Whats a good alt to central air conditioning? in MN?

Question

I live in MN and don't have a conventional furnace so house is heated by boiler. Looking for anything that will work except for window units. Wall units may be good?

Answer 1

I agree with the attic fans or whole house fan idea. I would add ceiling fans into the mix. You can also go on the Home Depot and Lowes sites, as they both sell high powered free standing AC units that don't need to go through the wall. Also, Mitsubishi has been advertising a unit that evidently can cool the hole house with only one drain line going outside. I live in the semi-desert of SoCal and with my attic fan and ceiling fans in most rooms haven't run my AC but a handful of times in the last 9 years. (Only when it is humid.)

Answer 2

Whole house fans work well, especially below 85 degrees. They are not too hard to install.

If you need more cooling, try the split system air conditioning. It is also called "ductless" air conditioning. Several companies manufacture these systems. I would not go to Home Depot and try to DIY. Go to a plumbing / heating supply store, ask them about the systems, then decide to DIY or hire a contractor.

You can also have a central system installed, with an air handler and ducts, etc... This is probably the most expensive way to go.

You can always buy window units and mount them in the wall in leiu of the window.

Answer 3

Do an ebay search on split unit air conditioners. The condenser unit sits outside like a central air conditioning unit. The lines and drain are routed through a small hole in the side of your house. Inside the fan and controls are mounted near the ceiling of the room you want to cool. Usually there is a remote control unit that you will use to set the temperature and fan speed. They are pretty compact, and work well.

While I was in Iraq, we used these extensively to cool down offices and sleeping area. It they can cool over there in the desert, they will handle a Minnesota summer.

Answer 4

you won't have the ability to bypass incorrect with an attic fan. They setting up interior the attic floor with a louvered commencing off to the abode or in a louvered commencing off interior the attic wall with self-last louvers interior the abode ceiling. They suck cool evening air into the abode via open abode windows and tension it out the attic. whilst sized remarkable they are in a position to do sufficient air adjustments that the entire abode reaches the outdoors air temperature interior of minutes. they'll supply each and every of the cooling you like different than on those few nights a twelve months that it keeps to be warm and muggy all evening. you're working a fractional horsepower motor and pay for 1000's of kilowatt hours. in case you had an equivalent air conditioner you would be procuring 1000's of kilowatt hours so the reductions are substantial (previous the preliminary greater low fee fee). despite if quicker or later you put in an air conditioner, working the attic fan for a together as gets the nice and comfortable air out of the attic (a hundred and forty stages on a bad summer season day) and simplicity the burden that the air conditoner will ought to conflict.

Answer 5

Get a whole house attic fan. The summers there are not unbearable and these fans draw all the cool air up from the bottom of the house and force the hot air out.

Answer 6

I saw in a handyman magazine that they have an air conditioner that can sit in your house and doesn't need an outside air exchange. Not sure how it works because typically air conditioner's make heat to get the freon cold. But you can check Menards or Home Depot to find out more.