Kapsul Air Offers Easy, One-Person Installation Almost Anyone Can Do on Their Own

As everyone knows, summertime is a season filled with endless possibilities for fun and leisure. While gardening, nights on the patio with friends, and a smoking barbecue beckon, summer is also a season of chores — both indoor and out. For decades, one of the most dreaded summer tasks homeowners had to face was the prospect of installing a bulky window air conditioner without coming to grief.

Traditional AC units are heavy, cumbersome, and hard to maneuver, and wrestling one into place was one of the first pain points Kapsul Air’s co-designer and CEO Kurt Swanson was determined to address when creating his company’s consumer-friendly room air conditioner.

With its unique slot-and-oval configuration complemented by a slender, stylish silhouette, when the original Kapsul Air concept hit the market in 2020, it was more than a breath of fresh air — it was revolutionary. Standing a compact 7 inches tall and measuring 20 inches wide by 22 inches deep, the current Kapsul Air W5 — with its purpose-built, corresponding slide-and-lock housing frame (adjustable to accommodate windows from 22 to 36 inches in width) — is a breeze to install.

With Summer on the Horizon, Installing Your AC Shouldn’t Wait

Kurt Swanson believes with the hottest days of the year just ahead, the time to install air conditioners is now. “When the first hot day arrives — especially in the Northeast — that’s when people really start to think about air conditioning,” he says, stressing that they really shouldn’t wait that long. “It’s definitely something you want to have ready to go before that first hot day comes,” he advises.

“Getting ready early means you won’t be installing your AC with the window up, letting in hot air and getting all sweaty,” Swanson adds. “I’d recommend people install while it’s not that hot out, just for comfort’s sake.”

For those looking to upgrade from bulky traditional AC units to modern models such as the Kapsul Air W5 — which, in addition to a smaller footprint, offers value-added incentives including integrated smart technology, enhanced air circulation and filtration, humidity control, and noise reduction when compared to legacy air conditioners — there’s no time like the present to make the switch (especially since Kapsul Air is nearly sold out for the year). “Now’s the time to get that big, heavy room air conditioner out of your window and replace it with ours, so you can start fresh before it gets [hotter],” Swanson says.

The Kapsul Air Installation Process at a Glance

Historically, the process of installing a traditional legacy air conditioner has held the potential of becoming a comedy of errors — sometimes with less-than-laughable consequences. Setting one of those boxy behemoths in place is generally a two-person job that requires muscle power, dexterity, and stamina. One wrong move might result in the unit dropping out of the window and crashing to the ground below, resulting in likely irreparable damage to the AC unit and the potential for grievous bodily harm to anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in its path.

Thanks to its unique interlocking installation configuration, getting a Kapsul Air snugly ensconced in your window won’t ever get out of hand.

The specs for Kapsul’s current models are designed to accommodate single and double home windows that open vertically. “When the Kapsul arrives, there’s a kit on top, which is your window frame adapter,” Swanson says.

While creating the prototype, Swanson and his team took numerous, diverse window geometries into consideration, and he’s justifiably proud of the solutions they’ve achieved. “We’ve done amazing work to make sure the adapter is going to fit in your window correctly,” he explains. “Our window frame adapter is kind of like a product within a product … We’ve got patents just on these components alone.”

Because Kapsul’s adapters are built to encompass a wide variety of geometric factors, Swanson says consumers are better able to adjust them to fit a particular window. Another advantage Swanson points out is that Kapsul Air window frame adapters only weigh a couple of pounds. “You don’t have to worry about holding some really heavy object in place while your friend helps you close the window in time so you don’t drop your AC unit onto the street,” he notes.

Kapsul Air Is Designed With One-Person Installation in Mind

During his team’s early problem-solving phase, ease of installation was a critical issue. “I didn’t want our product to be something people might accidentally drop out of a window because they’re either trying to do it alone or weren’t strong enough to do it on their own,” Swanson says. “With a Kapsul, you put the window frame adapter into the window first, and then once you’re sure it’s in the right place, you can take the time to install it properly. You don’t even pick up the Kapsul Air until that’s in place.”

The Kapsul Air W5 weighs 48 pounds and comes equipped with a pair of front and back ergonomic handles to facilitate ease of lifting. While Swanson admits it’s potentially too heavy an object for some consumers with strength or mobility issues to handle on their own, the dual-handle design makes Kapsul much easier for most people to pick up and install than its competitors. “You’re just picking it up for all of a moment,” Swanson says. “You lift it into place, slide it into the window frame adapter, lock it, and you’re done.

“We really focused on making the installation process as easy as possible for people of all strength levels,” he adds. “We think it’s something almost anyone can do — OK, not everyone — but most people can do this on their own.”

To prove the point, Swanson’s wife, Linda (who also pulls her weight as Kapsul’s general counsel and patent attorney), stepped in for the W5 introduction and installation video, in which she admirably demonstrates just how easy the process is.

“Yeah, in my case, it was something I wanted my wife to be able to install on her own — which she can,” Swanson says. “Some people who see the video wonder if she’s installing an actual unit. They’ve said things like, ‘C’mon, how is she lifting that?’ To which I say, ‘My wife may not be crazy strong, but she can pick up a small child, and if she can pick up a toddler, she can pick up this air conditioner.’”

While we’re still headed for hot weather at the moment, it’s nice to consider that thanks to its compact size and relatively light weight, Kapsul Air will be a breeze to remove and store away come summer’s end.