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I live in an apartment and have a central air system but my main bedroom always stays about 10-15 degrees hotter than the rest of the apartment. I reached out to my landlord about this problem and she just brushed me off, so I called out an AC company & they said that the duct work was too small for the bedroom (they can't do anything without landlord approval) so here I am looking for a window AC.

I have a pretty large & odd shaped vertical opening window measuring in at about 50" wide and 12 1/2" tall. I've searched high and low for a window AC unit to fit those measurements, but continue coming up short. Any ideas on how I could get a standard window unit to fit in & stay?

I should also mention that I obviously rent & the frame is metal, so I can't screw or nail anything in.

enter image description here!

Misty
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    Before you spend $$ on a window AC, try placing a ventilator fan over the duct opening to *pull* more cold air from the central air. If your landlord reaches out to you about messing up the airflow, just brush her off. – A. I. Breveleri Mar 12 '21 at 20:11
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    Should try first to adjust (close somewhat) the outlet vents in the other rooms forcing more cool air into the bedroom. – Dominic Mar 13 '21 at 13:56
  • Do any of these answer your question? https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/15566/how-do-i-install-an-air-conditioner-in-a-larger-window or https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/6298/how-do-i-install-a-portable-air-conditioning-unit-in-a-large-sliding-window or https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/169659/how-to-fill-large-window-gap-for-temporary-air-conditioner or https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/138654/how-can-i-put-air-conditioning-into-an-apartment-that-doesnt-allow-window-air-c – shoover Mar 13 '21 at 17:46
  • I think you mean that you continue coming up narrow. – Hot Licks Mar 13 '21 at 22:52

3 Answers3

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That is a really wide window.

At just 12 inches tall you won't be able to fit any sort of window unit. Even 6,000 btu models are usually 12.5 inches tall. If you can find a short enough model then great but then you'll have to contend with finding a wide enough accordion curtain or just fill the void with cardboard.

An alternative option is a portable A/C which sits on the floor and exhausts out the window using a vent tube.

enter image description here

MonkeyZeus
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  • Yup, these fit just about anything. I've got one of those behind me because there is a solar screen on the window and thus nothing can be mounted outside. – Loren Pechtel Mar 13 '21 at 04:03
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    I've got one of those portable ACs. It really pays off to add another duct for the air intake so it doesn't depressurize the room and suck hot air in. – bobflux Mar 13 '21 at 11:30
  • Where does condensation go in this portable AC units? – RonJohn Mar 13 '21 at 11:49
  • I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. Is there a hole in that window frame? If so, why is there a hole in the window frame? If not, where is that tube going? – user2357112 Mar 13 '21 at 12:19
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    @user2357112supportsMonica it is a plastic piece that comes with the A/C unit. Open your window slightly, put the plastic piece across the opening, and fit the exhaust duct in the hole in the plastic. I used one of these for years in a similiar situation with small windows that wouldn't open enough for a proper window unit. Not the most efficient setup, but does the job – psubsee2003 Mar 13 '21 at 12:36
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    @RonJohn The condensation is usually collected in a tray at the bottom of the unit, which requires any of: manually emptying when the unit detects that it's full and shuts off, a tube to allow the condensate to be evacuated to somewhere else, and/or the portable A/C to be designed to flow unconditioned air over the condensate tray in an attempt to re-evaporate it into the room. I'd note that there are also units which can sit outside, rather than inside, but those are much more likely to be stolen, as the expensive portion is outside, obvious, and not secured. – Makyen Mar 13 '21 at 19:43
  • And if you do get one of these; make sure you get one which actually has the capability of adding a second duct (or a split duct) - the regular single-duct units take air from inside the room and put it outside - the same cold air that you want _inside_. – Jonas Czech Mar 13 '21 at 20:32
  • @RonJohn depending on the amount that needs to be removed, most of it can go through the exhaust vent. That's how mine works, and I've never needed to empty it. – Lawnmower Man Mar 13 '21 at 20:43
  • I really can't recommend these. They work better than nothing as an "AC of last resort", but the efficiency is absolutely horrible, 1) because they "depressurize the room and suck hot air in." as bobflux mentioned, and 2) because you have the compressor and fan motors inside your home, whose waste heat exhausts into your interior, and not outdoors. See this for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mBeYC2KGc – Alexander Mar 13 '21 at 21:04
  • @LawnmowerMan you must live in a *very* dry region. I'd be emptying that tray at least once a day... – RonJohn Mar 14 '21 at 03:00
  • @Alexander I agree that the single hose units are teh suck but I have a dual-hose unit which is not too bad. Of course, like all engineering, it is a set of trade-offs. When it comes to goofy window shapes, the portables offer the most flexibility. – Lawnmower Man Mar 14 '21 at 06:01
  • @RonJohn well, I live in the PNW, which gets lots of rain. ;) But it also has a low average dew point, so nothing like FL. Remember that the hot exhaust air has a much higher capacity for water than the cold indoor air and even the ambient outdoor air. Because of thermal efficiency losses (e.g., compressor heat), I believe the exhaust air will theoretically always have more excess water capacity than is lost by the cold stream. – Lawnmower Man Mar 14 '21 at 06:04
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There are "saddle" or "over the sill" window units that might fit nicely in this window.

NOTE make sure the unit you buy will fit through the fully open window during installation. See if you can remove the lower sash or both of them to aid installation. Or if the window has top limiters (screws or blocks in the channels) that can be temporarily removed to open it further for installation (unlikely for a ground floor but have a look.)

These A/Cs are good for rentals as they don't require mounting brackets or screws. There will be a narrow gap on the sides of the unit that you'll have to fill. There are foam strip kits you can buy to do that, and/or use strips of wood or plastic. With these units it's easy to open the window when not in use and for that reason you should not fill the gaps by taping/gluing anything to the window. Make sure the wall is not thicker than the saddle width of the machine.

enter image description here

jay613
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  • How tall are these units, can it even fit in the window to get saddled? – MonkeyZeus Mar 12 '21 at 19:03
  • I'm seeing 15 inches tall for 6k btu models – MonkeyZeus Mar 12 '21 at 19:28
  • Good point. Edited answer. – jay613 Mar 12 '21 at 19:38
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    See if you can remove the lower sash to aid installation. Or if there are top limiters that can be temporarily removed to open it further for installation (unlikely for a ground floor but have a look.) – jay613 Mar 12 '21 at 20:04
  • If you add that into your answer then I would be inclined to upvote. I didn't even think of that option. – MonkeyZeus Mar 12 '21 at 20:05
  • I took a look & I'm not able to romove the bottom, or the top limiters, they are affixed to the window as a whole. I did take a second measurement, my original measurement was slightly off. Looks like 50" wide 12 1/2" tall (just barely) added a pic – Misty Mar 12 '21 at 20:15
  • @Misty Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK59KzlmQ2g and decide if it's applicable to you. Whatever you do, don't break the window! Do note that these "saddle" units are quite expensive even for a 6,000 btu model. – MonkeyZeus Mar 12 '21 at 20:19
  • Rose colored glasses: It's not an expensive window unit, it's a very cheap mini split. – jay613 Mar 13 '21 at 02:49
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Picture below may help. Masking tape may help to keep the plywood in place, if it is your option. Also, you can use rigid foam (wrapped in plastic) at the bottom to level the window track.

enter image description here

r13
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