Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
(OP)
Is there anything that would prevent me from constructing a ducted enclosure for a window unit, such that I could operate it inside the cooled space like a portable A/C?
BACKGROUND
I live in Jackson, Mississippi and have a workshop in an attached garage that I need to cool. The subdivision’s homeowners association prohibits the conventional installation of a window unit. I have considered portable units, but their cooling capacity will not be able to handle the heat load. Therefore, I am considering purchasing a larger window unit and building an enclosure that will allow me to operate it inside the shop without it being visible from the outside. The enclosure would be designed to draw in outside condenser cooling air and exhaust it outside, similar to the design of the portables. I would use an in-duct fan to overcome the losses due to the duct work and enclosure (the unit's condenser fan would remain functional).
Thanks
BACKGROUND
I live in Jackson, Mississippi and have a workshop in an attached garage that I need to cool. The subdivision’s homeowners association prohibits the conventional installation of a window unit. I have considered portable units, but their cooling capacity will not be able to handle the heat load. Therefore, I am considering purchasing a larger window unit and building an enclosure that will allow me to operate it inside the shop without it being visible from the outside. The enclosure would be designed to draw in outside condenser cooling air and exhaust it outside, similar to the design of the portables. I would use an in-duct fan to overcome the losses due to the duct work and enclosure (the unit's condenser fan would remain functional).
Thanks





RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
Do you recall:
- The size/configuration of the ductwork?
- The size/design of the fan?
- Was the fan mounted in the intake or exhaust duct?
- Did the fan have speed control?
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
I know it's way more expensive, but have you looked at ductless mini-splits?
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
I think I can hide the intake and exhaust from view. There are two fake windows (each 29" x 72") in the brick on one wall of the garage that are covered by vinyl shutters. Some of the neighbors have the bottom of the shutters kicked out 4 to 6 inches, like they do in the New Orleans French Quarter. I was thinking I could do the same and hide the duct inlet/outlet behind them.
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
TTFN
Eng-Tips Policies FAQ731-376
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?
On the outside, the shutters might help a bit.
The inexpensive small Chinese- mode window air conditioners now on the market include multi- speed fans. Some controls include energy saving mode that switches to the slowest fan speed when near the setpoint. They're quiet enough for me.
The only flaw in the machine is that there is no budget for the electronic control, otherwise completely satisfactory, to store one binary digit of information: that the power switch was 'on' a second or two ago. So when our Deming- award winning power company supplies a brief absence of power, as it often does, you have to manually switch on the air conditioner. Units with mechanical controls are getting hard to find, and they're not energy efficient or automatically quiet, but at least they remember when they were 'on'.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Conversion of Window A/C to Portable Design?