Where you place your air conditioner matters.
You may be tempted to stick your air conditioner or heat pump condenser in the most inconspicuous place without really thinking about the operational drawbacks of certain locations. However, you may want to take some time to consider where you have your air conditioner installed for longterm performance and system life.
Air conditioners and heat pumps pull air in so that they can cool your home. When the air outside is hotter, it means your air conditioner has to work harder to get your home to the set temperature. Often, on extremely hot days, it is harder to lower the temperature of the air being delivered to your home, which can lead to longer run times. In the long run, this can lead to higher bills and potentially more repairs.
So, what can you do about this? Well, ideally an air conditioner should be placed in a spot that…
a) Does not see as much direct sunlight.
b) Is on a cooler side of your house.
Where is this exactly? Well, it is generally the north side of the home.
Of course, it may not be economical to simply move your air conditioner if you aren’t in the replacement market. But, there are still things you can do to make your air conditioner’s job as easy as possible. Make sure that you maintain proper airflow – aim grass clippings away from the condenser and schedule a clean and check appointment during the spring.
Simply shading your air conditioner won’t always work to curb the effects of hot outdoor air because of how much air your unit has to pull in. But, if you plant several trees (keeping proper clearance in mind) it can work to cool the air around your air conditioner and mitigate some of the effects of high summer temperatures.
Is this something you already knew? Make sure you contact your local heating and air conditioning contractor for all of your heating and cooling installation questions.
This makes sense. It is definitely something that should be taken into consideration when you are having a unit installed. Great tips, thanks for sharing!
My husband and I want to replace our AC system soon. Our house has been SO hot lately. I didn’t know that air conditioners and heat pumps pulled in air to cool your home. That’s actually really cool. I would love to learn more about how AC works before replacing my unit.
Hi Megan,
We’re glad to see that you’re interested in more information! It’s always a good idea to get as much information as possible before making a big purchase like an air conditioner. We have a great article that explains, in detail, how an air conditioner works. Here’s the link! Also, when you find a contractor always ask them for more information. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction and hook you up with the right system, at the right efficiency, with the features you need.
I definitely would have picked out the most inconspicuous place to install an air conditioning unit. Before reading this, I wouldn’t have considered that the placement could affect the performance of my AC. Construction on my house is underway, and we have started looking for an installation service. I’ll be sure to pick a nice, shady location for it!
I didn’t know that the location of your HVAC system was so important! It makes sense that I would want to have it put in on the north side of my home where the sun won’t hit it as much. That way it won’t have a problem with heating up! Thanks for the help.
I did not know that placement of AC units makes any difference at all! I am so glad to know that it is better to put them in cool spots of the house away from the sun. My wife and I are building a home right now, and we didn’t have a preference in where the AC unit would go, but now, we know exactly where we should put it.
Thank you for this article about air conditioner placement tips. It is good to know that simply shading the air conditioner will not always protect it. One should contact a professional to give an educated opinion of what should be done with the system in the individual circumstance.
Thank you for writing the article. I was thinking of creating a simple stainless steel cover with ventilation, which will protect the unit from direct sunlight and from other elements like rain and snow
I really like your tip on planting trees a safe distance away from the unit. That would be a great way to cool the air going into the AC unit and might also help keep the house cool! I could definitely stand to have a few more trees in my yard, so I may do that when we get our AC serviced.
I am happy to have found this information about where one should place their air conditioner. It is good to know that it should be installed in a place that does not see as much direct sunlight. This would be helpful in helping the system last for a longer amount of time. Something to consider would be to seek professional help when it comes to installing the system to ensure that the job is done correctly.
This is super informative – I never knew that placement would effect the way an air con unit works. This is really great, thank you.
Placing your air conditioner is a spot that doesn’t see as much direct sunlight and is on the cooler side of your house is a good idea. I would imagine that talking to your air conditioner service for their advice on placement would also help you put it in the best location. Making sure that your machine is in the best spot is probably a good way to help it last longer.
It’s good to know that we can take some steps to ensure that our air conditioning unit is working as well as possible in where we place it, as you discussed. I think it’s important that we do some research ahead of time on the different kinds of AC unit to see if they have any special circumstances they are best for, as well. That way, we will better be able to help meet the needs the unit may have so it can perform most efficiently, one of those things likely being it’s placement.
I never knew that something as simple as choosing where to place your air conditioning unit could change how much it has to work to cool the air going into your home. It would probably be a good idea to place it somewhere that is shady most of the time so it doesn’t have to cool the air so much on a hot day. It would also be a good idea to make sure that you have someone come to do regular maintenance so it keeps running at peak efficiency.
