Suggestions for Concealing A/C Unit on Balcony

[buzzlightyear]

I need to get approval from the body corporate for the installtaion of a split system as the the outdoor unit of the split system will need to be placed on the balcony.

What suggestions do people have to cover the unit to conceal it as tastefully as possible and with the style of the balcony in mind.

The upstairs unit on the RHS of the picture is the balcony in question.

 

[GIDDO]

Gee Buzz, you don't make it easy do you?

You will see the a con unit from inside as well as outside your unit!

I was going to suggest the trusty old potplant in a rectangular planter box, but now I am a bit stumped

 

[GIDDO]

What about a wall bracket right next to balcony at floor level with a lattice cover shield?
Or a spiderman motif, batman?

 

[Alabex]

now that is a hard one! I was thinking pot plant, lattice etc until i saw it.... i dont know if anything would conceal it??

 

[Chatto]

Does the body corp. require the a/c to be concealed?
What have other units done on their properties?
If the a/c is for the lounge on the right of the pic then can you run it down the right side of the building where it cant be seen and easily installed at ground level and plumbed into the stormwater for the condensation?

 

[James Allen]

If you conceal it in anyway that blocks the airflow to the outdoor unit you can kiss your warranty good by and be in for a lot of service calls. The manual that comes with it will have very specific guidelines as to where you can place it and what you can put around it.

If if doesn't have enough air flow over the out door coil the gas won't fully condense and will go back to the compressor with bubbles in it and not fully in liquid state. Also those fans aren't designed to run under anymore static pressure than that of the coil so don't assume the fan will just suck enough air if you leave a couple of holes in what ever you put around it.

 

[Jacque]

Hi Buzz

Is an air con unit a must? Could you cool/heat the place sufficiently by installing ceiling fans and blinds/curtains instead, as an alternative? Not only cheaper, but kinder for the environment as well, and if the unit is your standard rendered brick wall interior (as it appears to be) then it's going to be largely cooler in summer anyway. Also consider portable air con units as an alternative. You can take them with you as well

 

[buzzlightyear]

The BC had indicated that the committee was more likely to OK the installation if the outdoor unit (which would normally be on the balcony) is concealed. I was thinking of a sheet of metal/plastic painted white that encompasses the unit. Just need to make sure that it doens't affect the airflow and therefore the performance of the unit. It would need to be resistant to heat and as it is facing in a south-westerly direction, so would get a bit of sun (especially in summer)

Of course people have plants etc on their balconies so my idea would probably look more integrated than a number of different plants.

I think the option of having it mounted to the external wall (just out of picture) would be seen as worse, at least aethetically. The reason being is there is a driveway on the RHS of the property and access to the common areas for that side of the complex is on that pathway as well.

All the other units have the older styled a/c units which are in the wall. Those must be at least 20 years old. There are none on the balconies.

 

[Chatto]

Why do you have to conceal the a/c anyway? Its an asset to the property, lobby the body corp to get with the times, especially if your putting in a modern aircon compared to those awful looking units that hang out the side of the wall.

The small units that can be installed in a window are a great idea too and cheap but not effective when tenants want to cool/heat the whole unit!

 

[spiduda]

Have done exactly this before by making a seat/bench out of decking material be sure to allow enough spacing for air flow.It actually looked really good.

 

[craigb]

lattice around two or three sides , and place a solid top on it be sure the height is table height and then grow a few cascading like plants in the pots on top,

 

[Carl]

hi spiduda

Interested to see what you did if you have any pics available?