We are considering installing 2 through the wall air conditioners as a reasonable solution to the summer heat here in Walnut Creek. We will put one in the master bedroom and one in the front bedroom near the entrance in our 1968 Claude Oakland central atrium double gable roof model. We already have a 2 inch insulated buildup modified bitumen roof with aluminized coated surface. The Unico system is just to costly for us at this point in time. Any comments, suggestions, or vendor recommendations?
Michael
Those types of air conditioning units are unsightly in my opinion and tend to make a beautiful home look like a doublewide trailer. haha. Again just my opinion.
I just purchased a portable air conditioner from Home Depot which seems to be a nice way to deal with the heat, but also easy to move around as needed and hidden in the garage when not needed.
Here's the link:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=N...
Good luck/Russell
Are you talkng aout the type tha tyou will see n many hotels? Or the window units?
Bryan:
I am talking about the window air conditioner that have the thru the wall frame adapters and brackets. The are usually installed below the windows, not in the window frames. There are several Eichlers in Walnut Creek with these types of ACs.
Michael
Michael:
There are other solutions that are much better than the through the wall type, while being considerably less expensive than UNICO. Generically, they are called "mini-split" systems. They have 3 main components:
-Condensor, which sits on a concrete pad outside the house
-Delivery unit, which is mounted on a wall inside the house, very high near the ceiling. This is perfectly quiet and delivers cold air to the room
-Remote control
The cold air is delivered from the condensor to the delivery unit via a small tube, about 1" in diameter. You also need a simillar tube for the water to drain out. You can buy systems desiged for 1, 2, 3, or 4 rooms. We chose a 2-room system as for us, it was the best and most price-effective solution. We are getting the heat pump variety, meaning that we also have heat, if we want to use it.
These systems were invented in Japan, where they were designed for use in high-rise apartments. They are now quite common over here and are made by Mitsubishi, Sanyo, and Samsung. You can take a look at the Samsungs at http://www.quiteside.com. We are getting a Samsung. Send me an e-mail at [email protected] if you need suggestions for a vendor/installer with a lot of Eichler experience.
Cathye