how to hide air con outdoor unit

5 years ago

Hi, so our unit needs replacing which is a good opportunity to move the external unit. I've never liked it sitting in the front porch h area. only issue is that we're in a semi and the other side is a shared lane. does anyone have any ideas to make this look better? thanks.

Featured Answer

kevinande

5 years ago

Julie let me be the first to admit the enclosures look great and purely from an aesthetics perspective they are dead on. You gave the OP exactly what he asked for. People do things all the time, but just because they do it, does not mean it's a good idea. I have no suggestions for concealing the unit, in my mind based from facts, temp readings and reading displays from manifolds sets re circulating warm air is never good. I won't bother to get into the technical details. I do apologize if I came across a little harsh.

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Comments (13)

julie herbert
5 years ago
Hi Sunny,
You could always build a cover for it , some inspiration photos for you
kevinande
5 years ago
Don't do any of those things you see in those photos, unless your intention is to kill the unit. The condensing unit was designed take in and expel air into the outside environment. Enclosures such as those do your unit any favors by restricting that critical airflow. At best it will lower efficiency and increase your utility bills. At worse you could potentially harm the unit and cause a serious malfunction.
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julie herbert
5 years ago
As long as there is sufficient air flow for your unit it will function well, my son was advised that a similar structure with slats wide enough for good air flow will not cause the ac any problems to perform at its peak, it protects the unit, adds easy access for maintenance and his running costs are quite reasonable, a thoughtfully designed cover will protect your unit and look pretty cool as well.
kevinande
5 years ago
"As long as there is sufficient air flow for your unit it will function well", And there in lies the problem. According to that photo the OP does not have enough clearance on the porch to make an enclosure large enough to allow sufficient air flow. Even if they did enclosing the unit allows for re circulation of air that has already had it's temperature raised to cool the condenser coil. If the coils are not cooled properly the unit can't dissipate heat trapped in the refrigerant. This lowers efficiency and can damage components

"it protects the unit, adds easy access for maintenance" Protects the unit from what? It is designed to be outside. Sun, wind rain snow bugs etc were all taken into consideration when these machines are designed. I never said operating costs would be unreasonable, I said efficiency would be lowered. Unless you are out there with a set of manifold gauges and are measuring performance, you have no clue how that unit is performing. Reasonable operating costs can only be quantified by the person paying the invoice. If you earn a six figure salary $1000 a month for electricity may seem "reasonable" If you earn $30k a year, not so much.

. At the end of the day it's not my equipment they can do what ever they like. They can let the system breathe like it was designed to do, be cool when they want/need to be and live with the ugly box on their porch. Or they can take bad advice, risk damaging their unit, have expensive repair or replacement costs just so it can be cute. Choice is theirs.
julie herbert
5 years ago
Hi Kevin,
Sunny asked for some advice to hide his ac and to make his area look better, what do you suggest.
PRO
Wild Bear & Co Hervey Bay
5 years ago
Hopefully one of the pro’s might weigh in here to help alleviate any concerns with the covers suggested but I think they are terrific options Julie. Might I also suggest to touch base with the air conditioner manufacturer & establish from them what is best for compliance under the circumstances for your particular air conditioner’s external unit ... a builder/air conditioning installer/electrician may be also be of assistance in answering this question. Have a happy day everyone!
julie herbert
5 years ago
No problems Kevin,
Thank you for your reply, we are all passionate and that is how we can take all information onboard and make the right decision , your comments were very informative, thanks again.
Jay
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for everyone's comments so far. I was actually thinking whether the unit would look better moved to the side or mounted on the side wall?
me me
5 years ago
Do you have space on the side wall? Will moving the unit leave holes on the front that will need to be covered?
Chris Cotton
5 years ago
We have used a screen from Bunnings to detract from the unit. We positioned our screen vertically but I see you have a window behind the unit. Perhaps placing the screen horizontally on the very edge of the patio? A bit like a rail for the patio?
Ours is secured about 15cm in front of the unit so it does disguise it but doesn’t stop the air flow. Not a perfect solution but it works. Don’t grow anything on the screen though. Let the air through.
PRO
Frank Ansell
5 years ago
Hi Sunny,

In fact it's quite common for commercial air-conditioning units to be concealed behind louvred screens. As others have said, the key thing is not to obstruct air flow through the coils. You also want to be careful that anything you put over the unit won't void the warranty, depending on how old it is.

Depending on your budget you have a couple of options. You can build something yourself, here's an article with some ideas: https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-make-an-aircon-screen

Alternatively you could buy something ready-made. Here's a company that makes timber AC covers similar to the photos shared by others. http://www.australianpoolfiltercovers.com.au/airconditioner.html

For my money though I would aim for a screen of some sort that still allows free airflow around the device. Here's a company that makes suitable outdoor screens. https://www.superiorscreens.com.au/gallery-rubbish-bin-and-aircon-screening1.html

I'm not affiliated with any of those companies, and I haven't used their services so I can't recommend any unfortunately, I just looked them up online.

One last thing - how close is your AC unit to the wall? In the photo it looks very close... Normally there should be a few hundred millimetres at least.

Hope that helps!
Veronica White
last year
www.outdoorscreens.com.au make purpose built condenser screens in both Wood Plastic Composite or Powder Coated Aluminium

Outdoor Screens by Composite Furnishings Pty Ltd