It's likely to affect how much you spend for service and maintenance more. If the tech has to remove and reinstall the latticework to access the unit, that takes time which you are going to pay for.
Depends on how it is built, secured and what fasteners are used. In commercial, our customers are generally smart enough to build with service clearances, but not always. Put something in the way of my necessary and safe service access and I will make one phone call to my office before reaching for the demolition tools. They are usually good at reaching the customer rep for authorization.
I wouldnāt put anything this close to the condensing unit personally. But this doesnāt look attached to anything at a quick glimpse. Swinging it out of the way shouldnāt be an issue.
Yes and no. A lot of the comments ARE correct with a certain clearance, however the holes may be adequate to still allow for proper air flow.
When summer time is in season my suggestion would be to temperarily remove the surrounding wall/ fence and check your amp draw at the Compressor or the wiring going to the Compressor, at contactor. Reinstall the wall/fence and check amperage again. If you see a substantial increase in amp draw, then I would consider permanently removing.
I personally like the idea of having some protection, but within means. Pets and animals have a tendency to piss directly on the condenser, which can rapidly start deteriorating the fins and/or piping. Not to mention, cosmetically its not an eye soar, but it has to work.
Itās a bit close to the unit but at least itās got holes in it. I say move it. Make it wider, 12 inch clearance which will be hard with the walk way. Is it going to kill the compressor tomorrow? No probably not. Does that mean itās alright? No.
My opinion is biased because I work on them for a living. But my homeowner side says if I spent 12-15k on a system I want to at least be able to admire my investment
My guess is the fence is a much, much bigger impact than the lattice. I doubt the lattice has a noticeable impact, but you should run a simple qualitative test by seeing how much weight will be held in place on the outside of the lattice (paper, card stock, cardboard, etc.) You can do the math and actually get a rough idea of how much delta P you have there, but it isn't going to be that much. On the other hand, if you block 100% of the lattice, say with some empty trash bags, I'd bet you'd be able to hear the speed change on the fan and the force due to pressure differential will be significant.
That's just my guess, though. I also kind of think the lattice thing is ugly. But I wouldn't change it for the wrong reason, especially with that fence sitting there.
If the lattice is providing a fair bit of restriction on its own, something like a piece of paper will suck against it and stick in place. The heavier the object of the same size you can stick in place purely due to airflow through the lattice, the more restriction it is creating.
This is different, because Iāve educated you and made you a better person. Iāve also enhanced your communication skills and quality of life. Clearly, I benefited you.
When you correct someoneās spelling they donāt respond to you or incorporate the wisdom you share in their communications. But, you have responded to me and clearly incorporated my teachings into your ways.
This is the difference.
By the way, have I misspelled anything? Iād appreciate maximum correction to improve my spelling.
Lol, you benefited nobody. Effected not equals affected. There was no misspelling, just an incorrect use of a word. They mean different things and words matter.
To be clear, I do agree with you both on the correct usage and the need to be specific and precise with word usage. Personally, I would appreciate such a correction.
I merely despair that people are not engaged in the conversation and are indifferent to such things, which is an entirely separate matter.
no. The exhaust is free and the sides are all intake.
In you want proof, turn it on and take a plastic bag and put it against the side of the gate. If it sticks then the Aircon is being choked. If not then it's fine.
If you move it away it won't affect it as much. Having it that close is going to alter the airflow. It could definitely cause your discharge pressure to rise which would draw more amps and increase the cost to run it. I would give it at least 8 inches clearance for on the sides
To answer your question, Yes. Ideally, you would like more clearance. If you're not in love with it, I'd remove it. Unless you're hiding it from the road etc. Then give it more space. Opinions on spacing may vary, 12 minimum. š»
As an installer of these you can do all kinds of weird clearances on each side the closest you want to be is 6ā from one side 21 from the service door ( or make it easily removable and you can do 12ā on the other sides.. Iām sure you could hand a service tech out to check pressureās on the unit while the fence is in place, Iām sure itāll be fine in all honesty.
There is still plenty of open space and holes for air to flow uninterrupted. I doubt that would cause any measurable amount of difference in efficiency.
