Forum
« HELP! KITCHEN RENO Can anyone recommend a good housecleaner? »
June 5, 2008
A/C Compressor in basement
Is it possible to place my A/C compressor in the basement of the brownstone instead of in the back yard?
Comments
Yes, but keep in mind the heat that is extracted from the areas served by the AC unit will be expelled by the compressor right back to within the envelope of the building.
It's not a green thing to do at all.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at June 5, 2008 9:32 AM
Yes. If you are willing to accept the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 9:48 AM
No, its a stupid thing to do. It would be the equivalent of placing your window A/C completely in the room. The reason it is outside is so the heat exchanger can remove hot air to the outside while bringing the cold air in. Placing it inside results in a 0 change in temperature as the hot air is replacing cold air and visa versa.
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 10:06 AM
No, unless you have a gas a/c (they do exist) where does the carbon monoxide come from?
In theory, the basement can provide a heat sink for a while so it's not the same as placing your window a/c in the room. We had a 9kbtu portable venting though a basement door and that was ok (for a while.) But eventually the basement will heat up enough that it will bleed heat to the upper floor, and the efficiency of the a/c will also drop drastically. Also builds up humidity in the basement.
Maybe if you only ran it a few hours/day and/or vented the basement with a large fan? ;)
Posted by: cmu at June 5, 2008 11:06 AM
You could ventilate the basement or create a small, vented mechanical room for it, but it's still a crappy thing to do.
Carbon monoxide would not be an issue.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at June 5, 2008 11:40 AM
Most basements benefit from ventilation. It removes moisture which is the real problem. It would work to accomplish the heat buildup if you really need to put that thing in the basement.
Use a radon fan. Its a round shaped in-line fan that is made to be attached to PVC pipe as the vent.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 5, 2008 11:58 AM
Do people ever put them on the roofs of brownstones or is that too heavy?
(I'm not the OP, I'm just curious! And thought I'd ask everyone who is posting here)
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 1:17 PM
Our A/C units are on the roof.
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 1:43 PM
You can mount the compressor on the roof but fire code requires that the unit be suspended, not sitting on the roof itself. That usually means running steel I-beams between the parapet walls, which are shared walls, which means you'll need to get your neighbors to sign off on it.
Posted by: Steve at June 5, 2008 1:52 PM
Ever been in the basement of a bodega? It's like the surface of the sun down there. They stick all their compressors for the coolers down in the basement. Before water meters they would use cold water to cool them. The water would run 24/7 through the compressor and then down the drain. A huge waste of water.
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 4:23 PM
Steve is correct. I'm doing this right now with two compressors (one for each of two floors) and it's costing me 5 grand. I don't have shared walls. But I'll have gained the space in the yard and kept the sound out.
Posted by: denton at June 5, 2008 4:59 PM
Steve, the building we are buying has it in the backyard. We do have a short roof on top of the extention which doesn't hit any neighbor's property. Could we put it on that shorter roof without signoff? Does it need DOB sign off and/or permit to do?
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 5:15 PM
Not all roof top a/c units need their own separate steel support framing (which is called dunnage, btw). We have two "package" units on the roof of our rowhouse. We were dubious about not needing dunnage too, but after triple-checking with architect, structural engineer, mechanical engineer, expediter, ac contractor, and the city, everything went through. Building inspector came, saw, and approved, and the units have their own DoB permits to show for it. This was all wrapped up last year. It may have to do with weight/size of units. Each one cools half the house (ca. 1500 sq feet each).
Posted by: rfr at June 6, 2008 12:13 AM
Can you sit those things on a parlor floor deck? Are they just too loud/hot to live with them there?
Posted by: guest at June 6, 2008 11:32 AM
Last year, we installed a split unit air conditioner to cool our parlor floor. The compressor sits on the side of the garden apartment's terrace. It's very, very quiet with no noticeable breeze. Our tenant has never complained and entertains on the terrace. And the unit cools our 1000 square feet easily. Best investment I ever made.
Posted by: walester at June 7, 2008 12:17 PM
rfr -- if you didn't build a steel platform -- then what are the units sitting on? I'm in the process of trying to site our 3 units (200 lbs each) and the dunnage prices (and rigging to get it onto the roof) are exhorbitant. Any more specific suggestions for options for a roof platform would be greatly appreciate.
Posted by: guest at July 28, 2008 11:12 AM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.