Is the Room Closest to the Condensing Unit the Hottest in the House?

Identification

• A condensing unit is part of a home's or business’ heating and cooling system. It cools air by means of a refrigerant. The system's compressor makes the refrigerant move through the unit. The resulting cool air moves through the home's or business' duct work and keeps the building's rooms cool.

Temperatures

• Unless a condensing unit is broken, it shouldn’t make the room closest to it hotter than other rooms. In a residential setting, typically the condensing unit is outside the home. So if the system malfunctions, it’s unlikely that a resident would feel the excess heat from the unit trying to operate and cool air.

  In an industrial or business situation, however, the area closest to the condensing unit could experience some heat. Large, commercial-size cooling units can produce heat as they run, and their size allows for some heat transfer. The amount of heat from an operating machine shouldn’t be enough to make the nearest room uncomfortable, though. In addition, condensing unit manufacturers recommend that installers keep the each unit several feet from a building, and often a large condensing unit is installed on a large building's roof instead of next to the building.

Considerations

• Some homes have a window air conditioner instead of a central air conditioner. Smaller than a central air conditioner, a window air conditioner has a condensing unit inside the home. The area immediately surrounding an operating window air conditioner's condensing unit is the coolest in the house because it is the area being air conditioned. When left on the automatic setting, a window air conditioner runs only when its room needs to be cooled. Its condensing unit runs only when the air conditioner runs. Operating a window air conditioner continuously can wear down its condensing unit.

Frost

• It’s normal to notice some frost on an air conditioner's condensing unit. The system has a defrost mechanism that should melt frost and keep the unit at a stable temperature. If you notice that frost stays for an extended period of time, however, then the appliance's defrost mechanism may have a problem. Contact a heating, ventilating and air conditioning specialist to check the air conditioner.