You have many options available for you when it comes to air conditioning for your home. There are portable and window units, split system units, and central units. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, and you would do well to consider these carefully before buying a unit. You want an air conditioner to work for the space but don't want to invest in something more powerful than you need. Note a few quick tips and factors that people often overlook that will help you make your choice.

1. Humidity

Smaller air conditioning units are good for keeping just one room in your home cool, but note that they might not do much to fix high humidity levels. A central air conditioning unit blows cool air into all areas of the home and will remove humid air. This will work to lower the humidity levels in all areas of your home. 

Because a window or portable unit only cools a small space at once and doesn't pull humid air out of the room, it may not keep your home less humid. This can be uncomfortable, and it can also mean allowing mold and mildew to grow in your home. If you walk into a room of your home and notice a musty, mildew smell, this can be the fault of a small, inefficient air conditioner. If you live anywhere that has high humidity levels such as the tropics, invest in a larger unit that will keep your home dry as well as cool.

2. Outside heat sources

You may notice that the temperature in a back bedroom is much higher than the temperature of your living room, and this may be because the back bedroom is under direct sunlight. If you choose a portable or window air conditioner for a room that is under an outside heat source such as direct sunlight, the ovens in a kitchen, or a workroom with heavy-duty tools that create heat, you'll want a larger and more powerful unit than what you would choose otherwise. 

Keep this in mind even when choosing a central unit. You can find recommendations for the amount of power or BTUs you'll need for your home based on its size, but it's good to increase this power if your yard doesn't have many shade trees, if you tend to cook often with several burners and the stove running at once, or when there are other outside heat sources that will affect the temperature of your home. For more information, contact a business such as West Air Conditioning.