Pat Bradley asked:




Air conditioners cool the rooms in your home, apartment or office and also remove moisture from the air. Lowering the temperature and decreasing the relative humidity in your home (by removing excess moisture) are key to keeping your living and working spaces comfortably cool, reducing mold growth, and keeping dust mites from flourishing in your home. This can be crucial for allergy and asthma sufferers.

One of the primary differences between a portable AC and central air, is like a window air conditioner, portables are meant to cool only one room at a time. In doing so they limit themselves but also fill a niche where the other two types fail.

Here are a few instances where a portable may be advantageous.

- If you have a home addition and central air/heat ducts was not installed, a portable unit can cool the addition with little relative expense.

- Some home owners associations prohibit the use of window units, and for climates where cooling is not a high priority or you have an older home that lacks central air, a portable air conditioner can be ideal.

- In offices or older office buildings you may have a server room where computer servers and other electronic equipment is stored. Electronics are prone to failure in extremely warm conditions.

- In high rise apartments, particularly in the Northeast, central air may not be available and installing a window unit can be difficult and potentially dangerous.

- In restaurant or busy home kitchens portable air conditioning units can assist or work as a standalone solution to cooling these warm spaces.

- In case of power failure or disasters. In the Gulf region, where storms can knock power offline for days or weeks, you can couple a portable air conditioner with a generator to help keep your bedroom cool and reduce summer heat and humidity that is common during storm season.

Portable air conditioners usually come with casters, so you can move them from room to room, and a window attachment kit, to fit a variety of openings. So it’s possible for you to use the unit in your living room during the day and move it to your bedroom to create comfortable sleeping conditions throughout the night. Essentially, you can take your indoor climate anywhere in your home.

Installation can easier than the other two types of air conditioners. Installing an HVAC unit can be extremely expensive and very labor intensive. Window units are big step up in both of these instances but present challenges of their own. With window units you basically have this heavy, bulky compressor hanging outside your window. Most come with a support that attaches to the window sill or side of the house, and moisture (condensate) usually just drains out the bottom onto the ground or whatever may be below it. Portable air conditioners are likely the most simple to install. Generally you attach one or two hoses (depending on whether you have a dual or single hose model) to the unit then the other end of the hose is fitted to a window kit. Most often you simply open the window, place the kit and close the window on top of it. Other than occasionally having to drain the excess moisture that may collect in the unit, there is really little left for you to do other than enjoy a cool, comfortable room.

This brings me to another unique feature. Many of these units also act as dehumidifiers. And in humid climates, they will extract a lot of moisture from the air. So, unlike central air units that drain condensate away through a separate drain line, portable air conditioners push most of this excess moisture out through the exhaust hose, with the warm air. All have some sort of internal tank that will collect the moisture that is not exhausted by this self evaporation process. Under very humid conditioners, this internal condensate tank will eventually fill and you will need to drain it.

All portable air conditioners are measured the same way traditional air conditioners are, by BTU. As a general rule, if the space you want to cool needs 8,000 BTU’s to cool it, if you are using a portable air conditioner you will want to buy a slightly higher rated unit. Though convenient, in general the portable air conditioners are not as efficient as other types of cooling units, and it is always better to have more than enough cooling power rather than struggle to keep your indoor temperature consistently cool.

When selecting a unit, keep a number of factors in mind: added features, functionality, square footage to cool, conditions where used, brand reliability, and price.



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