All about air conditioners in an apartment with an overview of popular brands, schemes and types

When it comes to air conditioning in an apartment, the first question is which technique to give preference to. Previously, buyers had a small choice: mobile and window monoblock systems that could only cool the room, and even then they did not always do it fully and silently.

Today, climatic technology is so diverse that air conditioning in an apartment can be carried out using several types of split systems and a wide variety of mobile, window and evaporative units.

Types and types of air conditioners

Split systems for household and commercial purposes are very popular with buyers, namely:

• wall-mounted;
• cassette;
• channel;
• floor and ceiling (universal).

The split system is an air conditioner divided into two parts: an evaporative indoor unit and a condensing outdoor unit.

Wall mounted air conditioners

More often people install wall split systems in their homes, since they are cheaper and do not cause problems during installation or further maintenance. The indoor unit is attached to the wall on a special mounting plate and connected to the outside by means of wires and copper pipes through which freon circulates.

Wall-mounted split systems can both cool and heat a room in autumn or spring when there is no heating, but most of them cannot be turned on in frosts below -5 ° C. It is easy to choose an air conditioner for an apartment of any shape and area, since they have a wide range of sizes in terms of refrigerating capacity and it will not be difficult to choose the right one. They are installed in bedrooms, kitchens, hallways, living rooms and other rooms.

The air flow diverges parallel to the horizontal surface, but its direction can always be better changed manually or using the remote control. The concentration of cold is usually at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from the distribution dampers.

Floor and ceiling air conditioners

Universal or so-called floor-to-ceiling split systems are very compact and similar in appearance to previous devices. Their main advantage is two-way installation. If the customer needs to place the indoor unit on the wall, then it is fixed at a distance of 15-20 cm from the floor in a suitable place. The air flows upward at an angle and then is distributed throughout the room. If it is not possible to mount the unit on the wall, it is fixed with special pins to the ceiling. In this case, the air is distributed first along the ceiling, and then goes down. The outdoor module, like a wall split, is hung on the wall of a building or on the facade of a balcony.

Floor-to-ceiling devices are classified as semi-industrial (commercial) refrigeration machines, as they have a higher capacity potential. They are more often placed where the room has a complex configuration or panoramic glazing, which does not make it possible to fix the indoor unit in a standard way and causes large heat losses in winter and accelerated heating in summer.

Some manufacturers call this type of air conditioner console.

The opinion that, if desired, it is better to change the installation option for a universal split system is wrong. It is mounted and becomes stationary, without any further alterations.

Both wall-mounted and universal split systems have a number of standard operating modes:

• cooling;
• heating (not always);
• ventilation;
• drainage;
• auto.

In automatic mode, the system itself selects the desired operating mode (cold or warm) with the most comfortable temperature. Typically, the device maintains readings of +20 + 22 ° C or those that are set by the user.

As additional functions and options, a whole list of modern gadgets can be attached, such as:

• turbo mode with accelerated access to the set parameters;
• comfortable / economical sleep mode with minimal energy consumption at night;
• timer for setting the time frames for turning on / off the air conditioner;
• fine filters - carbon, catechin, ionizing, deodorizing, etc.

This is not a complete list of all additional configurations of the described split systems. Usually, each manufacturer tries to equip their products with some new invention in order to stand out from the rest.

Cassette and duct air conditioners

Such types of air conditioners for an apartment, such as duct and cassette, also do an excellent job with air conditioning, but they are installed in rooms with high ceilings (from 3 m) and involve installation at the stage of repair work.

Cassette air conditioners differ from previous devices in that their indoor unit is a square module installed in a false ceiling cell, that is, this device has a hidden type of installation. Usually, only a decorative panel remains on the ceiling, through which air diffuses throughout the room. The most powerful streams are directed downward, and that is why such splits are not installed in ordinary apartments with low ceilings. The air is dispensed in 4 directions.

The cassette air conditioner has a drainage pump that pumps water 60 cm up from the ceiling level, after which it is necessary to lay a drain pipe at a slope of 1 cm by 1 meter in order to drain condensate from the system by gravity.

The cassette split system can be equipped with an infrared wired or wireless remote control.

Some models allow installation of an air duct for mixing ambient air. A connecting hole is cut in the body opposite the drain pipe or refrigerant pipe, to which the insulating material, the flange, and then the mixing pipe itself are attached. The volume of air from the street will be about 10-20% of the total mass.

Duct air conditioners also suggest hidden installation in the ceiling or wall. They are combined with an air handling unit, due to which it is possible to mix fresh air in small volumes. Air flows can be directed from one indoor unit to several rooms through ducts. They go from the adapter to the supply and exhaust grille, which is also connected to it. Only these bars are visible in the room. The devices are controlled either from a wired stationary or from an infrared wireless remote control.

