The Right AC Unit Will Help You Cool Off

When it's summer, you may not notice the blazing heat or suffocating humidity – which likely means you have an air conditioner. And a good one, at that! For those who don't own an air conditioning unit and survive through the hot months with fans, ice packs and sleeping with your head resting in the open refrigerator door, maybe you should think about biting the bullet and buying one.

That's exactly what Suzanne Naggy did. Naggy, 27, who recently moved to New York City, found herself needing to buy an air conditioner to help survive the Big Apple's notoriously steamy summers. "Everywhere else I've lived had already had them installed," she explains, adding that the refreshing blast of cool air was a necessity because "it's hot as hell." Naggy, a first-time air-conditioner buyer, had no real idea of what to buy and admits to only doing just a little research online. "I ended up buying one from a friend for $40," Naggy says, though it doesn't really work all that well in her apartment. "It doesn't cool the entire apartment; it just circulates the air."

Here's what an expert has to say about choosing the right AC unit to beat the heat and not make the same mistake as Naggy: