Condo in-wall AC unit replacement advice?

Question

Hello,

I was hoping I could get some advice with regards to the in-wall AC units.  I have two condos, both of which were built in the 80's, that are about 850-875sqft (1/1).  There are a total of 4 AC units (1 in each living room, 1 in each bedroom), all of which may need to be replaced.  My issue is that the outlet that the AC unit plugs into is a 220v and the only AC units I could find that still ran on 220v were unnecessarily powerful (and expensive) for the units.  Anyone else run into this issue?  How did you go about it? Should I get a the110v AC and buy an adapter?  Should I rewire?  Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Frank Chin · Answer

I would keep it the way it is, at 220 volts. I believe most AC beyond 18,000 BTU are 220 volts, but some years back, 110 volt units can still be found.

I don't know how cool your AC's keep the units, but when the AC is borderline, it's virtually useless as tenants keep complaining there's something wrong with the unit, or it's too small. For electric, usually tenants pay for it, sometimes I noticed tenants get their own window units when they think the electric is out of line.

To give you my own experience, the home I live in, I once had a 15,000 BTU unit, 110 volts in the living room. On very hot days, not quite enough. Replaced it with an 18,000 BTU unit, it was just right, but I had to install 220 volt outlet. The benefit also being we also have a bedroom AC, on not too hot days, we just turn the living room on, have fans blow into the bedroom. When we had the smaller living room unit, we kept both on, with resultant higher electric bills. With the BR AC off, it's also quieter, and I can sleep better.

I once lived in a SFR, installed central air. The electric bills were high. So we installed a window unit in the bedroom so when the weather is not that hot, we shut off the central air, and use our bedroom for eating and sleeping.

BTW, I'm told 220 volts is more efficient, which is why for larger units, they're mainly 220 volts. When I had the smaller living room unit, I had to turn both AC's on, using less efficient 110 volts for both.