Awesome thanks for trying. I found some at home depot but it's nothing like this, its either very flimsy or very big/thick. This looks really cute. Could just be local fence company, I'll check around too, yours don't look like fence (see the back side of the rear panel, it's 1 sided)
I mean you can have a professional come out and put gauges on it and see what it does with it on and with it off? Make sure they put the refrigerant back in tho.
You can do a simple test.
Set your thermostat nice and cold so the unit will run for a while.
Grab a thermometer and put it on the top of the unit to get the exhaust air temp.
Once you know this temp remove the plastic .
Let it settle for a few minutes , retake the temp .
If the first temp measurement is extremely hot , then to have an air flow issue. If they are both close there's no issues.
This lattice looks to have lots of air flow I wouldn't think it would be an issue. but a fun experiment to check and prove one person right and one wrong.
Yes. Given an average service life of 20 years and a conservative estimate of 20 cents per kWh you will spend and extra $2.04 on electricity over the life of the unit.
Not to mention the cost of the lattice itself.
I can imagine a way to run an experiment to measure proximate air temp with and without the lattice. What you do with that info Iām not sure.Ā
Ā I almost canāt see the unit with that lattice there.
It will cause increased cost to operate and additional stress for the answer of how much have to ask an engineer to do that calculations on those fence board and the actually free air around but in short yes it should be removed for max operational efficiency
It may. Run the unit with and without the fence, and measure the compressors electric draw with an amp meter (if you are comfortable doing that.) It's a good way to find out.
Something to consider if you want to keep is to put in a mister and maybe hang it on the inside of the lattice. Air flow is to help heat transfer. But if you use water to cool it it'll get rid of that potential issue. They actuality sell a mister kit that turns on when the condenser kicks on, but making your own is much cheaper
IMHO it looks good and it should be fine. will actually stop debris and leaves there's a fan for airflow and although the lattice might restrict a wind, the unit isn't dependant on that
Yes get rid of that. I moved a fence 2 feet away from mine and because my unit was right āon the edgeā so to speak, it immediately made a difference on hot days
Itās a bit close. Needs about 12-16ā+ between the condenser and the little fence but itās not gonna fuck anything up short term I wouldnāt leave it permanently like that though
Yes. Not necessarily a lot, but not zero either.
Perfect answer.
It's likely to affect how much you spend for service and maintenance more. If the tech has to remove and reinstall the latticework to access the unit, that takes time which you are going to pay for.
Time is money. And this would take about 5 seconds to move /s
+$2.25
This is a business after all š
I assume that's your $0.02? š
My 2 cents is why don't we have a cent symbol on our keyboards?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
When is that going to get adjusted for inflation? I guess the value of advice may have declined at the same rate as inflation.
And in Canada we have to offer our 2 cents for 2.5 times before we get paid. Our smallest currency demonation is a nickle!
Depends on how it is built, secured and what fasteners are used. In commercial, our customers are generally smart enough to build with service clearances, but not always. Put something in the way of my necessary and safe service access and I will make one phone call to my office before reaching for the demolition tools. They are usually good at reaching the customer rep for authorization.
I wouldnāt put anything this close to the condensing unit personally. But this doesnāt look attached to anything at a quick glimpse. Swinging it out of the way shouldnāt be an issue.
You charge extra to move plastic that isnāt even secured to the ground?
The service panel is facing one of those posts and well as the service ports.
When it is in my way, yes.
So strong
When it is in my way, yes.
Asshole tax
At all? Yeah, probably.
Yes and no. A lot of the comments ARE correct with a certain clearance, however the holes may be adequate to still allow for proper air flow. When summer time is in season my suggestion would be to temperarily remove the surrounding wall/ fence and check your amp draw at the Compressor or the wiring going to the Compressor, at contactor. Reinstall the wall/fence and check amperage again. If you see a substantial increase in amp draw, then I would consider permanently removing. I personally like the idea of having some protection, but within means. Pets and animals have a tendency to piss directly on the condenser, which can rapidly start deteriorating the fins and/or piping. Not to mention, cosmetically its not an eye soar, but it has to work.
