Portable Air Conditioner Guide » hvac http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com All About Portable Room Air Conditioning Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:43:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 Portable Room Air Conditioners http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/portable-room-air-conditioners http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/portable-room-air-conditioners#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:41:09 +0000 admin http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/?p=7 If you live in a small space, like a small apartment or even a small room, in a home, just having the window open will not always cool down your room. When a person, or family, lives in a small space, they might not want to purchase a large air conditioner either. This is when portable room air conditioners come into the picture. Portable room air conditioners are being come and more popular these days. In fact, office workers who work in cramped spaces bring these portable air conditioners into their office as well.

The best thing about portable air conditioners are, they move around with ease and are not heavy either. If you are concerned about height or size, many portable air conditioners range in sizes to fit your personal space. They can be purchased at around 30 inches in height and only take up 12 to 18 inches of space. If a renter or office worker uses a space ranging in 150 to 250 square feet, then a portable air conditioner would be a great investment to stay cool, and fit in that space without taking up too much room. The portable air conditioners made today can be purchased with 8,000 to 13,000 BTU power as well. This will all depend on what type of room(s) you want to cool down which have something called a self-evaporating technology.

Another good thing about owning a portable air conditioner is they do not take a lot to maintain. That is, there is no need to always have a traditional air conditioner maintenance person come to your home to fix it or keep it good running order. Don’t get me wrong, even though this is not a traditional air conditioner, it is still an air conditioner nonetheless and still needs to be maintained if you want this to last for a while. If you are one who likes to fix things around the home, then small repairs can probably be done by you. There are sure to be maintenance directions in the box the portable air conditioner came in.

Also, if you are one who is looking to conserve energy, a portable air conditioner is what you want. Since these air conditioners are small and easily movable, they also do not require a lot of energy consumption either. As the summer months begin to roll around, there is no need for anyone to live through the awful heat coming our way. Portable air conditioners are less expensive and in the long run, will take up less energy. The cost of energy is on the rise, with the purchase of a portable air conditioner, which can be moved from room to room, it will be the best purchase any apartment dweller or office worker ever made. Nobody needs to live with extreme heat and high energy bills anymore.

]]> http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/portable-room-air-conditioners/feed 1 Choosing A Quiet Portable Air Conditioner http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/choosing-a-quiet-portable-air-conditioner http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/choosing-a-quiet-portable-air-conditioner#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:36:23 +0000 admin http://portable-air-conditioner-guide.com/?p=5 Nearly everyone appreciates an air conditioned room when summer heat and humidity are at full blast. But if there is no central air, or a window or through the wall unit is impractical or impossible, then a portable air conditioner might be a consideration. But there are several things to know before purchasing one.
The major advantage of a portable air conditioner is the ability to take it from room to room. But units tend to be large, usually weighing 50 – 85 lb., and may not be so easy to move. Portable air conditioners also need to be vented, and come with one or two flexible hoses attached for that purpose. Therefore, a unit would always need to be placed near a window, as well as re set up everytime it’s moved, which may also limit actual portability. Window vent brackets are usually included, and usually don’t require any additional tools.
Another issue is what happens to the water that collects when air is cooled. In some units this water is used to cool the condenser coil and is mostly evaporated. In other units it would have to be emptied either by hose or by hand. Like all air conditioners, noise is also potential concern. Some (but not most) portables advertised on the web are specifically noted to be quiet. However, some of them cost considerably more; most were stated to be ‘quieter than others’ without any specific decibels or other noise comparisons.
One of the most important things to know is that portable Btu’s come at a higher price. For example, in one big box store, a window unit of 15,100 BTU’s (approx. 900 sq. ft room) cost $399, but an 11,000 Btu portable unit in the same store cost $100 more. In general, the least expensive portable units cost around $300, and most range from about $400 – $650. Additionally portable air conditioners tend to be less energy efficient, and cool less area than a similarly sized window unit. So to effectively cool a room, more Btu’s per square foot would be needed, and energy costs may be higher.
The web sites of Consumer Reports and Consumer Search suggest the following about portable air conditioners:
- Choose a portable over window units if less than maximal cooling is needed or if other types of air conditioners are not an option
- Make sure a unit has casters for rolling.
-Buy more Btus than would be needed in a window or through the wall unit.
-Purchase a unit with a drainage hose, or auto evaporation.
-Look for a unit with two hoses, since these tend to cool slightly better than one hose models.

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