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I didn’t realize that an AC unit should be placed on the side of your home that doesn’t see as much sunlight. I’ve been living in an apartment up until a couple of months ago. now that I’m in my first home, I’ve been thinking of getting a new AC unit. I’d like to get it installed before it gets too cold, and I don’t want to wait until spring.
I actually didn’t know that the unit should be placed in an area where there isn’t a lot of direct sunlight. I assume this is because if it’s in sunlight it will be hot and work harder to make the house a lower temperature, like you mentioned. If this is the case, I wonder if it could be beneficial to spend a day observing your house to know where the best spot would be.
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Thanks for pointing out that your AC should be on the cooler side of your house outside of the sun. My husband and I are making our own home, and we definitely want to have air conditioning. Your tips should help us find the right place to get it installed.
I am glad you mentioned that an air conditioner should be installed somewhere that is cooler and doesn’t see much sunlight. Our AC system is located in the basement of our house. Thank you for the tips for air conditioner placement.
It’s interesting how you point out that when the air outside is hotter, it means your air conditioner has to work harder to get your home to the set temperature. My husband noticed the other day that our air conditioner seems to be working a lot harder lately, and our home isn’t all that cool. I wonder if that’s because of the hot temperatures outside or if our unit has problems. It’s probably best if we call a professional to come out and take a look at it, just to be safe. Thanks for sharing!
I didn’t know that planting some trees around your air conditioner system could help keep your home cooler. It makes sense that it would allow the system to get more cool air into your home. I’ll definitely have to remember that next summer and try planting some more trees.
Amazing post.I never realized that arrangement would impact the way an AC unit works. This is extremely incredible. Thanks for sharing this information.
I do like that you recommend putting your air conditioner on a part of your house that does not see much sunlight. After all, you will want to make sure that your air conditioner does not overheat over time. Because of this, it helps to have it out of direct sunlight and on a cooler part of your home as well.
Thank you for explaining that simply shading the unit might not work as well as planting some trees around it to keep the air cool around the unit. I never thought about how important the placement would be to keeping it working efficiently or that simply shading it wouldn’t do it. We’ll be sure to really analyze this and figure out how we can maximize our new unit.
So far I had no idea that placement of your air conditioner matters when it comes to the performance. I’ve learned a lot going through this article because it makes the installation job as easy as possible. Finally, I’ve found something that helped me!
I like how you mentioned the importance of having the air conditioning unit on the northern side of the house since this is normally the place where the sun does not shine so much and is much cooler than the rest of the house that is facing the sun so that the AC unit wouldn’t overheat. Another thing that I noticed is that proper airflow should be maintained and shading the AC unit would help it work much better especially in the hot summer months since appliances have to work overtime to keep people cold in the summer heat. If I were to have a new AC unit installed I would definitely install it on the side of the house that doesn’t get too much heat on it so that the wind would remain constantly cold as it circulates around the house.
I thought it was interesting to keep things like grass clippings away from the condenser. I never really thought about how small things like that could get in the way of everything. It’s definitely something that I’ll be looking to address this spring and summer.
I like what you said about using trees to provide clearance for your air conditioner. Installing an AC system takes proper skill and experience. If I needed a new AC system, I would call an experienced contractor.
I never really put much thought into air conditioning placement. I can definitely see how placing it in a cooler area that doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight would be better though. My husband and I are wanting to install a new air conditioning unit in our home, so hopefully we can find a great company that can help us with placement!
Thanks for explaining that we should trim grass away from the AC unit to promote airflow. My husband and I need to have a new AC installed soon. Your tips should help us get the most efficiency from the new AC unit.
It’s great that you mentioned that heat air pumps pull air in so that they can cool your home. I was thinking of getting a bigger air conditioner since the family grew a little more my home tends to take longer to cool down. I’m going to check with a professional if this tip can help my issue get solved. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for suggesting to have your A/C unit in a shady area. I just moved to a new home, and I want to make the best effort to cool my house. After reading your article, I will plum the trees to have the A/C installed.
I never knew that there are ideal parts for ac installation. I will try to place my unit where you have advised to. I appreciate how handy is it to install it in a shady and cooler side of the house, it is quite hot here in California.
That’s good to know you should place your air conditioning unit in a place that will stay out of direct sunlight. My friend lives in a house without central AC. She’ll have to have a unit installed before next summer.