Happy summer and happy heat wave for many of us. In the spirit of our summer environment, here is another pop quiz.
Please identify what is going on in this picture. Also, what are potential problems with it?
Pop Quiz – what’s this? What do you think of it? Why?
More examples coming later today, if needed. Enjoy!
Preservation in Pink 
Wow, that is one door I’d be walking through quickly! Who wants an air conditioner to fall on one’s head? That so does not look sturdy above the door.
That’s a temperature-controlled transom!
yes, indeed, not much structure above the door to hold the a/c unit in place – maybe it sits on a metal shelf strapped the the frame which we can’t see?
but also:
– water from the a/c dropping on the customers’ heads – what a nice welcome on a hot day!
– heat comes in the building as customers open the door right where the a/c is trying to work. Cold air settles, hot air rises, so the hot outside air goes up, the a/c cools it, the now cooler air sinks. Probably the a/c fan pushes some ‘coolth’ into the store, but how far and how much? I would really like to stand there with a streamer and watch the air currents.
– the awning is there to protect the store from the sun. If someone forgets to lower the awning the sun, as it moved lower in the sky, will bake the unit, making it need to work that much harder.
For optimum efficiency a/c units should be placed in the shade, on the cool side of the building. Best is north – with shrubs, trees or even a real roof as shelter. The air there can be as much as 10*F cooler before the a/c unit tries to work its magic. And,of course the unit should be well supported.
All good points, but not exactly what I was going for. Keep thinking.
Looks to me like there’s a moisture problem on the brick half wall…possibly the air conditioner’s drip is directed off to the side, against the brick. With the effervescence, I also wonder if the store-owner isn’t spreading winter salt up against the wall where it goes into solution, migrates up the brick, and then crystallizes.
These kinds of units depend on the moisture condensation dripping out of the unit. It will either drip onto the entry way, creating a slipping hazard, or it will drip down the wall causing rot to the building. If improperly positioned (the back should be slightly lower than the front, so the dripping can occur at the rear wall of the unit–which would make it drip right onto the entrance way), it will pool moisture at the front of the unit, dripping onto the wooden window ledge. Water on wood over a period of time…you know the results.
Ok, so the latest clue shows a similar example but the two units have been caged in and supported underneath. It would divert condensation from directly dripping on patrons, and I’d feel better about walking under it. The extra support also prevents all of that weight from being applied along the transom’s bottom board, which is probably pretty narrow in width, and looks to be in two pieces already.
I wonder about the bird nesting potential with the setup in the second photo, especially with the open sides.