EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Could a window A/C be more efficient than my heat pump?

AirConditioner · 01-29-20, 05:02 PM

Maybe January is a weird time to be thinking about A/C, but I'm in North Carolina and it will be on in a month or two. Last summer I bought a house, and it has 5 ton heat pump that I think is a bit oversized. On top of that, I mostly keep the vents closed in 3 out of 4 bedrooms, which makes the heat pump even more oversized for the rest of the house. It seems to cycle a lot.

The center part of my house is hard to heat and cool due to having 18' ceilings in the kitchen/living room area. Humidity is also a killer here.

Here is what I am thinking: I could install a cheap 5k BTU window unit in the living room area, and simply let it run 24/7. Obviously this would not cool the entire house, but would cut down the number of cycles on the main heat pump. I think this might do a better job of removing humidity, and maybe reduce the temperature swings between cycles for better comfort.

Am I crazy? Do you think this would cost less to run than just letting the main heat pump do everything? The window unit would literally run non stop for 6 months or more, no cycling. I have a great place to install the unit through the wall where there is currently a dog door, I don't have a dog. I need to plug the hole either way...

01-29-20, 05:02 PM	#1
AirConditioner Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: US Posts: 42 Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Could a window A/C be more efficient than my heat pump? Maybe January is a weird time to be thinking about A/C, but I'm in North Carolina and it will be on in a month or two. Last summer I bought a house, and it has 5 ton heat pump that I think is a bit oversized. On top of that, I mostly keep the vents closed in 3 out of 4 bedrooms, which makes the heat pump even more oversized for the rest of the house. It seems to cycle a lot. The center part of my house is hard to heat and cool due to having 18' ceilings in the kitchen/living room area. Humidity is also a killer here. Here is what I am thinking: I could install a cheap 5k BTU window unit in the living room area, and simply let it run 24/7. Obviously this would not cool the entire house, but would cut down the number of cycles on the main heat pump. I think this might do a better job of removing humidity, and maybe reduce the temperature swings between cycles for better comfort. Am I crazy? Do you think this would cost less to run than just letting the main heat pump do everything? The window unit would literally run non stop for 6 months or more, no cycling. I have a great place to install the unit through the wall where there is currently a dog door, I don't have a dog. I need to plug the hole either way...