Introduction

A window-installed room air-conditioner has all the same components you'd find in a central system, but they're scaled down to fit into a two-section enclosure. The unit's smaller inside cell includes a blower, evaporator coil, and thermostat sensor that reads the temperature of air coming into the evaporator coil. The thermostat is located behind the control panel. A removable front panel covers everything and often holds the filter as well.

An isolation panel separates the components that are inside and those that are outside the window. The panel may have a shutter you adjust from the control panel to bring in outside air.