According to the Census Bureau, over 9,000 multi-family buildings were constructed last year in the United States. In 1980, only 78 percent of multi-families were built with air conditioning, but today that number is 93.
Climate change and intense heat generated by increasingly dense neighborhoods has made air conditioning a necessity rather than the luxury it used to be. Multi-family homes and buildings that are being constructed or retro fitted need to include efficient means of cooling living spaces. There are a number of options for this.
The first way is to have window-mounted units installed. As far as efficiency goes, this only works if you have one or two rooms that need to be kept cool. For a larger space like an entire apartment, you’d need too many units to make window-mounted units a feasible option.
Decentralized, split system units are more economical. They can deliver more cooling power for a larger space than a window unit can. In addition, each apartment will be solely responsible for its own unit and the energy costs associated with it. The flip side of this coin is that more units usually means more repair calls, and split systems generally don’t have the same service lives as centralized air conditioners.
The last and best option for multi-family houses or apartments is a central HVAC system. This delivers both hot and cold air through vents from the furnace. The centralized system can handle a greater load with more efficiency. According to the Department of Energy, Energy Star HVAC units are required to reach a significantly higher cooling efficiency standard than window units in order to attain the rating.
When it comes to multi-family housing, John C. Flood is the only name you should trust for D.C., Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland AC installation. Call us to get more information on what the right HVAC system for your building is.
