On Sat, 04 Aug 2012 04:35:40 -0500, wrote:

It's an older Westinghouse window A.C. Besides the temperature control,
HI - LOW - OFF and Automatic Fan controls, it has this lever that says
Exhaust OPEN - CLOSED. With the front panel removed, I can see it flips
open a small door inside the unit.

My question is what is that for, or what does it do? I guessed that it
would take some of the indoor air and blow it outside with that lever
set to OPEN. I held a cigarette near it with it set both ways and
pretty much could not notice much difference. The smoke just scattered
around the room from the fan. So what is it for?

According to an engineer from Frigidaire, it is there because they can
say they have another "feature" that the competition may or may not
have. Useless as far as real life use. It is supposed to exhaust some
of the indoor air so fresh air can be drawn in. A few years back, my
company made the part with the vent opening. Laughable really, but on
a comparison chart, they had another check mark.



To get the most cooling and least energy usage, is it better to leave it
open or closed?

Closed.



One other thing, Does the front panel really serve any purpose other
than make it look nice? I found that it seems to feel much cooler with
that panel off. Maybe it's not really cooling better, but the air comes
out better. That panel seems to restrict the air flow. I'd rather have
it look ugly and feel good, than look good and not feel as cool.

The front panel holds the filter. If you are removing the filter, the
fins will eventually get covered with dust and dirt and you'll get no
air flow. They are not easily cleaned so be sure it is filtered and
kept clean..

If you don't want the air diffused as it comes out, it would be OK to
cut out the diffusers on the outlet portion. In any case, it won't
make the air nay colder. The capacity is what it is. You may feel a
bit cooler if the air is blowing right on you though.