Stationary household wall-mounted models are considered the most popular air conditioners, since they are most often installed in apartments, private houses and small offices. They are:
- have a varied and convenient functionality;
- perfectly cool, heat, ventilate and dry the air;
- cost relatively little;
- have a wide range of capacities, designed specifically for rooms up to 35-40 m².
Although some manufacturers have wall-mounted home air conditioners with a capacity that can cool up to 100 m², that is, 10 kW. You should immediately decide on the types of wall installations and their internal structure.
Types of wall-mounted air conditioners
It is generally accepted that such devices are one of the types of split systems, which is a two-component installation. The structure includes two blocks: outdoor and indoor. The first is located on the outer wall of the building outside the window or attached to the balcony if it is not possible to install it on the facade. The second (room) module is mounted on a mounting plate on the wall in the room, taking into account the placement rules regarding the characteristics of a particular living area.
The modules of the household wall-mounted air conditioner are interconnected by electrical communications and a freon line (pipeline) through which the refrigerant circulates - a fluorine-containing hydrocarbon compound, which changes its state during the vapor compression refrigeration cycle.
Progress does not stand still, so some manufacturers turned their attention to the release of non-standard split systems, namely, systems with a vertical wall unit, such as that of inverter air conditioners CARRIER... Such a device is mounted in the corner of the room. The distribution of cooled or heated air goes along the walls, which excludes the formation of zones with different temperatures.
But at the moment, many buildings are subject to the existing ban on damage to the external appearance of an architectural structure, therefore, the outdoor unit is either hidden on the other side of the building, or they acquire a wall-mounted air conditioner without an external unit, that is, a monoblock unit in which all components are located in one housing.
Wall-mounted air conditioner device
As already mentioned, a split system and a monoblock air conditioning system are different in their design. What a two-component wall-mounted air conditioner consists of can be clearly seen in the picture:
- external protective panel.
- filter.
- deodorizing filter.
- fan.
- evaporator (heat exchanger).
- horizontal blinds.
- display.
- vertical blinds.
The panel can be easily removed when it is necessary to clean the filters or repair.
The first filter is usually responsible for coarse cleaning. It retains large particles of dust, dirt, wool, pollen.
A deodorizing filter (usually carbon or electrostatic) removes odors and small particles of dust particles. Not all household wall-mounted air conditioners are equipped with this element, but this fact does not have any negative consequences for the operation of the device.
The fan is responsible for circulating air through the evaporator and supplying it to the room.
Air heating / cooling takes place in the heat exchanger. Typically this assembly consists of copper tubes and aluminum fins running around the fan.
The horizontal louvers distribute the air horizontally. They can work in automatic mode or be fixed in a fixed position.
The LED display panel displays information about the current operating parameters (temperature, operating mode) and codes of malfunctions (errors).
Vertical louvers distribute air vertically to the right and left. They can be controlled via the remote control or manually set the desired position.
The main working unit of a wall-mounted home air conditioner is located in an external unit, the composition of which can be clearly seen in the following picture:
- compressor.
- four-way valve.
- control board.
- fan.
- capacitor.
- freon system filter.
- choke connections.
- protective panel (removable).
The compressor of the outdoor unit is responsible for circulating freon through the refrigeration circuit, compressing the refrigerant under high pressure. This is the main working unit of the air conditioner. Its breakdown entails expensive repair or replacement of the device with a new one.
The four-way valve is responsible for switching modes from cold to heat and vice versa.
The control board is the electronic control of all device functions.
For home air conditioners with a wall-mounted type of placement, in the presence of an inverter compressor control, it is located in the outdoor unit, and for non-inverter ones - in the room unit.
The fan usually has several speeds. It is responsible for creating a flow of air that blows over the condenser.
Freon is cooled and condensed in the condenser.
The filter of the freon system protects the condenser from the ingress of foreign particles and inclusions during installation.
Interblock communications are connected to the choke connections - a freon line.
A protective side panel protects the spigot connections from mechanical damage and the effects of weather.
Everything that makes up wall split systems is collected in one device in monoblock air conditioners. But the presence of a compressor inside the room does not make the operation of a modern wall-mounted air conditioner without an external unit noisy. It is compact, quiet and has excellent performance, but more on that later.
Technical characteristics and operating features of household wall-mounted air conditioners
There is no significant difference between split systems and monoblock wall-mounted air conditioners in their operation.
Both one-component and two-component units have a wide range of operating temperatures for cold and heat. Most modern models are compact in size. In monoblocks, the thickness of the device is about 20 cm, which makes it indispensable in small rooms. The power consumption is low, therefore, in general, modern wall systems correspond to the energy class of group A. The use of environmentally friendly 410 Freon makes them environmentally friendly.
Of course, a two-component climate control system has lower noise characteristics than monoblock wall-mounted air conditioners, but the average sound level of the latter usually does not exceed 32-36 dB. This is significantly less than the noise characteristics of the same window or mobile air conditioners, if we compare exactly wall-mounted one-component devices.
The working functionality of those and others does not have serious differences. Just like split systems, wall-mounted air conditioners that do not have an external unit can operate in cold / heat and dry or ventilate the air. They are controlled from the remote control or from the control panel located on the module itself.
A multi-stage filtration system, self-diagnostics with an audible signal, anti-icing, a timer, comfortable sleep and other modes and functions - all this is available in a one-piece device.
As an advantage, many monoblock wall-mounted air conditioners have:
- supply and exhaust ventilation, which pre-purifies the air;
- a highly efficient heater, with the help of which the device is functional at -15 ° C outdoors;
- a special condensate drainage system without laying the drain hose to the outside;
- a unique scanning air distributor (although modern splits are also equipped with it).
When installed, such an air conditioner is mounted on a mounting plate on the wall, in which two ventilation holes are preliminarily made. The device is fixed in place with screws, and the drilled holes are covered with special protective grilles. The entire installation takes a couple of hours.
A significant disadvantage is the price of such an acquisition. It significantly exceeds the cost of a wall-type split system.
But the new two-piece devices are on a par with the perfection of the all-in-one. As mentioned above, splits began to be produced with wall units in a vertical installation option while maintaining all technical capabilities and functional data.
The main advantage is the distribution of air along the walls, and not in different directions relative to the device. But, unfortunately, the price of vertical wall units is also quite high when compared with the usual horizontal modules.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a wall-mounted air conditioning system. The video presented will tell you how to do it correctly.
