air conditioner needed below grade?
we are making an offer on an apartment where the lower level is a below grade rec room (probably about 80% below grade.) it has one small window. there are air conditioning units in each of the rooms upstairs, but not in the rec room. can someone who has experience living with a below grade…
we are making an offer on an apartment where the lower level is a below grade rec room (probably about 80% below grade.) it has one small window. there are air conditioning units in each of the rooms upstairs, but not in the rec room. can someone who has experience living with a below grade space comment on whether or not it will stay cool during new york’s horrible hot summers? since the rec room will double as a guest room for our far away families, i want to be sure they will be comfortable during the summer. thanks!
The AC fitting in the below grade is a tough job, can anyone suggest me how i can have it. Now a days i am not having enough time and i want to
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I use a mini split on my lower level. My dehumidifier kept the air quality comfortable but it added heat. Yes it was a dry heat. I have the same opinion on the portable air conditioners.
You see split systems all around, most likely in stores. There is a suitcase size unit hung outside on the wall and a plastic case on the inside wall. All connected with wires and copper tube. They cost a lot less to run then window units and you can use your window as a window. Really worth the initial investment.
At the same time you ac your lower unit, you can run up to four indoor units and trick out your upper level. It will be like having central, and again you get your windows back. The outdoor and indoor units are whisper quiet. There is electric and copper lines that need to be run which means opening up walls, and repairing and painting. Not a big deal, just distruptive.
thanks for your comments. what is a mini-split unit? how will running that compare cost-wise with running a portable?
we did this last year- we bought a portable ac unit- it worked well- but even with that we ended up adding a dehumidifier- thankfully we got one that had a drain tube option. I couldn’t believe how moist it was. I think we used the dehumidifier more than the AC. I do wish we had bought a combination unit.
You might want to consider a mini-split ac unit that has a heat pump on it.. You will have to find a way to drain the condensate since it needs to point down.
A friend of ours has a similar place and he uses a portable air conditioner with a dehumidifier.
The model he has is a Royal Sovereign ARP1000ES and it cost almost $500 at Sears last year.
I think bod said it: humidity. I am not so sure it will stay as cool as one might like. I had a customer who once had me install a rather large a/c on the first floor with the assumption that it would cool the basement as well. It didn’t and he called me back and had me put an even larger unit in on the first floor.
Steve
yes it will stay cool, however you will likely have issues with humidity. Be prepared to invest in and run a dehumidifer during the warmer months. And just like AC, they can be major electricity hogs.