07-12-2019, 08:57 AM
By way of reference, the condenser unit for my central A/C is surrounded on two sides by a picket fence, one side of which is covered with some shrub with a robin's nest in it, and on the third side by the house. Air speed coming into the sides is relatively low at the grills, and is exponentially slower the further away you measure it, while the discharge out the top is narrow and fast.
At one time there was ivy growing up the now-empty pickets, but air flow never seemed to be a problem. Lots of air space through those plants, they were far enough away (side with the shrub is 1-1/2 ft away, empty side is only about 9" away), and there was still lots of open space through the plants and over the top and of course around the open side and next to the house, which is 2-1/2 ft away.
So perhaps you can redirect the exhaust air to the top or bottom with a smooth curve like a skateboard half-pipe ramp, then disguise it with lattice or solid covering. The sides and possibly top of the case (if it has openings) would need low restriction for intake air, of course, but the farther away the lattice is, the more area there will be and the slower the air speed will be, resulting in little flow restriction. Shooting the hot air up or down should alleviate the recirculation problem. You could mock something up with cardboard and duck tape just to try it. I would include side fillers to eliminate recirculation to the intakes on the two sides.
Maybe you can do something to redirect the outflow air so you can disguise the unit better without the recirculation problem.
At one time there was ivy growing up the now-empty pickets, but air flow never seemed to be a problem. Lots of air space through those plants, they were far enough away (side with the shrub is 1-1/2 ft away, empty side is only about 9" away), and there was still lots of open space through the plants and over the top and of course around the open side and next to the house, which is 2-1/2 ft away.
So perhaps you can redirect the exhaust air to the top or bottom with a smooth curve like a skateboard half-pipe ramp, then disguise it with lattice or solid covering. The sides and possibly top of the case (if it has openings) would need low restriction for intake air, of course, but the farther away the lattice is, the more area there will be and the slower the air speed will be, resulting in little flow restriction. Shooting the hot air up or down should alleviate the recirculation problem. You could mock something up with cardboard and duck tape just to try it. I would include side fillers to eliminate recirculation to the intakes on the two sides.
Maybe you can do something to redirect the outflow air so you can disguise the unit better without the recirculation problem.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
