15 replies to this topic

[Daisy]

I searched for a thread but only came up with one for central air.

I live in an 800 square foot (approximately) apartment. The bedroom is about 12 x 15, and is cooled adequately by a small 8 year old Friedrich air conditioner. Which works fine. But the big, noisy Fedders I had in the living room window is kaput. I need to replace it ASAP with something fairly quiet, capable of cooling about 600 square feet, that is around 7.5 or 8 amps and about 10,000 BTUs. These are the guidelines from building maintenance, the building dates from 1931 as does no doubt a great deal of the wiring. The apartment is on circuit breakers which I have only tripped once and then I learned that I couldnt run the big a/c in the living room and the one in the bedroom while using a hairdryer. Any suggestions or recommendations?

[g.johnson]

I searched for a thread but only came up with one for central air.

I live in an 800 square foot (approximately) apartment. The bedroom is about 12 x 15, and is cooled adequately by a small 8 year old Friedrich air conditioner. Which works fine. But the big, noisy Fedders I had in the living room window is kaput. I need to replace it ASAP with something fairly quiet, capable of cooling about 600 square feet, that is around 7.5 or 8 amps and about 10,000 BTUs. These are the guidelines from building maintenance, the building dates from 1931 as does no doubt a great deal of the wiring. The apartment is on circuit breakers which I have only tripped once and then I learned that I couldnt run the big a/c in the living room and the one in the bedroom while using a hairdryer. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Move?

(Ever helpful, I know.)

[ghostrider]

I can't recommend a specific model, but we have a "new" Friedrich as of 3-4 years ago that's much bigger than you need & is both quiet & wonderfully effective. I can't imagine that you'd go wrong sticking with the brand.

[Rail Paul]

I bought an earlier version of this Sharp unit, and it's been fine. Cools rapidly, easy to brush the filter. This is from the PC Richard ad, and is on sale for $229. Looks similar to the GE model

Sharp 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Dimensions: 18.6(w) X 13.1(h) X 15.7(d)
Model: AFQ80RX
8,000 BTU •110 Volt 15 or 20 Amp Circuit (Parallel Plug) •110V Grounded Outlet or Grounding Adapter Required •7.1 Amps •10.8 EER

[TheMatt]

I searched for a thread but only came up with one for central air.

I live in an 800 square foot (approximately) apartment. The bedroom is about 12 x 15, and is cooled adequately by a small 8 year old Friedrich air conditioner. Which works fine. But the big, noisy Fedders I had in the living room window is kaput. I need to replace it ASAP with something fairly quiet, capable of cooling about 600 square feet, that is around 7.5 or 8 amps and about 10,000 BTUs. These are the guidelines from building maintenance, the building dates from 1931 as does no doubt a great deal of the wiring. The apartment is on circuit breakers which I have only tripped once and then I learned that I couldnt run the big a/c in the living room and the one in the bedroom while using a hairdryer. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Well, Wired has you hooked up today as they just ran an article on window air conditioners. That said, I'm not sure you'll get 10000 BTUs with 8 amps. LG has a 10000 BTU unit, but it draws 8.5 amps; 8000 BTUs draws about 7 amps which might work with your wiring.

[Daisy]

Thanks. This has given me food for thought. At those prices I could buy 2 of the smaller--8000 BTU a/cs and install one in the living room and one in the kitchen. I have never had one in the kitchen before. My utilities are included in my rent so I don't really care how much power they will use. That may be wrong of me but as an apartment-dwelling, non-driving user of public transportation who rarely eats meat I'd reckon I have a smaller carbon footprint than many. And I am someone who is completely laid low by humidity, dry heat doesn't bother me all that much.


RP, how large a space are you cooling with that Sharp?

[Rail Paul]

Thanks. This has given me food for thought. At those prices I could buy 2 of the smaller--8000 BTU a/cs and install one in the living room and one in the kitchen. I have never had one in the kitchen before. My utilities are included in my rent so I don't really care how much power they will use. That may be wrong of me but as an apartment-dwelling, non-driving user of public transportation who rarely eats meat I'd reckon I have a smaller carbon footprint than many. And I am someone who is completely laid low by humidity, dry heat doesn't bother me all that much.


RP, how large a space are you cooling with that Sharp?

about sixteen by fourteen. The vendor estimated 7,000 btu would have worked fine, but this was the same price.

[joethefoodie]

Don't forget - too many BTUs is as ineffective as too few...and the kitchen is a whole other story...BTUs. And for added confusion, this.

In my opinion, most of the ACs made today are garbage. I get a new one for the bedroom every 3 years (although the one I bought this year, a Frigidare, sounds like it may only give me one good year). My monster Freidrich in the living room has lasted almost 10 years. I've never bothered to put one in my kitchen - I just stop most cooking in the summer, especially if it involves turning on the oven.

[Daisy]

I am a fan of the Freidrich brand, I have had the one in my bedroom for 8 years and it's still going strong and I have had other Friedrich a/cs that were equally sturdy. But Friedrichs are expensive, about 3 or 4 times the cost of an LG or Sharp, and I am loathe to spend that kind of dough on an air conditioner that I will only use on high humidity days and the rest of the summer will most likely use as a fan. OTOH you could say since they are so sturdy the cost is amortized.

[Anthony Bonner]

I'm barely exaggerating when I tell you owning a split unit A/C with multiple air handlers is one of my great goals of NYC apartment living.

[Daisy]

I'm barely exaggerating when I tell you owning a split unit A/C with multiple air handlers is one of my great goals of NYC apartment living.

Years ago when my then husband and I bought our place on East Twelfth, my father-in-law, a man who did not have a highly developed sense of aesthetics, suggested that our adorable little balcony which the living room French doors opened onto was the perfect spot for a central air conditioning unit. We opted instead for potted white geraniums, a lemon tree, two cafe chairs and a tiny table.

And you should have seen the monster Friedrich we had in that place. The living/dining/kitchen areas were fairly open and loft-like and the space was something like 40 x 20 feet with 12 foot ceilings.

[splinky]

I am a fan of the Freidrich brand, I have had the one in my bedroom for 8 years and it's still going strong and I have had other Friedrich a/cs that were equally sturdy. But Friedrichs are expensive, about 3 or 4 times the cost of an LG or Sharp, and I am loathe to spend that kind of dough on an air conditioner that I will only use on high humidity days and the rest of the summer will most likely use as a fan. OTOH you could say since they are so sturdy the cost is amortized.

the new friedrich kühl units can actually be controlled by your smartphone/ipad. imagine turning on your a/c as you walk from the subway and stepping into a cool apartment without having to leave it on all day. or realizing that you forgot to turn it off before you left for a long weekend and turning it off from your phone while you're still on the road.

[Sneakeater]

This is unresponsive to Daisy's request, but the Friedrich Kuhl I got last summer is right up there with my Miele dishwasher on the list of appliances I've bought with which I'm almost totally happy. Much better than the other air conditioners I have owned.

I'm only sorry they don't make their smaller models in 230 volt configurations, so I can't replace the units in my side rooms with Kuhls.

[memesuze]

You might be interested in the Wirecutter's advice

[AaronS]

I thought 10,000 btu's was too much to cool my old apartment. which was 650 square feet. the bars in the front room forced us to use a single unit in the back and the front room never got cool and the back room was too cold/moist. can't really help with the wiring, but you can probably get away with a smaller unit.