Providing adequate cooling for a home or room is a simple matter. Depending on your budget and overall financial picture, you could be attracted by either a central cooling system or a unit air conditioner. Before buying any air conditioner at all, you must first decide what you need from a cooling system. Do you have a large house? In that case, you might think about installing a central cooling system. This can be very expensive - costs could range anywhere from three thousand to five thousand dollars and up, depending on the size of the home in question.

On the other hand, if you have a small house, a single air conditioning unit might be all you need to properly cool your home. This is much cheaper than a central cooling system. The average price ranges from three hundred to four or five hundred dollars. It can be even cheaper if you get it on sale. When choosing the room to install the unit in, consider the fact that if the room is adjacent to another room, both rooms count as one room when it comes to the unit. You need to buy a unit efficient enough to circulate air between the two rooms effectively.

If you decide to go with a single unit, there are three options: a window-based unit, the built-in window unit, and the split system unit. The window-based unit weighs approximately one hundred and twenty pounds and is usually the cheapest of all the models. Both it and the built-in window unit can be installed in standard double-hung windows. The built-in window unit has more cooling features than the standard unit, but it costs more in terms of electricity usage and it costs more to install. Finally, the split system unit has the air compressor outside, so it does not hiss without warning, but it almost always has to be professionally installed.

When buying a unit, there are several considerations to keep in mind. Make sure the unit comes with installation instructions, or you may end up calling in professional help for a unit that does not require professional help to install. Also, make sure the unit comes with a warranty of at least one year, preferably two.