The Different Types of Air Conditioners

Replacing your air conditioner can be an intimidating prospect. If your system has blown out, is showing signs of an imminent failure, you are in need of some serious air conditioning repairs, or you’re simply looking to replace your current AC unit with a new, more efficient choice, one of the hardest parts of the research can be figuring out where to begin. Our Milwaukee air conditioning experts to Burant Heating & Air Conditioning LLC believe that the best place to begin is learning more about the different types of air conditioners in order to determine which is right for your home and your budget and then refining your search from there.

Here are the different types of air conditioners as well as some pros and cons about them.

Single Stage

Single-stage air conditioning systems are arguably the most common, and also the cheapest. A single-stage system essentially runs at two settings: on and off. There means there is no way to adjust output power: when your system turns on, it outputs at full capacity until your home reaches the desired temperature and your thermostat shuts it off. For some homes, this is perfectly fine, however, they offer the least fine-tuning control, so it’s fairly common to also have hot or cold packets throughout your home which this system struggles to work with. These systems also usually don’t work all that well for homes with HVAC climate zones, unless you have two independent single-stage systems.

Two-Stage

A two-stage system offers a little bit more precise control. Most systems have two different speeds: 100% and 65%. When running at full power, your system burns the total amount of BTUs it’s rated for, but at its lowered power setting, it burns 35% less. When you only need a minor temperature adjustment, or are cooling a smaller climate zone (such as one designed specifically to get the warmest part of your home), it will use less power, burning less electricity, but possibly still doing the job just as well. They are also slightly more expensive than a single stage system.

Five-Stage

A five-stage system gives you even further control, running as high as full power and as low as 25%, with other settings in between. This gives you the finest control over your home’s climate, including everything from temperature to humidity. These work great for zoned systems and homes of nearly any size, and give you the largest energy-saving options by allowing the blower to operate at limited capacity when you only need a slight adjustment. The flexibility does have a high initial cost, as they are some of the most expensive systems, however, the energy savings they can provide you with can actually help make up the difference in the cost fairly quickly.

Inverter Systems

Inverter air conditioners offer even more precise control. An inverter system offers a variable-speed compressor, unlike the other aforementioned ones which operate only at a fixed speed. They offer far more precise control over blower speeds and operation, and they can also be much quieter than a fixed-speed air conditioning system as well.