Window Mount Air Conditioner - No Windows!
I have a room in my house that contains computer and electrical equipment that runs on a constant basis. Through the winter, there was no problem with the temperature in this room - the heating ducts were closed however the heat given off by the equipment was enough to keep a comfortable temperature. Now that summer is near, I would like to put an air conditioner in this room, however the room has no windows, and a portable air conditioner costs approximately 3 times that of a window mounted unit. Is it possible to place a window mount unit on a self, using a tray underneath to catch any condensation, without having to have the back end sticking out a window? Getting fresh air from outside does not matter to me unless the lack of a fresh air intake has other adverse effects. This room tends to get very warm in the summertime and keeping it cool is quite important.
Answer:
I would think you would have to have it set up so that it could at least exhaust to the outside. Window units put out a lot of hot air that would just negate the cooling. That is probably why the portables are so much more expensive...the exhaust air is cooled in addition to the room (??) You are doomed by the second law of thermodynamics. An air conditioner just pumps heat from one place to another, while converting a bit of electrical energy to heat in the process. If you set up a window unit in your windowless room, you will just pump heat from the front side to the back side. Even worse, if the AC unit pulls a thousand watts, it will be equivalent to running a thousand watt heater in the room. The portable units have large tubes to carry the exhaust heat outside. You could use one of these, or if your room has an outside wall you could cut a window-like hole for a window air conditioner. Another possibility that you might consider is to substantially increase the air flow to the room. Run more ducts to the room and put in a separate blower for them to exchange air continuously with the rest of the house. This may be the cheapest approach. One approach would be to cut a hole in the wall, about the size of the AC, Frame it out, add some molding and mount the AC in it and seal around it. You'll probably have to cut one stud, hence the framing. I've seen this type of thing done where someone doesn't want to give up the view out the window or in cases of a need for more permanent AC but central air is not possible.