How to install a Window Air Conditioner in a Brownstone with Security Bars?
Okay, so I am moving into a ground level unit of a Brownstone/Townhome in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The unit has security bars on all windows, which is great. These security bars are straight and flat. I.E. they are not the kind that have a bump out to accomodate an air conditioning unit. Thus causing my delima….
Okay, so I am moving into a ground level unit of a Brownstone/Townhome in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The unit has security bars on all windows, which is great. These security bars are straight and flat. I.E. they are not the kind that have a bump out to accomodate an air conditioning unit. Thus causing my delima. How do I install a traditional window air conditioning unit into the window? The space between the bars and the window is very minimal…definitly not enought to fit the window unit I currenlty own. Are there very narrow window AC units made for this purpose? Or is there a way to install a standard AC unit in such a way that the majority of the bulk of the unit would lie on the interior side of the window? I have heard about portable air conditioner units which do not sit in your window, but I have heard they are much less effective at cooling than a Window unit. Plus they are SUPER expensive by comparison. Any help or suggestions are much needed and sincerely appreciated!
Thank you everyone for all your advice and suggestions. I am moving in this weekend…so hopefully I can put your tips to good use when I go to search for an AC unit. Unfortunatly, it means I’ll be moving in during this weekend heat wave and having to sleep with no AC. :*(
For all those who live in the area near the Halsey JMZ, we should get together and have a BBQ or something! 🙂
honeybun, get outta there and move to a decent building in the suburbs.
they are gonna eat your ass cupcake.
Has anyone noticed how the more we use air conditioning, the hotter it gets?
If your landlord put a clause in the lease barring AC’s and you agreed to it, it is legal. Window bars are another issue though.
We found a Carrier unit that has a very shallow front end and fits inside the space between the bars and the window. Not sure if they are still making residential units but check out their website.
3:57 here >
3:40 is asking if utilities are included in your rent because obviously the LL would NOT want you running an AC unit at his/her expense. Although I paid my own utes, my LL absolutely forbade AC units in her building without explanation. (my guess is crappy old wiring) She went to the expense of putting bars on EVERY window on the building even the upper floors to prevent them. Question > is it even legal for landlords to refuse AC units in the windows if the tenant pays utilities?
I have the same situation (including the cheap-o LL). But you’d think in this day and city there would be more and better options for this situation.
Basically, I took the cue from one or two of my neighbors and bought a standard window unit which I set on a shelf just inside the window and fashioned wood to close off and vent the sides and top out.
More specifically, I had a wood shipping crate I’d found on the street. I removed the top and bottom. I put it in the window, turned so the top became the front/outside and bottom became the back/inside, used wood to close off the remaining window width, and then installed the A/C at the back/inside of the box (using the accordion sleeves to secure the 2-3 inch gap between the unit and the box for venting.)
I got lucky that I had the wood crate and only had to adapt it, but I also considered calling a handyman/carpenter to throw a quick box together with the right measurements.
Another option I considered was to buy a through-the-wall air conditioner with the cover (as mentioned in other posts) which would basically do the same thing (as through-the-wall a/c’s are “back-breather’s”). Unfortunately, those units tended to be more cost-prohibitive and harder to find with the right voltage. My A/C cost $325. The one t-t-w unit with cover that fit my needs was going to come to $950.
I also looked into the ductless unit, but those also tend to be high-voltage and usually require permenant installation. And are similarly expensive.
The windowless A/Cs are shockingly clumsy, expensive, ugly, and archaic. Again, in this day and city, you’d think…
Jimmy legs I just meant that the LL should have installed one set of bars that would accomodate an ac.
We have the same situation, but it turns out there is 6″ clearance between the sash and the bars, which was exactly what we needed. PC Richards had two or three models that fit within 6″. They were all small units–about 5200 btus–but adequate for our room.
Take a tape measure when you go shopping. The units on display probably wont have the accordion frames installed (which would help with the measuring), but you can estimate what the exterior depth will be by measuring from the holes in the AC sleeve where the accordion attaches.