Cooling Only / Electric Package Unit

Why Choose a Cooling Only / Electric Package Unit

A Cooling Only / Electric Package Unit is one of the simplest ways to cool a home or commercial building without dealing with separate indoor and outdoor components. Because everything sits in one outdoor cabinet, it takes up less space than a traditional split system and is often easier to install on a rooftop, a concrete pad, or right outside a mobile home. If you're also looking into a system that handles winter heating, our heat pump systems collection covers that side of comfort as well.

Homeowners in warm climates especially like a cooling only electric package unit because it skips the gas furnace altogether. There's nothing to vent, no gas line to run, and one less appliance to maintain over the years. For properties where winter temperatures rarely dip low enough to need heat, this setup delivers reliable cooling without paying for heating capacity you won't use.

How to Size a Packaged AC Unit for Your Space

Getting the tonnage right matters more than almost anything else when shopping for a packaged air conditioner. A unit that's too small will run constantly and struggle to keep up on the hottest days. An oversized unit cycles on and off too quickly, which leaves rooms feeling humid even when the temperature reads comfortable.

As a rough guide, a 2-ton package unit air conditioner typically covers around 1,200 square feet, while a 5-ton system can handle closer to 3,000 square feet, depending on insulation, ceiling height, and how much direct sun the space gets. Square footage is only part of the equation. The age of your ductwork and your local climate zone matter too. If you're not sure where your home falls, our sizing estimator for heating and cooling equipment walks through those factors so you're not guessing at tonnage.

Because a cooling only electric package unit is a single self-contained system, matching the tonnage correctly from the start avoids resizing headaches down the road. There's no separate coil or air handler to swap out later the way there is with a split system.

Goodman Package Unit Options for Every Home

Every cooling only electric package unit on this page comes from Goodman, a brand well known among HVAC contractors for straightforward, dependable equipment. Each goodman package unit here runs on a 13.4 SEER2 rating, which keeps energy use reasonable without asking you to pay for efficiency levels most homes don't actually need.

The lineup runs from a 2-ton model suited to smaller homes up through a 5-ton goodman package unit built for larger houses or light commercial spaces. Single-stage models cool at one fixed capacity, while the 5-ton option steps up to two-stage operation, running at a lower capacity most of the time and only shifting to full power on the hottest afternoons. That design tends to feel more even room to room and puts less strain on the compressor over its lifespan.

If your project leans commercial rather than residential, take a look at our light commercial packaged air conditioner options, built for the airflow and mounting demands of retail spaces, offices, and small commercial buildings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is a packaged air conditioner?
A single outdoor cabinet that holds the compressor, coil, and fan together, instead of splitting those parts between an indoor and outdoor unit. 

Q2. What's the difference between a cooling only electric package unit and a heat pump package unit?
A cooling only electric package unit is built strictly for air conditioning, with no heating function built in. A heat pump package unit, by contrast, can also pull heat from outside air during colder months, making it a year-round option in climates that need both.

Q3. How long does a packaged ac unit typically last?
With regular filter changes and basic upkeep, most packaged ac units run reliably for 12 to 15 years. Coastal or high-humidity climates can shorten that range somewhat, since the outdoor cabinet is exposed to the elements year-round.

Q4. Can a package unit air conditioner be used for a mobile home?
Yes. A package unit air conditioner is a common choice for mobile and manufactured homes because it sits entirely outside on a small pad, without needing indoor closet space for an air handler.