For those who use room air conditioners (not the centralized type)...?

Question

is it true that you should switch your aircon mode to "fan" mode first for a few minutes before switching it to "cool" mode when you turn it on?(proper care of aircon.) and is it wrong to alternately switch the fan speed fast?(you should at least wait for 5-10minutes before switching to another desired fan speed,or it may shorten the life span of your unit.)

Answer 1

There's no reason to ever run the fan mode, if the reason you're running the a/c is to cool a room.

Rapidly switching fan speed will wear out the switch (and break your air conditioner.)  It's suitable to wait 1 or 2 minutes, but you don't have to wait 10.

Answer 2

Yes and No

Treating the unit as you describe, certainly will not hurt it, and may in fact help prolong the motor's life.  I'd be willing to bet you'll find it suffers from a coolant leak, before you'd notice any problems with the motor, even if you treat it 'roughly'.

Some models actually have a 'step' phase... you can turn it to 'cool', but it will actually run the fan a few minutes, before the compressor will kick in.  If your unit is this type,  then you don't need to wait the additional 5 minutes of running it on the 'fan' setting manually.  Many units made today will even have a 'Power saver' setting to help it run more economically.

The most important thing to consider when looking at purchasing a unit, is the capacity.  Make sure you get one that will provide adequate cooling capacity, without going too large.  For example, if you have a simple 10x10ft room, and a 5k btu unit will work, you wouldn't want to place a 16k unit in there... it would be coming on, running for only a few minutes, and shutting off too soon.  This would cause moisture problems in the home, as well as shorten the life cycle on the motor, from the too frequent off and on cycle.

For larger areas, (as in multiple rooms) I would recommend using a 220v unit... they tend to be heavier built, and provide more cooling capacity.

Keep Cool  :)