Air conditioning options with window bars
I recently bought a small row-house and need to determine how to aircondition it. For a while I figured I would install ductless, but, although I have not yet gotten quotes, I hear the total cost can be close to 20K, which I can’t afford. I could buy window airconditioners, but there are bars on…
I recently bought a small row-house and need to determine how to aircondition it. For a while I figured I would install ductless, but, although I have not yet gotten quotes, I hear the total cost can be close to 20K, which I can’t afford. I could buy window airconditioners, but there are bars on the lower floor’s windows and I am wondering whether I can find something to fit. If not, perhaps I could get new bars with room for an airconditioner, but I am wondering how much changing the bars would cost. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
One other consideration is that the street is very noisy and I am thinking of trying to sound-proof or at least noise-abate the top-level bedroom. I am guessing a window airconditioner would let a lot of street noise in. Again, any thoughts on how to approach that would be appreciated. Perhaps I could keep that one in only during the summer and live with the street noise during those months.
Thanks to all who commented. Looks like modifying the bars may be the best option for me. Thanks again!
I felt the most comfortable with this site after doing online research on all the companies I was looking at. Window installation went great and am very happy with how the windows turned out.
http://classicconstructionext.com/windows
Our south-facing house is pretty cool on the first and second floors. It is insanely boiling on the top floor. I’m not sure if we’ll need AC this year or not, since it’s our first year living in the lower part.
Window units are good because you can use them in the rooms only when you are in them. A bedroom can cool down quick with a good AC in the time it takes to shower at night.
The key to window ac units is installation. I never use the plastic wings that come with the unit, I cut 3/4 plywood to size, paint and use mortite everywhere. Like keeping out the cold in the winter, you need to keep out the heat in the summer. This will also cut down the noise a bit.
Another trick is to use fans to help push the cold air across the room. The little fan on the ac often lets the cold air drop to the floor before it fills the room My jaw dropped when I applied this trick in a big room that was having trouble cooling.
I do not like the portable units at all. I did a kick ass job installing one but it creates a lot of heat which fights against the cooling that it is doing I got a shallow unit that fit to the bars, and was happy with that and my fan assist.
If the bars are too tight you can cut them for a nice steel box out, some are done very fancy
I also had the idea about boxing out a wind with wood a few inches to fit a bigger window unit, I also worried that too much would cut down the ventilation and the unit might overheat.
I have whole-house a/c w/ 2 zones in a 3-storey house. The roof unit is actually adequate for the whole house except when we’ve had excruciatingly hot & humid weather for more than 5 days &/or I have a dinner party.
Now there is an interesting thought that mopar raises:
Is AC necessary on the ground/garden floor apartments in brownstones?
This’ll be my first summer in my house, so I don’t even know if changing the security bars (to allow for AC) is necessary. I have a north-facing house with the bedroom on the garden floor facing south.
Thoughts on that?
I got a quote on window bars, it was $700 per window, and nothing fancy.
We were planning to use a portable air conditioner on our lower units this year — if ac is necessary.
On the top floor, the ac certainly does let in tons of street noise. But when it’s running, the noise of the ac covers the noise of the street. We take ours out in the winter. Would freeze if we didn’t.
for window bars, there are regular bellies and their are big sweeping bellies, and there are just basic square bumpouts. I would imagine $300 for a thin box bump out and $700 or $8088 for a grand big belly with thick bars.
Replacing the window bars with a pot belly version is easy and relatively cheap, but probably double what cmu suggests.
Reducing street noise boils down to 2 things: 1) Buy a high quality unit like Friedrich Kuhl, which not only runs quieter but dramatically reduces the amount of noise that comes in through the unit. 2)Add an additional layer to the flaps which fill in the gaps between the window frame and the unit. If you can’t do this yourself, any competent handy man should be able to handle it. If you do this right, you can get the same level of sound transmission as a thru the wall, but have the advantage of only having to look at the thing 3-4 months a year.