Advanced Cooling and Heating, just climatized this client’s three garages to give his prized possessions the “TLC” they deserve…. smart man.
This customer, wisely doesn’t want his investments rotting away in the South Florida heat and humidity — so he called us for a solution.
Mini Split Project Overview:
- Wellington Florida
- One 24,000 BTU Dual zone Fujistu Mini Split
- One 18,000 BTU Single Zone mini split
- One 12,00 BTU single zone mini split
The many benefits of a Mini Split Air Conditioner in the garage.
Not only will adding air conditioning to your garage make it a more pleasant place in the summer, it can help with your home air-conditioning expenses. When you cool your garage, it helps keep the rooms surrounding the garage cooler, too. For example, if you have an attic room over your garage that struggles to stay cool in the summer, removing the heat from the lower part of the garage will make a huge difference.
Other interior rooms also benefit, and it may ultimately cut your energy costs. In the same way that insulation keeps warm air from infiltrating your house, the pocket of air inside your garage can help slow the absorption of outdoor heat into the home.
In an uncooled garage, hot air slowly creeps into your home through a shared wall or door, raising indoor temperatures and forcing your air conditioner to work harder.
What size Air Conditioner do you need in your garage?
Adding a simple space air conditioner to the garage is by far the best solution for cooling the space, but determining the proper size is critical. Many people add air conditioners to their garages and are disappointed when they discover that they don’t cool properly–simply because they didn’t know how to size their units. Any ductless air conditioner, be it a window unit or a portable unit, is only capable of cooling a certain amount of space based on its design. Air conditioners are rated in units called British Thermal Units (BTUs), which describe how much heat can be removed from a closed space.
Determining the proper air conditioner size starts with measuring the size of your garage. If you have a typical two-car garage, it should measure somewhere around 20 feet wide by 20 feet deep.
A 400-square-foot space like this requires a 9,000 to 10,000 BTU air conditioner, according to Energy Star. Using a BTU calculator is an easy way to estimate on how large of a unit you need, though you may need to adapt these recommendations slightly. If your garage is heavily shaded by large trees, for example, you may be able to get by with a slightly smaller air conditioning unit; a garage that gets direct sun from dawn to dusk may require a slightly larger unit.
Carefully consider where you’ll put the unit. Ductless air conditioners work better if they’re placed away from corners and closer to the center of the area. For a window air conditioner, a window located near the center of the garage wall should do just fine. A portable air conditioner gives you more flexibility, but may still end up along a wall to save space (and that’s okay).
Find more tips here about Air Conditioning Your Garage.
