Are DIY Air Conditioners the Answer to Heatwaves?

It sounds great to be able to pick up a few items from your local hardware store and have a working, efficient air conditioner. A recent article in Gawker recently posted an article titled Two DIY Air Conditioners Put to the Test. How did they stack up? Not surprisingly, their tests showed that DIY air conditioners don’t stand up to the rigor of a hot day the way an AC unit does.

As the article states, “In this video from the Consumer Reports YouTube channel, air conditioning specialist Chris Regan built two homemade AC units that cost around $30 to see how they actually perform. Over the span of an hour, both DIY units were only able to bring the testing room’s temperature down about three degrees. And half an hour of running, the temp began to rise back up. When they tested spot cooling with the DIY units, however, they found the air to be about 15 degrees cooler. So, best case scenario, you have to sit right next to your DIY AC to get any sort of benefit from it. A homemade unit is better than nothing, but you’ll be much better off with a real AC unit that can cool entire rooms and maintain the temperature.”

There you have it. While DIY air conditioners may work for a short time if you’re sitting right in front of them, they’re not worth the time or expense for one simple reason: they don’t really work. The time it takes to make these and get them set up could be much better spent researching the most cost effective ways to cool your home.

Of course, AC World has many options that work well and won’t break your budget. A popular choice is our ductless mini split air conditioner. The price point is much less than most central air conditioning units, and though it may be more than most window air conditioning units, it provides exceptional energy savings and is much safer than a window unit. It’s also quiet and efficient. When you need to shop for your next AC solution, you need look no further than AC World. We have all your cooling needs met!