How cold should a window air conditioner blow?

Your window air conditioner should blow a certain temperature of cold air when it is working optimally, and if it does not, you should check certain components.

Window air conditioning units are one of the most affordable types of air conditioners one can invest in for cooling homes or spaces. Like all air conditioners, window units come in different BTU sizes that are capable of cooling rooms ranging from smaller sizes to larger sizes.

If you have bought your window AC for the summer, you will want your unit to cool your home space, but just how much cold air should the window air conditioner be blowing, to be considered efficient?

Window air conditioners and the process of blowing cold air

The main purpose of air conditioners is for them to cool down or heat a room. To do this they remove humidity accumulated in the room to disperse it outside through condensation, while blowing cooler air into the room, thus lowering the hot temperatures indoors.

The air in the room should become noticeably cooler and you will feel cooler, making it more comfortable.

How cold should a window air conditioner blow?

Air conditioners are set to cool at a certain temperature and setting the ideal temperature on the thermostat helps it to achieve this.

There is, however, a certain temperature of cold air your window air conditioner should be producing in order for it to be cooling effectively.

At times, your air conditioner may run into issues that prevent it from blowing the right amount of cold air from the blowers.

This can result in the room not getting sufficient cool air, or not enough to efficiently cool the room like a properly functioning air conditioner should.

The ideal temperature of cold air that should be blowing from the window air conditioner ranges from 15°F to 20°F cooler than the supply air. This is a difference of about 40°F. The air coming out of the unit needs to be cooler than the air that is flowing into it.

This is the general consensus for how cold the air the air conditioner is blowing should be, but if the unit is not quite blowing the right amount of cool air, then something could be wrong with the unit.

In cases where the unit is not blowing up to 20 degrees of cool air through the vents, some of the inner components of the unit may need to be checked, as they can be the main culprits when an air conditioner fails to blow sufficient cool air.

Fortunately, there are ways to fix these airflow-related issues.

Inner components of the AC that might be restricting cold airflow

If you find that after checking your thermostat to ensure your unit is set to the right temperature, and your window air conditioner is still not blowing the right temperature of cold air, then it could be that either the air filter, condensation drain, or the coils are the problem.

The air filter might need to be replaced or cleaned if it is soiled from dust and debris. Sometimes, the condensation drain can get clogged up, causing the unit to not blow cold air.

How low refrigerant levels can cause a window AC to not blow cold air

The refrigerant contained in your air conditioner can cause the unit to not blow cool air when the unit is set to cool. This is because the condenser is necessary to cool a space.

The condenser circulates refrigerant through the coils, after which it turns into a gas and extracts the heat from the air in the room.

This process turns the evaporator coils cold and a circulation fan will then blow the cold air from the evaporator coils through the AC’s air vents, and into the room.

Why the window air conditioner is not blowing cold air

When you notice that your window air conditioner is not blowing cold air, the first thing you should do is check that the unit has been set to the “Cool” mode.

Sometimes a mistake as simple as the wrong mode setting can lead to your unit not blowing enough cold air or not blowing any cold air at all. You can prevent this by ensuring that your unit has been set to “Cool” mode and that the AC fan is on.