How To Choose The Right Bedroom Air Conditioning

Even at night, summer in Brisbane can be unbearable. It’s hot. It’s humid. And without a proper breeze it can be impossible to get to sleep. That’s where a quality, well-chosen bedroom air conditioning unit comes in. Don’t spend another summer tossing and turning in the sticky heat — install air conditioning in your bedroom and enjoy a good night’s sleep.

To help you get the best night’s sleep, this article explores the benefits of bedroom air conditioning and highlights some key considerations to keep in mind when selecting the right air conditioning unit for your bedroom.

The benefits of bedroom air conditioning

Bedroom air conditioning doesn’t just make life more pleasant. From better sleep to better allergy management, a quality bedroom air conditioning unit delivers a range of benefits. Specifically, bedroom air conditioning:

• Enables you to control your bedroom’s temperature more effectively than if you rely solely on a fan or open window. Keeping your room at the optimal temperature for sleep — no matter how hot it is outside — is one of the most effective ways to guarantee a good night’s shut-eye. This is particularly important for infants and the elderly who are more prone to overheating in Brisbane’s hot summer weather. According to health experts, the optimal temperature for sleeping is approximately 18 degrees Celsius (give or take a few degrees) — and the general consensus is that it’s perfectly safe to sleep with the air conditioner on all night.
• Helps to regulate your bedroom’s humidity level. An appropriately sized air conditioner can take humidity out of the air, making it easier for our bodies to cool off naturally. Reducing humidity can also minimise mould growth, which is important for allergy management.
• Improves indoor air quality, by filtering dust, pollen and other allergens out of the air. This is especially important for people with allergies or asthma. Air conditioning also gives you the option of keeping your windows and doors closed, which can prevent dust and allergens from entering the house in the first place.

How to choose the right air conditioning unit for your bedroom

Despite the benefits, choosing an air conditioning unit for your bedroom can be tricky, and isn’t quite the same as choosing air conditioning for the rest of your house. Below we outline some key considerations for selecting an effective bedroom air conditioning unit.

The right size

Ensuring you choose an air conditioner that’s the right size for your room is vital for effective performance. Getting a unit that is too big for the room can be just as ineffective as getting one that is too small. Before you start looking at units, measure your bedroom to determine its size in square metres. Once you know that, you can use this guide to pick a size:

• 30 square metres – 2.8 kilowatt system
• 40 square metres – 4.2 kilowatt system
• 50 square metres – 5.6 kilowatt system
• 60 square metres – 7.0 kilowatt system

The right location

Above your bed might seem like a logical place for your unit but this is not always the case. Placing the unit above your bed will result in a ‘cool air dump’ where cool air blows directly onto you. This can make some people uncomfortably cold, leading to interrupted sleep, and the potential for summer colds.

Most people find that the ideal position is above the bed on the left or right-hand side. This will result in the air running parallel to your bed and circulating around the room without blowing directly on you while you are sleeping.

Noise level

The best air conditioning unit in the world won’t help you sleep if it’s too noisy. By law, air conditioners in Queensland must be labelled with a Sound Power level before they are sold. The level is measured in decibels, so the higher the Sound Power level, the louder the system will be. Look for a low Sound Power rating, especially if you are a light sleeper or particularly sensitive to noise.

Power level

If you’re concerned about the power usage involved with having an air conditioner running all night or worry that you might get too cold, select a unit with a night set mode. This uses a timer to shut down the power at a predetermined time. Some even lower the temperature gradually so that you won’t feel a sudden drop in temperature.

Split system or ducted

Before deciding on a bedroom air conditioning unit, it can be helpful to think about how your bedroom fits into your home’s overall heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. If you only want air conditioning in your bedroom, a split system air conditioner is most likely the optimal solution, as they are quick to install and cost-effective.

However, if you’re looking for a more comprehensive house-wide solution, ducted air conditioning might be the way to go. Ducted air conditioning can be more efficient than a split system, and may also fit better with your style preferences, as air flow is provided through vents, rather than a wall unit. You can find more information about how to decide between a split system and ducted air conditioner here.

If you’d like to know more about choosing or installing an air conditioning unit for your bedroom, call Mercury Installations Brisbane on (07) 3312 4244.