This guide contains:

Background on air conditioners
Features to look for in air conditioners
How to find the best air conditioner for you

This independent guide was created to help you understand the basics of air conditioners and to help you choose the right air conditioner for you. We do not sell any air conditioners ourselves, so you can be confident that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.

Background on air conditioners
Did you know that in reality, an air conditioner is truly making your home 'less warm'? The simple description of the process is that when air gets cycled through the air conditioner system, heat from the air is absorbed by the air conditioner, and the cooler air is blown back into the room and/or throughout the house. Since this guide is not for engineers, we will skip over the technical discussion of how this happens; curious minds can find out easily enough elsewhere.

Functions and features to look for in air conditioners
Air conditioners come in several shapes and sizes, but there are really two main types of air conditioners (swamp coolers and other air cooling methods not included). Air conditioner units are either self-contained and designed for single or multi-room use, or they are designed to cool the entire house in conjunction with the furnace and ductwork system. The most important feature of any air conditioning unit is measured in its cooling capacity.

Cooling capacity is measured in British Thermal Units or BTUs. This figure represents the amount of heat needed to raise or lower the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. The heat that is taken from your home by an air conditioner is measured in BTUs.

Multi-room or single air conditioners
These air conditioners are designed specifically to work in smaller spaces, such as one room or one level of a home. They can be the right solution in a variety of situations: you want to keep the baby's nursery room cool, one room in the house gets particularly warm, you live in a ranch and only need one level cool, etc., etc. Single or multi-room units are also known as 'window A/C units' because they are installed in windows to allow for the movement of air from the inside to the outside of the home. These air conditioners come in different capacities, typically somewhere between 5,000 and 30,000 BTUs.

Whole house air conditioners
These air conditioners have been designed to work in conjunction with your home's furnace/heating system to cool your home. Generally, a unit is placed outside the