With the many different types and styles of air conditioning equipment that can be found in the market place today, we have attempted to give you an overview of the various systems that are available for domestic and light commercial applicationsas well as their benifits and some guidlines to consider when purchasing the equipment.

Portable air conditioners

Portable Unit

Portable air conditioners are an alternative to window or wall air conditioners, or to supplement central air conditioning. Portable air conditioners are suitable for apartment buildings that do not permit window units or for homes with windows that cannot accommodate permanently installed window AC units. Installation doesn't require any heavy lifting, and since these portable AC units are mounted on casters, you can easily move the unit from room to room. You might need some help getting it into your house, however, portable air conditioners are quite heavy weighing between 22 and 37 Kilograms, on average.

Most portable air conditioners cool and dehumidify the air in a room, but many can also be used as standard fan function. Some can be used as dehumidifiers separately from the cooling function. Still other portable air conditioners can be used to heat spaces. Even though portable air conditioners are convenient and offer more than just portable cooling, the main disadvantage is that they are more expensive and a little more noisy. Buy a portable air conditioner with as many functions as possible so that the unit can be used throughout the year.

Window wall type of air conditioning unit.

Window wall type unit

The window wall type of unit is a small package air conditioning unit, all the components in a single small package, that in most cases is installed into a window or a wall. They come in a variety of capacities (generally available in SA) from a little over 2kw to 7kw cooling capacity. many come with either electric or reverse cycle heating, reverse cycle heating is the most economical type to select for heating purposes. They are generally inexpensive, noisy and have a reletively short live span in coastal or industrial areas.

They generally have a thermostat to select or set the desired temperature, a selector switch with the options of fan only, with 2/3 fan speeds for heating / cooling function. with the advent of microelectrictronics as the cost reduction that can be achieved many of the latest window wall type units make use of electronic controls with many having an infra red remote control.

Midwall split type air conditioning unit.

Midwall Split type unit

The Midwall split unit is an airconditioning unit where the "Noisy" (New systems are exceptionally quite) compressor is situated outside the room being cooled, the evaporator or fan coil unit is situated in the room being cooled and the two are connected with a set or length of copper piping and cabling between the two units (indoor and outdoor). The units are quiet, economical, efficient, generally aesthetically pleasing and are placed out of the way on the wall and therefore do not take up valuable floor space. The newer models are controlled by infra red remote control and have 3/4 fan speeds, cooling (and heating if required) offering fan only mode, cooling, (heating) and a dehumidification function as well as timers to time on / off modes.

The air conditioner units come in capacities ranging from 2kw - 9.3kw. As the condensate water is managed far more effectively, the unit generally has a longer life than that of the window units

Cassette type split unit.

Cassette split unit

The Cassette split type unit is an air conditioning unit where the "Noisy" compressor is situated outside the room being cooled (New systems are exceptionally quite), the evaporator or fan coil of the air condioner is situated in the room being cooled and the two are connected with a set or length of copper piping and cabling between the two units (indoor and outdoor). The units are quiet, economical, efficient, generally aesthetically pleasing and are placed out of the way in the ceiling voids in rooms and offices and therefore do not take up valuable floor space, being able to situate the system near the centre of the rrom allows for better and more even cooling throughout the room. The newer models are controlled by infra red remote control and have 3/4 fan speeds, cooling (and heating if required) offering fan only mode, cooling, (heating) and a dehumidification function as well as timers to time on / off modes, the cassette units offer larger cooling / heating capacities ranging from 3.5Kw - 17.5Kw

As the condensate water is managed far more effectively, the unit has a longer life than that of the window units

The history and use of airconditioning | Heat Pumps