Both channel and cassette split systems have standard operating modes that can be supplemented with various functions and options such as timer, anti-icing, restart, fine filters, and so on.

Air conditioners for apartments

How to choose an air conditioner for an apartment, and is it needed there at all? The second part of the question is always decided based on personal preferences and living conditions. When housing is located on the shady side and can be regularly ventilated, there is no need to install an air conditioner in the apartment.The sunny side, the close proximity of the roof, panoramic glazing that allows heat to pass through more than an ordinary glass unit, noisy roads under the windows - all these factors force residents to think about the need for an air conditioner in an apartment, especially when there are small children and elderly people there.

When housing is located on the south side, the sun shines from morning to evening, so in summer, in the heat, it is impossible to cool off only by airing, and if there is a road under the windows, along which cars are constantly driving, then the smell of exhaust gases is added.

Calculation of the cooling capacity of the air conditioner

When the decision on whether an air conditioner is needed in an apartment is made, it remains to choose a split system, calculate its capacity, and find a place where to hang it.

First, the required cooling power is determined, which should not be confused with the power consumption from the mains.

Cooling capacity is the amount of cold produced by the appliance in a given time at a given energy consumption, expressed in kW.

If a person does not know how to calculate an air conditioner for an apartment, you can contact the company where you plan to supply it, or use the online calculator service.

There are simple formulas for calculating the required capacity of a split system. As a rule, 1 kW of cooling capacity is laid on 10 m².

This gives a rough estimate for a room with an average heat gain. When calculating an air conditioner for an apartment on the south side, under a roof, with a large glazing area or a huge amount of constantly operating equipment, from 10 to 30% from above are added to the result obtained, which should cover the surplus of incoming heat.

Air conditioner indoor unit type

Now, having the necessary technical indicators, they are thinking about which air conditioner to choose for an apartment. In all simple cases, wall models are purchased, since they will cost the buyer quite cheaply. Housing in typical houses of Khrushchev, Brezhnev and modern buildings are ideal options for them.

A floor-ceiling air conditioner is needed if:

• high power is required for medium areas, but there are no false ceilings and false walls for installing a channel or cassette unit;
• the room has oval or elongated shapes;
• there is panoramic glazing;
• the air distribution must go up and not horizontally.

You will have to put the air conditioner in an apartment with a cassette-type indoor unit if:

• increased power of the refrigerating machine is required;
• there are ceilings above 3 meters;
• the design project does not provide for the presence of unnecessary units in the space of the room;
• it is necessary to distribute air in several streams so as not to create "dead zones" in the room.

It is worth remembering that the rules for installing a cassette air conditioner in an apartment assume that there is a space between the ceiling and the stretch ceiling structure of at least 30 cm.

A duct air conditioner is purchased in the following cases:

• hidden installation is required;
• the area of ​​the room is large, and the ceilings are more than 3 m high;
• air conditioning of several rooms at the same time is required;
• you need full-fledged supply ventilation with humidification and cooling or heating of air.

When buying a duct air conditioner, consider what is needed: recirculation or ventilation. The recirculation can be partial and 100%. When partial recirculation is combined with a mixture of outside air, we will already talk about the year-round use of a split system.

With the latter option, it is imperative to provide for the installation of a mixing chamber at the inlet to the indoor unit for mixing intake (recirculated) and fresh air in the required proportions, as well as an air heater to expand the temperature range of action in winter cold.

Where to install the air conditioner

There are many layouts of the air conditioner in the apartment, which are shown in the examples below.

Most often, installers try to place both blocks as in the first picture. This option satisfies many rules for installing an air conditioner in an apartment: the recommended length of the route is taken into account, the cooled air cuts off the flow of heat from the window, the outdoor unit does not interfere with the neighbors, the cold air currents are unlikely to affect the main resting places of people.

If the room has a balcony, then the layout of the air conditioner in the apartment may look like in the second picture. The outdoor unit is hung on the balcony facade, and the indoor unit is hung on the nearest wall suitable for installation.

When there are two windows in the room, the indoor unit can be fixed between them, and the outdoor unit can be fixed under one of them as standard.

It was not mentioned above that not only channel air conditioners are installed in a multi-room apartment, but also multi-split systems with one outdoor unit and several indoor ones. Room modules can be either one type, for example, only wall-mounted, or several: wall-mounted + cassette + floor-ceiling.

The figure below shows two multi-split systems, each of which consists of one outdoor and two indoor units.

