Buyer’s Guide
A portable air conditioner is a handy piece of equipment that can be used on hot, sticky, humid days for relaxation and comfort. A portable air conditioner is a small mobile unit usually on wheels. It can be moved throughout the home or office. It ventilates through one or several holes located on the machine, it does not require installation and is between 29 and 34 inches tall and weighs between 65 and 80 pounds. When purchasing a Portable air conditioner it is important to consider where the unit will be placed. Will the air conditioner be placed in an office, in a room, or an apartment? What size is the room you are considering using the unit in? This is extremely important as you want to make sure the size of the unit is comparable to the room it will be used in. This is very important as it will determine the number of British Thermal Units (BTU’s) that will be used.
BTU’s indicate how much cold air comes out of the unit, and problems can occur if the unit is too big for its space. The more air that comes out, the more air it needs to circulate to avoid giving the thermostat a false reading. If the unit is too big for the space the cold air will bounce off the wall and back onto the unit giving it a false reading. This kind of false reading can cause the machine to shut off, because the thermostat is reading that the targeted temperature has been achieved. While the unit is off, the room will begin to warm up causing, signaling the unit to cycle back on. This cycle will continue every few minutes will no real change in the rooms’ temperature. One of the secondary problems this can create for you is an increase in your utility bill as every time the portable air conditioner cycles, its pushing your home electrical system to work. And we all know, every push equals more and more money.
Portable air conditioners should always have some form of ventilation. If there is no ventilation then one part of the room or home will become warm while the other side is cooling. This required ventilation can be achieved by leaving the smallest amount of space available on the sides of the machine, and making sure nothing is blocking the back of the machine like plastic, or an outside bush or tree. Portable air conditioners without ventilation are inefficient and ultimately will be a waste of money.
Portable air conditioners do not require much maintenance; however, should the coils become icy you will need to clear the ice from it. There are a few other small maintenance issues you want to keep in mind, that are more than likely explained in great detail in the owner’s manual that comes with your portable unit.
When the air is being cooled by the portable air conditioner, it removes the moisture from the air and retains it in the machine; as a result, the air conditioner will need to be cleared of water from time to time. As the buyer, you will need to consider how often you would like to do this. Some machines require that you remove the water from the machine retained every 8 hours while other machines require that water be removed only once a month. Others require no water to be removed at all as the water moisture mixes with the hot air exhaust causing the water to evaporate. Before a proper decision can be made, you must check your budget as the latter can be pricey. Prices on portable air conditions can range anywhere from $29.00 to $500.00 and up.
If you are concerned about energy, there may not be away to get around this, as any machine requires the use of energy. Portables have a high operating cost due to the amount of energy they use; although, compared to central cooling units, the cost to keep cool with a portable unit is significantly lower. Many of the portable air conditioners serve others purposes too, like heating and dehumidifying; making the cost of the machine a wise economical purchase.
You will need to decide whether you want manual controls or electronic controls. Manual controls will have a knob where you set the temperature to low, medium and high. If you decide on electronic controls, the unit has an electronic key touch pad and d a digital display that allows you to set the unit to a specific temperature.
Some of the perks of buying the portable air conditioner are:
No installation is required; you can take the unit directly out of the box and immediately begin to cool your space as opposed to hiring someone, and waiting on them to install it for you.
The units are easy to operate. Furthermore, you will not have to worry about costly repairs as most home owners do with central air units. And last but certainly not least, using a portable air unit on average, costs much less than a central one; and you can take it with you wherever you go.