How to install air conditioning in a plastic window: technology secrets and installation instructions

A miniature, productive, easy-to-use window climate system is an excellent solution for small-sized apartments, small offices, suburban summer houses. Its important advantage is monoblock. Thanks to her installation of the air conditioner in the window is the simplest way.

The location of all functional parts in one housing provides an opportunity not to lay pipelines. Lightness and an elementary connection scheme allows you to do all the work yourself. However, for a perfect result, you need to know how to correctly perform installation work.

You will find all about the rules and the order of location, fixation and connection of window conditioning equipment in our article. We will talk about the rules and technological subtleties. We will show you how to successfully choose a place for the unit.

Briefly about the features of a window air conditioner

The window climate unit does not need to be installed in a wooden window box or a plastic double-glazed window. This air conditioner can be perfectly mounted in a wall or door leading to the garden. But windows are rightfully considered the most suitable place for him, given the design features.

In window climate systems, the outer part is placed together with the compressor unit in one housing. Therefore, as we already wrote, there is no need to connect them with pipes and drill walls for these purposes, to lay furrows in them for track devices. In addition, this design eliminates freon leaks due to depressurization of the working routes.

In a window air conditioner, all functional components are located in one case, which eliminates the need for a route connecting two units in conventional systems

But we note immediately that the placement of both functional components in one building does not eliminate the need to install part of the system on the street so that the equipment can freely capture air from the street for processing and supplying cold or heat (depending on the season) to the treated room.

In order for the air capture to be complete, virtually a third of the device, or even half of it, should be outside the enclosing structure. That is, the installation should be made so that the air intake grille is completely behind the wall or window frame. As a result, the weighty part of the body is outside.

Monoblock equipment in a window opening or other design must be positioned so that fresh air from the street can freely flow into the intake grilles

Since it is not possible to completely install the air conditioner on the windowsill of the plastic window, a variety of supporting structures are being constructed for its outer part. Their task is to receive the load, albeit not heavy, but still possessing quite serious weight, equipment.

The most commonly used supporting structures are wall brackets secured with anchor bolts in the wall. Less often, to hold the climate units, they build platforms that rely on the window sill or on the same brackets. Even less often - the window sill is built in the direction of the street.

It is not recommended to install a window air conditioner in a window or other structure directly illuminated by the sun. Electrical components and plastic parts must never be heated. If there is no other way, then for the equipment it is required to arrange a canopy, excluding the effects of rays, and at the same time rain and snow.

Choosing the best location

It is also necessary to avoid heating indoors. In order to correctly install a window air conditioner in a room, you need to choose a place remote from stoves, fireplaces, boilers, all types of radiators, boilers and even refrigerators. From their impact, the climate system will not work properly.

Equipment must be protected from the active effects of water. For this reason, do not place the air conditioner near a kitchen sink or bathtub. If water enters the enclosure or steam settles in large quantities on the internal electrical components, it should be immediately disconnected from the power supply and the master should be invited for inspection.

Only a certified repairman will be able to determine if the functional elements of window equipment that have penetrated under the body are damaged. And also to exclude the slightest possibility of exposure to water, it is forbidden to place a mini-climate system in bathrooms, bath houses, showers, laundries, pools.

Direct exposure to water and domestic steam on the inside of the air conditioner is undesirable.Installing them in rooms with a characteristic increase in humidity is not recommended by the manufacturer. In case of violation of the rules, the manufacturer declines his obligation to fulfill the warranty obligations

To exclude the influence of electromagnetic waves on the operation of a window air conditioner, it should not be installed next to any type of electrical equipment. Even a radio is capable of knocking down a workflow. The permissible distance to electrical appliances is specified by the manufacturer in the product manual, usually it is 1 m.

It is not recommended to connect the climate system to the network through an extension cord. The power point should be located relative to the case so that the cord length is enough for a direct connection. On the other hand, it must not be less than 50 cm between the electrical installation product and the housing.

It is also not allowed to place appliances near the air conditioner that are potential sources of gas leakage. This category includes boilers, gas water heaters such as columns, gas convectors, stoves and gas tanks filled with blue fuel.

To protect against atmospheric phenomena, rain, snowfall, falling from the roof of icicles and other negatives, a canopy is constructed over the window air conditioner, constructed by the type of canopy

In order to ensure a stable inflow and outflow of air in the volume designated by the manufacturer, all grilles designed for air intake and exhaust must be fully open. Owners should have free access to service the unit. And the service center masters need to provide an opportunity for inspection.

Window air conditioning is categorically not suitable for installation in warehouses of building mixtures and in apartments in which building materials for overhaul are stored. It should not be put in boiler rooms. It is not suitable for the kitchen catering.

Air conditioner installation requirements

To eliminate the risk of electric shock, climatic equipment must be grounded. To do this, use a socket with the appropriate contact. Do not ground on a telephone wire or water supply network.

With the rules for choosing the place to install the outlet that supplies the air conditioner, will introduce next article, which is worth reading to all real and potential owners of the window climate system.

To power the window air conditioner, you will need a separate line with a circuit breaker installed at its input. It is better to lay the branch from the electrical panel, and not from the junction box.

The manufacturer’s manual, attached to the products supplied to the market, always has a diagram explaining the principle of equipment location and regulating standard distances

From the floor plane, the mono-air conditioner should be located at a distance of at least 75 cm, but not more than 150 cm. From the rear panel of the unit to the nearest obstacle in the form of a wall or similar structure, must be at least 0.5 m. This is necessary to ensure free movement air flow.

At the same time, there should be no gaps around the perimeter of the housing. Their absence is achieved by installing the curtains included in the kit. All types of sealants and sealant are used, in short, everything with which you can eliminate gaps with drafts.