It is quite possible to choose a multi-zone air conditioner with a large number of indoor units. Their maximum number for one outdoor reaches 9.

The outdoor unit can be placed on the balcony if it is not glazed or there are permanently open windows that provide air circulation. This is important for blowing off the condenser, which can overheat in an enclosed space, and the device will turn off. If the apartment is located on the top floor, it is quite possible to place the air conditioner on the roof, as shown schematically in the picture.

A duct air conditioner with recirculation and ventilation for several rooms looks like this.

The location of the track can also look different.

Air conditioner installation rules

To determine where to hang the air conditioner in the apartment, you need to know the rules for its installation:

• The flow of cooled air should not be directed towards people or places of their permanent residence;
• There should be no obstacles in front of the block in the area of ​​1.5 meters;
• Do not hang the split system near open fire or heating appliances;
• For a wall-mounted air conditioner, a distance from the ceiling of at least 15 cm is provided;
• It is desirable to provide direct cut-off of sunlight with cooled air.

These are the basic rules for installing an air conditioner in an apartment, based on which, it is easy to choose where to hang it.

Installation and preventive maintenance of the air conditioner

Further, the question arises about the installation work and further care of the split system. Purely theoretically, installing an air conditioner in an apartment with your own hands is possible, but in practice it is difficult to implement, since:

• you will need a large number of tools and consumables;
• the processes of pipe rolling, pressure testing and vacuuming of the circuit require skill and experience, without which the device will refuse to work after starting or soon there will be malfunctions;
• only trained people can take into account all the subtleties of wall drilling, blocking and wiring.

Installing a duct or cassette air conditioner in an apartment with your own hands is even more out of the question. This is a complex multi-stage process with a number of calculations and purely technical features.

It is important to take into account the fact that buying an air conditioner in one place, and ordering the installation in another, the user is at great risk. In the event of a warranty case, each company will try to withdraw from itself.

When talking about cleaning an air conditioner in an apartment, we mean its preventive maintenance, which includes:

• cleaning of mechanical filters, fans, heat exchangers and outer panels of units;
• replacement of fine filters;
• carrying out diagnostics - measuring the working pressure, checking the tightness of the route, refueling with freon if necessary.

If problems are identified during the diagnostics, then further repair and restoration work is carried out, which are paid separately.

Preventive maintenance is enough to do a couple of times a year, and it is advisable to clean mechanical filters once a month in case of medium pollution of the environment. You can clean the air conditioner in the apartment in this way on your own. How is it done?

1. Open or remove the outer panel from the indoor unit by pressing the side latches and pulling it towards you.
2. Remove the filters and wash them in soapy water under running water. You can use a kitchen utensil cleaner.
3. They dry well naturally and set them back.
4. Close the plastic panel or put it back if it was removed.

When an apartment is located near a highway or a harmful enterprise, several people live in it or there is a large number of equipment, then the air conditioner filters can be cleaned once every two weeks. Don't forget about preventive maintenance. Problems not identified in time lead to breakdowns of expensive equipment.

Overview of inexpensive air conditioners for an apartment

Most people are not ready to pay a large sum for HVAC equipment, so every company always has inexpensive air conditioners available for an apartment, which can cost from 12-13 thousand rubles.

How do cheap split systems differ from more expensive ones? Outwardly, budget equipment can also look attractive. The difference will be noticeable during installation and operation of the device.

Many installers and service workers for the repair of air conditioners note that in terms of the build quality and used materials / components, inexpensive models for an apartment are inferior to more expensive devices.

Chinese compressors without a name can be installed here, the parts are often made of plastic, which gives off an unpleasant odor during operation. Those who repair split systems, when parsing blocks, often noted the absence of important fastening mechanisms in the main electrical parts.

Of course, the presence of certain additional functions depends on how much the air conditioner costs for the apartment. It is unlikely that cheap models are equipped with additional cleaning filters or the ability to fine-tune operating modes.

The advantage of inexpensive air conditioners in the apartment is a small outdoor unit. It is for budgetary splits that the heat exchanger and fan have reduced dimensions. Although in terms of power, such devices may not be as good as their more expensive "counterparts".

Below is an overview of air conditioners for an apartment, which have been in demand among buyers for more than one year and have reasonable prices ranging from 9 to 30 thousand rubles.

This review of air conditioners in an apartment was compiled in relation to customer reviews and the opinion of an independent team of installers, which regularly deals with the mentioned split systems. Among these brands, DAIKIN and PANASONIC have proven themselves best of all, producing inexpensive lines of household refrigeration machines.

How much an air conditioner should cost in an apartment is up to the user to decide, based on personal preferences.