. I will grant you that a unit in the front of the house, while common, isn't the most attractive. A compromise if you live in a 4 seasonsclimate is just to have it in for June, July and August--the heavily used months. If there is 1 or 2 hot days in May or September, maybe he can bunk in a sibling's room for the night if it is still unbearable with a fan. It is a pain taking the unit in and out, but at least then the other 9 months of the year the house will look as it always has.

amother

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 10:51 pm

The windows are the type you open with a handle that you turn and the windows open from their side not up or down, so we can't put an air conditioner or portable in the window. In the wall probably yes but we would have to break the wall. Unless there is a way to put the portable through this type of window? a split unit would be good because you can't see it from outside but then the duct, I don't know how that would work.

amother

Fuchsia

Mon, Sep 28 2020, 11:08 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How do you cover the hole in the winter for portable? Which under window ones are you talking about? This a second floor bedroom so we can't plant in front.

It's a small hose. We pull it inside for the winter.

The non window room ACs- not sure what they're called.

amother

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 10:58 am

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

It's a small hose. We pull it inside for the winter.

The non window room ACs- not sure what they're called.

What does pulling in the hose mean? Isn't the hose always attached on the inside to the portable a/c and to the outside hole? Did you mean you pull in the hose, disconnect the portable a/c from the hole, but then what do you do with the end of the hose inside which is open?

BetsyTacy

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 1:41 pm

Do you mean a casement window? If so, there are window units designed for casement windows. Of course they are more expensive than a standard window unit.

amother

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 8:21 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Do you mean a casement window? If so, there are window units designed for casement windows. Of course they are more expensive than a standard window unit.

yes. I didn't know they had air conditioners for those types of windows. Where does it go?

BetsyTacy

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 8:44 pm

If you google "casement window air conditioners" you can see they are shaped to fit the window.
I don't know more about it, but an appliance store that sells them should have more information, not to mention the manufacturer. They sell them at big box stores like Home Depot as well, but I am not sure how much information you will get there.