central air

you will need to provide a lot more information about the apartment before anyone can answer.

1 - do you have a terrace
2 - is this a coop or condo
3 - how tall are the ceilings

that's just a start

We posted something on this (putting central air into a prewar apt) recently that might be helpful as a starting point (http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2009/06/the_big_chill_putting_central_air_in_a_prewar_apartment).

I visited an apartment that did exactly what we wrote about and it was amazing. Super quiet, aesthetically discreet, and the electric bill was literally half of mine (4 window a/c's) for same size apt. At $30k-40k to install in a typical two-bedroom apt, it will probably never pay for itself, but it seemed like a luxury worth having if you can afford it.

Good luck,

Teri

ps an interesting side note for market-watchers, "putting central air in a prewar apartment" has been one of the most-Googled phrases bringing people to our site (BrickUnderground) in the last month or so... It started after the summer was over & a couple of months after we posted the central a/c piece. Early bonus planning maybe?

Here're the three major components your architect will have to find space for:

1. Compressor. Needs access to outside air to throw off the heat. Usually goes in a sleeve under a window, if no spare exterior room. The compressor chills a coolant and pumps it to...

2. Air handler. Uses the chilled coolant to cool and dehumidify the air passing through. The warmed coolant goes back to the compressor. The condensate from dehumidifying goes down a drain, so location is restricted.

3. Ducts from the air handler to the conditioned rooms. Usually you'd lower the ceiling in hallways and unimportant rooms to accommodate this.

Where it gets messy is the piping between 1 and 2 and the drain from 2.

I'd stick with the existing through-wall units and save lots of hassle and expense.

no terrace
coop
8 foot ceilings

I don't think you can do central air in apartments with less than 9 foot ceilings, no?

Some brokers advertise "central air" whenever there is A/C that isn't window mounted. Personally, I'd look into upgrading the through wall A/Cs to models that operate via wall-mounted thermostats. Seems like you get most of the way to "central air" at far less expense.

"Some brokers advertise "central air" whenever there is A/C that isn't window mounted. "

Some brokers also advertise "1500 square feet" when it's really only 970 square feet. Or that an apartment is in Park Slope when it's really in Gowanus. Or that an apartment is a "duplex" when the dining area is two steps above the living room. Or that an apartment has an "open kitchen" when it really has a glorified wet bar on one end of the living room.

And on and on and on.

not going to happen. A split ductless system will be your best bet.

NYC Matt, I get it, brokers lie. I still suggest an alternative to "central air" that's far less costly. So you have a thermostat in each room instead of one central location. Big deal.