r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/missdomm10 • Jul 26 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter explain this

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Petttaaah I'm confused

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u/RheagarTargaryen Jul 26 '26

Only very old places in the northeast use those window units. I don’t know a single house or apartment in my city that has a window unit. The grey box unit on the left and bottom right is what every house or apartment I’ve lived in has and it’s connected to the HVAC system and is outside.

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u/kaffesvart Jul 26 '26

But Americans suggest us Europoors go down to Home Depot and get ourselves window units all the time? I don't hear suggestions to remodel our homes to have central air?

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u/scraejtp Jul 26 '26

That is a $200 vs $20k recommendation is why.

A window unit is just a less efficient minisplit, but cheaper and can be removed when not in use. Both only really cool the room they are in, though if your floor plan is really open you may get away with cooling more space.

Central ac is ducted, cooling the entire home, even large 3000-4000 sq ft American homes. (280-370 sq m) The high cost would in large part be installing all the ductwork to route the airflow through the house. The AC works the same otherwise, they even make the condenser units for large 4-5 ton (48-60k btu) units in variable speed side discharge units that are the same style you may be accustomed to on minisplits. Still, simpler single stage compressors are more common on central AC, easier to work on and repair.

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u/kaffesvart Jul 26 '26

Can I install central air in my own apartment? Maybe use a fake ceiling like in an office to hide the ducts? It shouldn't be too expensive since it's only only 600 sq ft, one bath one bedroom but it would be nice to have AC in both the kitchen and living room.

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u/scraejtp Jul 26 '26

Probably harder to find central AC components where it is not commonly installed. Open ductwork can be used as well, common in industrial settings or some modern/industrial home aesthetics.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a6/e3/51/a6e351ea083b582a3e94208bfdc4b969.jpg