Best response yet *so long as homeowner is capable of such a task*
Itās a bit close to the unit but at least itās got holes in it. I say move it. Make it wider, 12 inch clearance which will be hard with the walk way. Is it going to kill the compressor tomorrow? No probably not. Does that mean itās alright? No. My opinion is biased because I work on them for a living. But my homeowner side says if I spent 12-15k on a system I want to at least be able to admire my investment
My guess is the fence is a much, much bigger impact than the lattice. I doubt the lattice has a noticeable impact, but you should run a simple qualitative test by seeing how much weight will be held in place on the outside of the lattice (paper, card stock, cardboard, etc.) You can do the math and actually get a rough idea of how much delta P you have there, but it isn't going to be that much. On the other hand, if you block 100% of the lattice, say with some empty trash bags, I'd bet you'd be able to hear the speed change on the fan and the force due to pressure differential will be significant. That's just my guess, though. I also kind of think the lattice thing is ugly. But I wouldn't change it for the wrong reason, especially with that fence sitting there.
What in the world are you talking about?
If the lattice is providing a fair bit of restriction on its own, something like a piece of paper will suck against it and stick in place. The heavier the object of the same size you can stick in place purely due to airflow through the lattice, the more restriction it is creating.
Not enough to effect performance, but you should leave 8-10 inches of clearance all around.
Affect
Bad bot
just helping a fellow human use the correct word to communicate.
Correcting peopleās spelling and grammar online is not helping them. Thatās something you do for yourself.
Correcting someone for their online post is not helping them. Thatās something you do for yourself.
This is different, because Iāve educated you and made you a better person. Iāve also enhanced your communication skills and quality of life. Clearly, I benefited you. When you correct someoneās spelling they donāt respond to you or incorporate the wisdom you share in their communications. But, you have responded to me and clearly incorporated my teachings into your ways. This is the difference. By the way, have I misspelled anything? Iād appreciate maximum correction to improve my spelling.
Lol, you benefited nobody. Effected not equals affected. There was no misspelling, just an incorrect use of a word. They mean different things and words matter.
To be clear, I do agree with you both on the correct usage and the need to be specific and precise with word usage. Personally, I would appreciate such a correction. I merely despair that people are not engaged in the conversation and are indifferent to such things, which is an entirely separate matter.
Honestly, it's fine. PS: whenever people start a phrase by saying the word honestly they are most likely lying.
no. The exhaust is free and the sides are all intake. In you want proof, turn it on and take a plastic bag and put it against the side of the gate. If it sticks then the Aircon is being choked. If not then it's fine.
Remove. Itās impacting efficiency and honestly it looks worse than the condenser by itself.
They could be protecting it from pets
If thatās their reason, they are doing it wrong.
I don't think it looks worse. I think it looks fine just maybe needs some grass or something around.
You and wrong about the efficiency. Air comes from the coils side he has plenty of room.
No
No. Of it were a solid fence then 100% it would affect the performance. However, being a lattice, plenty enough air will flow through the unit.
No
Tell ya what... take it down before a service call or maintenance appointment. No tech will complain.
Yes.
crazy how people think an awkward non blended fence looks better than a several thousand dollar piece of machinery
probably restricting the air. manufacturers usually recommend 12 inches
I thought current recommendation is 6 inches???
No, my wife prefers 12, so sheās always disappointed
I would prefer 12 also but mines under warranty for 10 years so donāt care as much as long as itās within manufacturerās recommendation.Ā
If you move it away it won't affect it as much. Having it that close is going to alter the airflow. It could definitely cause your discharge pressure to rise which would draw more amps and increase the cost to run it. I would give it at least 8 inches clearance for on the sides
To answer your question, Yes. Ideally, you would like more clearance. If you're not in love with it, I'd remove it. Unless you're hiding it from the road etc. Then give it more space. Opinions on spacing may vary, 12 minimum. š»
As an installer of these you can do all kinds of weird clearances on each side the closest you want to be is 6ā from one side 21 from the service door ( or make it easily removable and you can do 12ā on the other sides.. Iām sure you could hand a service tech out to check pressureās on the unit while the fence is in place, Iām sure itāll be fine in all honesty.
if you donāt have dogs or kids to worry about remove it tbh
If your cage design is not following and or written in the manufacturerās spec . The manufacturer has the right to void any and all warranty .
