How Effective Are Portable Air Conditioners?
Portable air conditioners are unlike other types of air conditioning because they can be moved from room to room as needed. Even window unit air conditioners are not truly portable because they require a window, which all rooms do not have. The portable air conditioner can literally go anywhere in the home you need it to be, but how effective it actually is is determined by how you use it and what you compare it to. Does this Spark an idea?
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For Single Rooms
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For a single room that needs to be cooled down, the portable air conditioner can be a very effective machine. Some rooms are not built to handle a window air conditioner because of a lack of windows or the presence of windows that are too small to support the unit. Meanwhile, the portable unit can go anywhere it is needed, although some models will need to vent exhaust and moisture through a vent tube into another area or out a small window.
When a window unit is not feasible, or if the room's location or design makes it difficult to properly cool to your expectations, the portable can be a very effective option either as the room's only cooling mechanism or as a supplement to a central air system that isn't getting the job done.
For Multiple Rooms
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A portable air conditioner offers a reliable option for cooling a single room, but if there are multiple rooms that need cooling, the portable unit is probably not going to be very effective when compared to other means of air conditioning. The size and proximity of multiple rooms could make it possible for a portable air conditioner to effectively get the job done, but it will have to work much harder and will struggle to maintain the temperature more than a window air conditioner would. Also, it will be far less effective than a central unit.
If the size of the room is small and the outdoor climate in your area isn't extremely hot, the portable unit can be effective in cooling as long as the natural temperature in the room does not need to be lowered more than 10 degrees. A portable unit will only lower a room's natural temperature by 10 to 15 degrees, according to the Sylvane website.
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BTU Dependent
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How effective your portable air conditioner will be in cooling depends on the BTU rating your unit has and the size of the space you are trying to cool. As a guideline, assume you are cooling a space in an average climate and with eight-foot ceilings and well-insulated walls. Under these conditions, a 7,500 BTU system will effectively cool 150 square feet. A 10,000 BTU system will cool 300 square feet, and a 14,000 BTU system will cool 500 square feet, according to the Sylvane website.
In Comparison
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Since people with a central air system are not as likely to purchase a portable air conditioner, it is best to compare the portable with the window-mounted air system.
The portable unit with the same BTU rating is actually slightly less powerful than a window air conditioner. This may be because of inflated claims by some producers of portable air systems, or it could be because of the design of the system, which allows some of the hot exhaust back into the room, whereas the window unit vents everything directly outdoors.
When it comes to price, the Consumer Research website claims that the window air conditioner is generally less expensive and more effective than comparable portable air conditioners.
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