Hey Ed, should we try to place the outdoor unit for a HP or CAC in the shade?

In this edition of “Hey Ed,” Ed discusses placing an outdoor unit in the shade.

Hey Ed, should we try to place the outdoor unit for a HP or CAC in the shade? That is a question that I hear rather frequently and it’s a valid one. I’ve done some testing and I can’t find enough of a difference between the output of an air conditioner or a heat pump to make putting the outdoor unit in the shade or in full sun to make a difference. The air that’s passing across that outdoor unit is how the machine is going to react to that air’s temperature and the radiant gain that that system sees from the sun has little to no effect on it and that’s the way I see it.