Ways To Cool Multiple Rooms With One AC Unit
When temperatures start rising outside, you want to be able to cool yourself down indoors. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is with an air conditioner. Whether you have a window air conditioner or a portable air conditioner, you may only have a single device in your household and are wondering whether this will be enough to cool multiple rooms in your home. Well, let’s take a look at answering this question right here and now.
Can a Window Air Conditioner Cool an Entire House?
The answer to this question depends on the size of your house. Obviously, if you have a particularly big property, it is going to be quite a stretch to cool down your entire home using only a single device, but this may well prove to be more feasible if you have a smaller place. Ultimately, you also need to consider the size and power of the air conditioning unit if you are attempting to cool down multiple rooms of the house. While a device may be big enough to cool down a single room, it may not extend to others, and you may have to go one or two sizes up.
Use Fans
Fans of all descriptions can be used in conjunction with an air conditioner to have a cooling effect on your home. Here are a few of the ways that you can use different fan models to get your house to a more pleasant temperature.
Floor Fan
If you have a window air conditioner unit, this can be used to cool the adjoining room by closing off entry and exit routes other than the room you want to cool. The floor fan should be put in the doorway and blowing into the next room. Cool air can be drawn from the air-conditioned room and spread to the next one.
Box Fan
The main way in which this option differs is the positioning of the box fan itself. Rather than putting it in the doorway connecting the two rooms, you should put it in the window of the warmer room blowing outwards and drawing the warm air away from the room. In the AC room, open up the window a few inches as this will help with cool air circulation.
Desk Fan
If you are going to take a desk fan approach, it is better that you use the largest device possible. The larger the fan diameter, the more air will be drawn in and the more effective the room cooling will be. You can use this option in a similar way to the floor fan described above.
Whole House Fan
This type of fan is located on the ceiling on the top floor of your home. Rather than circulating the air using an AC unit, you should open up your windows and let the cool air outside blow around. Obviously, a ceiling fan is only appropriate when the outside temperature starts dropping.
Other Tips to Get Air Circulating
When you are trying to cool down more than one room using a single air conditioning unit, it is particularly important that you use all the clever tips and tricks at your disposal. So, keep the shutters closed on the rooms that you are trying to cool as this will help to provide a shield against the rays of the sun shining in. Check your rooms for any air leaks and get these plugged up. Putting in some shrubbery and indoor plants around hotter rooms can also have a positive impact. As much as possible, you should keep the lights off around the house and avoid running appliances as these can contribute to a hotter room. Another effective strategy can be to place some heat-reflecting film on the windows that face the sun. Opening up the windows at night when the temperatures drop lower can help to give your home a cooler feel when things start hotting up again during the daytime hours.
While a single air window conditioning unit may not be able to cool down an entire large home, you can cool down interconnected rooms with some of the strategies listed above. An open-plan environment is likely to cool down the most. If you have sectioned off rooms, you need to encourage airflow as much as possible. However, it is not going to be enough to expect the window fan to do the work on its own without a helping hand. If you need more cooling power indoors, a centralized air conditioning approach may well prove to be your best option. Of course, window AC units have the advantage of coming with a significantly lower price tag and they are easy to install. Ultimately, you have to assess your own needs and should make a decision accordingly.