Next-Gen Window AC | Efficient Cooling Without The Annoying Noise

how's it going you guys it's Scott with everyday home repairs now I need to install window AC unit today it's going to be about 95 degrees outside and this space needs to be cooled down so I started to shop around and I've owned numerous AC units over the years and most of them look like that big box back there when I shopped around something stood out immediately and that was this Medea u-shaped window unit I'd kind of seen it over the last few years when it came out but I really didn't spend the time to really see the substantial benefits so that's what I want to show you today I'm going to install both of these units we're going to do it side by side so we can really see those differences and then we'll start testing them out we'll look at energy consumption we'll look at how loud they are if you've ever slept in a bedroom with a window AC unit you know the sound level is definitely something you want to pay attention to especially if you want a good night's sleep and there are several other features that I think make the media a no-brainer to swap out your old window unit or like me if you're looking to get one for a three Season room maybe an attic space maybe your garage I think the decision is going to be no brain dinner for you but I'll let you decide after we do the comparison so let's jump into it now most window units have been the same for decades we have the side accordion panels so I'll insert those within the track and then we have this top bracket three screws will Mount this top bracket to the overall window AC unit and this is critical that you have a secure connection here this is what's going to be holding your AC unit within the actual window frame once you have that in place now we'll take that frame for the left and right hand side and we'll feed the accordion panels through that making sure it's in the top and bottom bracket and then clip those into place we'll do that also for the left hand side and once you have this in place you're ready to install but first don't forget screens need to be either removed or pushed up depending on what type you have here I need to remove those and set them out in the garage or in the basement for storage and now we can set the AC unit within that actual frame moving the sash down to secure it in place so a few things to note just like even the standard window AC unit usually people set in place like I have plug it in and then go and get that AC pumping in but not so fast there can be a big safety issue on these units if you're not careful one if I went and opened the sash right now this unit falls out of the window and if you're in a multi-story apartment building we can imagine how bad that can actually be so the kit comes with screws you can place two screws one in each side of your recording frame that's going to help secure that sash down additionally you'll have brackets that you can place on your sill screw those in place and that will keep your unit side to side and then also you can put a bracket on top of the Sash and that's going to be your sash lock again from a security perspective both so this doesn't fall out but also to reduce the chance of somebody open your window from the outside and the last few things don't forget we want a slight slope to the outside with AC units so you could use a bubble level put it on the outside frame and then check that bubble level and again you want it a five percent or just a slight slope to the outside that makes all the condensation and water that builds up in the bottom pan drain out of the drain hole to the outside and not cause any issues on the inside and then don't forget to seal things up with some foam weather seal or the type that has one side adhesive you got gaps all over the place and then gaps at the top of your sash that you want to seal up to keep the weather and bugs out but let's move on to the media and show you dramatically how different it is so on a normal window AC unit you're going to hold most the weight with that top sash but now with this Medea no the top sash can actually move up and down and we're going to have a bracket that's going to hold the weight to the outside of your home that's going to go against your vinyl siding or your brick and then it's also going to go right in front of the frame of the window tons of adjustment on this you have about 20 different holes on each side and they're numbered so you can get both of those lined up easily if you need additional adjustment you need to shift it Forward there are actually two additional screw holes on both sides here if you need to shift that bracket backwards and then from side to side you have these push pins which which gives you adjustability and then you'll have a short arm here for windows that are 22 to 26 inches wide like the one I have here or an extended bracket if you have wider Windows overall pretty darn easy foreign so we'll go ahead and just set that in place and again this front rail this adjustable rail is going to go in front of the actual window itself then you'll probably have some adjustment on those back legs to make sure you have that slight slope again using a torpedo level you'd go out on your actual bracket itself just apply a little bit of weight there because your unit is going to apply a little bit of weight and then confirm that your bubble is favoring towards the house which means you have a slight slope outward again we can get that moisture and condensation out of the bottom of the tray now I'm just doing a temporary install but if you were doing actual install don't forget two screws one on each side here of that front bracket and that will really lock that in place before you set the unit onto this support bracket now here you might want to get a buddy to help you out it's not light it's 53 pounds and stretching out there can be a little bit heavy once you get it on the bracket there are two channels you'll line it up with and then you'll