If you are moving to a new apartment that doesn’t have a ducted system for central air, there is a good chance your landlord will put the burden of providing your unit with A/C squarely on your shoulders. As an apartment dweller, you may or may not be used to having this particular kind of responsibility. What you will likely soon learn is your choices are somewhat limited.
To assist you with this endeavor, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with some guidelines regarding how to choose the best air con for your apartment.
Before Making a Decision
Before you can start your search for the best air con alternative for your apartment, there are several things you will need to consider.
First, what options will your landlord allow you to pursue? If your landlord is good with a little minor construction on your unit, it will open the door to several different options. If construction is a no-go, you might have as few as two options.
Second, you will need to consider your budget constraints. Regardless of what your options might be, money could end up being a limiting factor. Set your budget to help you define the options you can afford to consider.
Finally, being an apartment dweller puts you in a unique class of prospective aircon purchasing customers. You will need to decide if the air con you purchase is going to be your asset or something you anticipate leaving with the unit. The answer to that concern will most likely affect the amount you are willing to spend.
Your Potential Options
Assuming your landlord is okay with minor construction and your budget is reasonable, you would have three basic air-con options for your apartment.
1. Window A/C Unit: This is an old-school option that still gets a bit of play with customers who don’t want central air. These types of units can run between $200 and $500, depending on the kinds of features you might want. The higher-end models will have remote control devices and temperature control settings that make it easy to set room temperatures where you want them. This would be the best option for a very small apartment.
2. Portable Unit: If you anticipate taking the A/C unit with you when you move, this might be your best option. You can easily place it in any room whether there is a window or not. It’s also an option that’s easier to match with the size of your apartment. From a cost standpoint, this option might run a little higher than a window unit at around $300 to $800.
3. Through the Wall A/C Unit: If your landlord is good with a little construction and you don’t mind leaving the air con behind when you move, this would be the go-to option. Due to construction costs, this would be a little more expensive than the other options. However, you might be able to recoup some of that cost because through the wall units tend to be more energy-efficient. This is another option where you would have to match your apartment size to the size of the air con for maximum efficiency and cooling.
By the way, you might be able to convince your landlord to go with a ducted system central HVAC unit if they were willing to go as far as a through the wall option. It would add value to their apartment.
Hopefully, you will find this information useful. If you have any questions or concerns, you might want to ask an A/C installation expert.