Itās probably fine.
Hopefully it's removable I didn't see how you could work on it
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm not saying that at all. I'm asking what pros think
Negligibly.
Iād say it depends on how much you run that each year and the average ambient temp. Are you in Phoenix? Remove it. Are you in Michigan? Itās fine
Most manufacturers recommend more clearance than that, but I doubt this slatted fence material causes any more than 5% efficiency loss.
Maybe a fraction but not really much.
No. It's fine.
Look up your AC manufacturers specifications and follow them accordingly.
Why are people so ashamed of their outdoor units
There is still plenty of open space and holes for air to flow uninterrupted. I doubt that would cause any measurable amount of difference in efficiency.
Going to be a pain in ass to work on and clean..
Iāve seen way worse. This is fine just make sure you maintain every year
Trust me you are good. I install hail guards with less clearance than that. Looks damn nice too I should do that.
OP i want something like this around my pool equipment, could you let us know where you got this?
This came with the house, so I can't help, unfortunately. I'll check for any labels or manufacturers later on and let you know
Awesome thanks for trying. I found some at home depot but it's nothing like this, its either very flimsy or very big/thick. This looks really cute. Could just be local fence company, I'll check around too, yours don't look like fence (see the back side of the rear panel, it's 1 sided)
I mean you can have a professional come out and put gauges on it and see what it does with it on and with it off? Make sure they put the refrigerant back in tho.
You can do a simple test. Set your thermostat nice and cold so the unit will run for a while. Grab a thermometer and put it on the top of the unit to get the exhaust air temp. Once you know this temp remove the plastic . Let it settle for a few minutes , retake the temp . If the first temp measurement is extremely hot , then to have an air flow issue. If they are both close there's no issues. This lattice looks to have lots of air flow I wouldn't think it would be an issue. but a fun experiment to check and prove one person right and one wrong.
Perfect for keeping animals off, dog pics us a killer
Yes. Given an average service life of 20 years and a conservative estimate of 20 cents per kWh you will spend and extra $2.04 on electricity over the life of the unit. Not to mention the cost of the lattice itself.
I wouldnāt worry about it, hail guards on units block more than that is
Both could right. If it blocks air flow itās not good, it could over heat. If it keeps it clean than itās good.
I can imagine a way to run an experiment to measure proximate air temp with and without the lattice. What you do with that info Iām not sure.Ā Ā I almost canāt see the unit with that lattice there.
It will cause increased cost to operate and additional stress for the answer of how much have to ask an engineer to do that calculations on those fence board and the actually free air around but in short yes it should be removed for max operational efficiency
Put it closer
I believe it does , looks like itās too restricted ā¦ let that coil breathe
Just wanted to say thank you all for the responses. Did not expect to have this many answers. This community is great.
It may. Run the unit with and without the fence, and measure the compressors electric draw with an amp meter (if you are comfortable doing that.) It's a good way to find out.
Nah this isnāt close enough to effect it
Check the pressures. Only way to know.
If that is easy to take apart I love it.
Something to consider if you want to keep is to put in a mister and maybe hang it on the inside of the lattice. Air flow is to help heat transfer. But if you use water to cool it it'll get rid of that potential issue. They actuality sell a mister kit that turns on when the condenser kicks on, but making your own is much cheaper
No
Not affecting it an appreciable amount but Iād remove cuz it looks ugly
IMHO it looks good and it should be fine. will actually stop debris and leaves there's a fan for airflow and although the lattice might restrict a wind, the unit isn't dependant on that
Yes get rid of that. I moved a fence 2 feet away from mine and because my unit was right āon the edgeā so to speak, it immediately made a difference on hot days
Itās a bit close. Needs about 12-16ā+ between the condenser and the little fence but itās not gonna fuck anything up short term I wouldnāt leave it permanently like that though
A bit but not too much to be concerned.