To install a window air conditioner in a plastic window, a light-conducting element is completely removed from one section. The space remaining after fixing the air conditioner is closed with sliding polymer blinds

Still need to ensure the slope of the hull towards the street. The housing must be tilted so that the inner edge of the housing rises about 1 cm above the outside. Such a tilt is necessary so that moisture condensing on the housing flows back into the street, and does not drip into the room and does not moisten building structures with a sealant.

Installation Technology Sequence

Before installing a mini climate system, you should carefully study the instructions that a caring manufacturer must apply to their products. It describes in detail all the actions in which there may be some differences, but in general, everything is done in a standard manner.

Window air conditioning can be installed not only in window openings, but also in walls or garden doors. It is important to comply with technological rules. Mounting is possible only on solid structures from above with brackets or installation on a solid support

The whole cycle of work includes a series of successive stages, these are:

• Opening arrangementselected by a puncher, glass cutter, grinder, the dimensions of which correspond to the dimensions of the frame available in the configuration.
• Frame fixing. It is previously unscrewed from the air conditioner housing. Then they put in the opening so that the fit along the bottom line is as tight as possible, and the minimum clearance remains on top. Lateral gaps after fixing the frame are filled with sealant from the side of the street.
• Installing the air conditioner in a fixed housing. Before this, you should check whether the porous sponge seal placed along the perimeter of the frame is damaged.

The hole for installing the frame in the wall or leaf of a wooden door is selected in accordance with its size. They make it a little more so that it remains possible to freely lead this frame into the opening. The frame should tightly "sit" in the seat.

Rods for filling the window opening are usually available in monoblock configuration. They are hermetically connected to the frame into which the air conditioner is placed, and are equipped with mounting holes for attaching to structures

With plastic windows, everything is a little more complicated - you need to cut out completely the glass from the sash, focusing on the height of the air conditioner. As with wall mounting, there should also be a slight clearance on top. It is filled with a sealant.

Buyers of window models do not need to think about how it is better to reduce window frames to install an air conditioner. All points are provided by the manufacturer. The lateral space is filled with airtight curtains moving along the guides on the principle of "accordion".

Mounting the air conditioner in the frame

Let us analyze the installation process of a window air conditioner using the example of window climate systems of the General Climate brand. These monoblocks are actively demanded by compatriots, suitable for operation in our conditions. All who have tested their work in practice are satisfied with the performance and quality of cooling.

Installing a window air conditioner in a wall differs from mounting in a window only in arranging the opening. However, monoblocks cannot be mounted in thick walls; wall thickness should not exceed 220 mm

We will fix the air conditioner in the case in the following order:

• Carefully, taking care not to displace the seal located inside, we immerse the air conditioner in the previously installed and fixed frame. Carefully enter the unit until it “bumps” into the rear wall of the structure.
• We connect the cable to the socket on the air conditioner housing, designed to connect the power line. We rewind the excess cord, fix it with tape and place it under the unit.
• In the lower "slide" of the frame, we twist the fasteners.
• We remove the front panel of the window air conditioner from the package, put it in its place and fix it.
• We start the air conditioner and check if the case vibrates during the operation of the system.

If vibration has been detected, it must be eliminated by removing small gaps with a sealant, large ones with wooden wedges. If it cannot be fixed, all the work will have to be redone by dismantling the equipment. Once again, it will be necessary to check the geometry of the opening and, if necessary, correct it in a way that depends on the material of the wall.

Before installation, the monoblock is removed from the package, the front panel and filter are removed from it, the fixing screws are unscrewed and removed from the frame. After fastening, all parts are mounted on regular places

If mistakes are made in the formation of the opening in the plastic window, there will be much more trouble. The contractor will have to completely change the light guide element and the upper jumper to which the frame was attached. However, in most cases, the matter is by simply filling the gaps with a sealant or sealing compound.

At the end, under the mini air conditioner, they put a pan into which condensate flows. If necessary, a tube is connected to assemble it. It all depends on how the owners are going to service the equipment and how it is more convenient for them.

The following photo selection will familiarize you with the steps of installing window climate control equipment:

If initially the design of the plastic window is not designed to install a one-piece air conditioner, all glass is removed from the sash planned for installation. Then they act like this:

From the inside, the joints can be sealed with tape with a budget option. However, it is better to close it with a plastic molding, skirting board or corner for a bathtub - and it is more beautiful and reliable. To protect against potential damage, water and dust above the protruding part of the window air conditioner set a visor, with the features of the device which will introduce our proposed article.

Self-troubleshooting

If your air conditioner suddenly stopped cooling the air in the room entrusted to it, you can independently determine the cause of the problem:

• Does not work. The reason may be a lack of power. It happens due to damage to the plug or cord, blown fuse or lack of voltage in the mains.
• Cools poorly. An air filter is obstructed by a dirty filter, an obstruction, or a nearby heat-generating device.
• Heats badly. The heat exchanger located on the street is icy, which prevents air circulation.

A normally working window air conditioner makes a faint click when the thermostat starts and stops, and after turning off the compressor, the fan will still work for a short period of time.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The following video will familiarize you with the features of installing a used window air conditioner for temporary use in the country:

Knowing the technology for installing a one-piece air conditioner in a window or other design is useful for both independent home craftsmen and customers of installer services. The former will be able to independently perform all operations in the order that will ensure a reliable installation. The second ones will competently follow the actions of the installers, who, unfortunately, do not always know themselves how best to do it.

Share your personal experience gained during the installation of mini-air conditioners in the window. Do you have useful information on the topic of the article that you want to inform visitors? Please leave comments in the block below, ask questions and post photos with work steps.