Neon John said:
One method of zoning, even with a central unit, is to install a window unit or
mini-split in the bedroom or office or wherever you spend most of your time
We do much the same. We could never get away with it if we were not "empty
nesters" but we run our central air only about about 5 hours a day (in south
Florida), and then only in the evening hours. At night, we use a bedroom window
unit (soon to be a mini-split). In the heat of the day we retire to the study
and use our little window unit there. We only turn on the central air from
about 5 PM to a bit before bedtime. Our old central air system can make a warm
house comfortable in 10 to 15 minutes. Our last electric bill was slightly
over $100.00 and we stay comfortable 24/7.
The portable unit is on wheels and has
a hose that connects to a window opening to conduct the hot air and condensate
outside.
Portables do not make sense where I live; at least, not single hose
portables. The problem is that they drag too much humidity from outside in the
makeup air. We bought one and did extensive tests with a KAW before giving up
on the idea. Besides being inefficient compared to the old window unit that had
an inferior SEER rating, it did not properly dispose of the condisate, and would
shut itself off in the middle of the night when it filled with water. Further,
even when it finally got our room cool, the humidity was still noticibly higher,
so the comfort was reduced. They may work fine if you do not live in a humid
area. We will be taking ours to our daughter's house in the California bay
area, where I expect it will do better.
--
Vaughn
.........................................................
Nothing personal, but if you are posting through Google Groups I may not receive
your message. Google refuses to control the flood of spam messages originating
in their system, so on any given day I may or may not have Google blocked. Try
a real NNTP server & news reader program and you will never go back. All you
need is access to an NNTP server (AKA "news server") and a news reader program.
You probably already have a news reader program in your computer (Hint: Outlook
Express). Assuming that your Usenet needs are modest, use
http://news.aioe.org/ for free and/or
http://www.teranews.com/ for a one-time
$3.95 setup fee.
..........................................................
Will poofread for food.