What are portable air conditioners?
Portable air conditioners are the smaller cousins of the window air conditioners. Unlike a window air conditioner, they do not require permanent installation. Most portable air conditioners are around 30” in height and can weigh up to 80 pounds.
Why use portable air conditioners?
Portable air conditioners are a more suitable energy saving option if a person wishes to cool only one specific area of a house. Since only the occupied space is cooled, it conserves electricity and saves your electricity bill in the long run. Look out for portable air conditioners that also have a heating option that allows it to be used in winters. The portability of such air conditioners make them versatile to be used for specific cooling needs such as keeping server rooms cool. The military uses portable air conditioners for cooling mobile bases and tents.
Installing and using a portable air conditioner:
Portable air conditioners are very handy in cooling smaller areas where conventional air conditioners cannot be installed. Portable air conditioners extract hot air from a room. This hot air needs to be vented. If this air is not vented out properly the air conditioner will struggle to cool the room effectively.
Window venting kits are usually provided with most portable air conditioners. The main part of the venting kit is the vent hose which is 5 to 7 feet long and is made of high quality flex hose. In order to vent the air out of the window, either a Plexiglas screen cutout to the diameter of the hose or a foam window kit is used. Installation of the foam window kit is very simple and takes up to 5 minutes. Other alternatives to venting the hot air out of the room include sending the air into another room or into an attic above a drop ceiling.
The main components of a portable air conditioner:
Portable air conditioners come with a reservoir that stores condensed water. The water condensation occurs due to the cooling process. Some portable air conditioners come with an auto switch off option to ensure that the unit switches off to prevent spillage of water. An alternative to a reservoir is to have a draining hose that constantly works.
Like a normal air conditioner, a portable air conditioner uses Freon gas to cool air. This cool air is fanned into the room. In order to operate efficiently, a portable AC needs ventilation for the motor. An exhaust hose leading out of the room will provide the necessary ventilation. The hose resembles a slightly oversized washing machine hose. Some newer portable units can evaporate the condensation produced and vent it along with the hot air.
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