It is extremely important to choose a room air conditioner with the proper cooling capacity for your home. A unit with too much cooling capacity will be inefficient and expensive to operate. A unit that's too small won't do a satisfactory job. There is also a close relationship between cooling capacity and dehumidifying the air. An oversized unit will quickly cool the air without remaining in operation long enough to dehumidify it and a "cold, clammy" feeling will result. The required cooling capacity is determined mostly by the details of construction of the home, but also by how many people are present in the home as well as your geographical location. 

www.cooloff.org features a simple three step process to help consumers select a proper room air conditioner by accurately determining cooling capacity; using the searchable Room Air Conditioners directory to find the units with certified performance ratings that match their criteria; and linking to manufacturers' web sites for additional feature and purchase related information.

The website offers consumers detailed information on proper cooling capacity, energy efficiency, installation requirements as well as efficiency use and maintenance tips.  The units in the searchable directories can be sorted by the Brand name, Manufacturer, BTU (British Thermal Units), EER (energy efficiency ratio), or Voltage.

“Beat the Heat” by visiting www.cooloff.org for cool information on how to select a room air conditioner. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has designed this web site to help consumers select the right product for their home. Since 1967, AHAM has administered third party certification programs to test and verify the performance ratings of products such as room air conditioners, room air cleaners and dehumidifiers.

If you have questions about the Cooloff program, visit www.cooloff.org, or email info@aham.org.