Carmen's Random Tips: An Affordable AC Option - Cheap AC

photo credit: NathanaelB via photopin cc

Okay. So last year at the end of the summer two of my air conditioners kicked the bucket. At the time, we had three. We used two downstairs for the main areas of the house and one upstairs with a bunch of fans.

One was a 10,000 BTU and one was a 5,000 BTU. Since money is really tight right now, I thought we could try to make it through the summer with just fans. That is just a big fat - LOL.  

My plan might have worked out had it not been the hottest summer on record. Funny thing is I knew it was going to be a hot summer, because I obsessively follow all of the weather changes. Obsessively...

I think all the people I grew up with were getting a little sick of me constantly posting things from the weather channel on Facebook, lol. So here I was warning everyone I know for months ahead of time to get ready for the hottest summer that was coming, yet I thought I could kid myself into believing I could make it through with just fans.

By the end of July, I couldn't take anymore. I sucked it up for two months like a champ, so we earned our air conditioners! We NEEDED air. But in order to do this, I had to take bill money. I had no choice; I had to do it. We were really suffering and so was my sanity. I was sweating from morning till night and as an aunt of mine used to say, it was "hotter than a blue b*tch in hell." Whatever that means, lol. But I always found it funny!  

I didn't have much money to work with, so I had to find something that would give me the most bang for my buck. So I checked out Walmart and Amazon to begin my search for the best cheapest air conditioner. I found a General Electric with 5,000 BTU's on a rollback for $98! I carefully read just about every review before making the decision to go ahead and order three.  

I could only afford three, but I had a plan. I had the portable AC in the living room downstairs. I was going to put one in the kitchen, that way the downstairs would be cool. Then I was going to put the other two upstairs somewhere in the middle, that way the entire upstairs would be cool.  

Now, just so you can get a visual on just how awesome these little AC's are because they did the job, my house is a fairly large four bedroom home. Downstairs we have the kitchen, dining room, one small bedroom and the living room. I put one AC in the kitchen, the dining room is in between the living room and kitchen, then we have the small bedroom off of the dining room.

Remember we already had the portable 5,000 BTU AC in the living room. From the living room, you enter the hallway, which leads to the upstairs. There was massive heat coming from the upstairs, so the little portable AC was really struggling to keep the living room cool before I bought the new AC's.  

Upstairs there are three bedrooms; two that are large, the bathroom and the hallway. The hallway has an area that is large enough where we used to have a desk there and that's also where we keep the kitty box.  :D The entire house is cool and comfortable now!! So cool, in fact, that I keep it on low because it gets COLD. I don't like cold; I like comfortable.

Reminds me of how my mother told me about how an aunt of mine when she went through menopause would blast the AC in the winter, and her husband, my uncle, would have to wear a winter coat in the house. But back to my new AC's...so I strategically placed these AC's throughout my house to keep my house cool and my plan worked. 

Upstairs, the hallway and bathroom separate the bedrooms, so I put one in the window in the hallway, then one in the window of the bathroom. We keep the doors open during the day to keep the air circulating, then at night my oldest boys sometimes close their doors and their rooms remain comfortable!  

I am a petite five foot three woman and I managed to install these AC's by myself with no help. They are very light-weight and if you follow the directions carefully, it's a piece of cake. However, if you're not experienced and are afraid, then ask someone to help you who knows how to install an AC.

I will add that they are no longer on a rollback. They're now $119, which is still cheap considering how powerful these little AC's are for such a low price. I also paid for a one year warranty. My one year replacement warranty was only $6, but hopefully I won't have to use it.

Shipping was pretty fast, too. It usually is when I order from Walmart, depending on what part of the country my item is being shipped from. I ordered my air conditioners on Wednesday, August 5th and they arrived on Saturday, August 8th. It was a hot day, too, when they showed up at my door, so I was like a little kid at Christmas when I saw them sitting there!! :D

PS.  We still use a couple of fans upstairs to keep the air circulating.  :)