kind of move it in and out to line up with your sash once you have it all lined up it does come with some nice foam insulation here so you just measure both sides I just have about three and a half inches and here's where a nice snap off utility knife comes in handy where you can just cut that you also cut it with a knife out of your kitchen it's very easy to cut and then you'll just take this little adhesive strip put a little bit more insulation on there as called out in the instructions and then you'll line that up with a gate that goes up and down to fill in that Gap once the sash is fully down then you extend out the anti-tip arms on both sides and secure it with the screw so we have both units installed and just from an installation standpoint there are some advantages of the Medea one we have use of our window so on a nice day especially if you have the screen that moves up and down you're able to actually move your sash up and let it fresh air come in also that bracket usually a support bracket is additional cost and something you have to buy separate from your unit that just comes standard with the Medea you'll see a link below this video in the description for this 8000 BTU unit that's the one I'm using for this to service about 300 to 350 square feet effectively but for just a little bit more money I did see an 8000 BTU with ionizer which I did not see at any of my local stores I only sold that on Amazon that helps to reduce odor smokes or other gases from the air so kind of a nice little benefit and I think it was only like 10 extra dollars on Amazon now if you have a little larger room this same design you can get in 10 000 BTU and up to 12 000 BTU now it is in our smart home list currently maybe in the future it goes over to an HVAC list put it in the smart home list because this can be connected up to your Google smart home or Alexa you can download an app and control it from an app so it just has a lot more features than what you'll see on a standard old school window AC unit but most importantly Let's test the energy consumption it says it's up to 35 percent more efficient so let's test see what we get and then also how loud is it that is a major factor depending on where you're putting this window AC unit you want it usually as quiet as possible so I just got done running the test 30 minutes for each unit just using an energy watt meter to plug the appliance into and then we can monitor for the test duration of 30 minutes how much energy was consumed for a standard window air unit set to 68 so thermostat sets to 68 and fan locked in medium we consume 0.339 kilowatt hours doing the exact same task for the media set to 68 fan locked in the medium setting we consumed point three one three so if we look at those two numbers what I saw was an eight percent reduction in the energy consumed for that time duration of the media so more efficient but on the box of the media it says it's up to 35 percent more efficient so in my testing for this unit right here we saved eight percent but to be fair that's only compared to one data point so a better reference is probably the energy guide so energy guide is a trusted source for certain appliances and Window AC units are one of those appliances where they can show you what is going to be your yearly cost from running this specifically for an AC unit they use eight hours of runtime per day for three months of the year so you would have to adjust to your area and what your use case is going to be but the range here this is actually a bar chart a range there's no bar on it and that's because the Medea the range is 65 dollars to a hundred and twenty seven dollars that would be your yearly cost of running what they have tested that is their normal range for a window AC unit from the probably hundreds or even thousands that they've tested throughout the years and the Medea is 43 dollars so it's well beyond the actual minimum range so 35 percent more efficient especially if you're running an old window AC unit is probably a pretty reasonable claim but what about the noise level so let's go ahead and test both of these units to see if the Medea is actually a little bit quieter so from five feet away measuring with my Apple watch and the noise app I'm seeing about 55 decibels coming from the standard AC unit then if we switch over to the Medea again five feet away same using the Apple watch we're at right about 48 so it is actually considerably quieter than the standard I'm pretty much sold I've seen a lot of different companies over the years kind of add bills and whistles to their different appliances but it really didn't change anything and it didn't really make it more functional or more energy efficient that's simply not the case with the Medea a lot of these features give you functionality like the use of your window it saves energy it's quieter it has more functionality in terms of their smart home or connecting with an app on your phone so overall I can't really imagine buying a different window AC unit but let me know what you guys think I'm always curious to get your guys's feedback now something else that really surprised me recently when it came to AC is my buddy Dave over at the DIY HVAC guy tried out this contraption this kind of sprinkler for your outside AC unit that was supposed to save you energy I would never think that actually works but I was pretty surprised so check out that video right there and something tells me you might be a little surprised as well thanks for joining me in this video and we'll catch you on that next one take care

Channel: Everyday Home Repairs

Views: 577,712

Keywords: midea air conditioner, midea 8 000 btu u-shaped smart inverter window air conditioner, midea 10 000 btu u-shaped smart inverter window air conditioner, midea 12 000 btu u-shaped smart inverter window air conditioner, mini split air conditioner, everyday home repairs

Id: flQjv5o1RzA

Length: 10min 56sec (656 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 28 2023