Here’s how to buy the right one and get the most comfort for your money.
What Is a Portable AC Unit?
They were invented way back in 1931 and, by the 1950s, had become commonplace.
Portable AC units are a more recent addition to the market.
When it comes to cooling power, window units blow portable AC models out of the water.
But we understand that not everyone can use a window unit.
When it comes to cooling power, window units blow portable AC models out of the water.
Maybe your home only has casement windows so you could’t mount a window unit in them.
Maybe your local Home Owner’s Association or condo rules restrict you from putting anything in the window.
Or maybe the building rules or local ordinances prevent you from using one.
When shopping for a portable AC unit, always go for a dual-hose model.
This criticism is well earned, and most of it has to do with how inefficiently single-hose units operate.
The first loop passes air from your home over cooling coils and back out into your home.
The second loop, on the other side of the system, releases that heat outside your home.
Hisense
When shopping for a portable AC unit, always go for a dual-hose model.
What’s so bad about the single-hose design?
It uses one exhaust hose to eject the heat.
This creates a negative pressure exactly as if you’d put a fan in your window.
What happens when you put a fan in your window?
It creates a draft from other places in your home.
it’s possible for you to shoot air out a window without replacing that air from somewhere else.
It’s more or less like running your AC unit with a window open.
The shorter and straighter the distance the hose has to travel to the window, the better.
If you want to vent out of a sliding glass door, you’ll needa very tall vertical adapter.
Related:How Much Is your setup Heating Your Home?
Keep the drapes drawn on the sunny side of the room.
When cooling your home, you’re not just cooling the air.
You’re also cooling the contents of the home.
(Do verify if your particular model has a dual-hose adapter kit.
It’s rare, but some companies like GEoffer kits for some of their portable AC units.)
You’ll need to carefully inspect the model you have and determine where the condenser air intake is.
Remember there are two “loops” in every air conditioner.
One loop pulls air in from room, cools it, and ejects it into the room.
One loop pulls in air to cool the condenser coils and then ejects that hot air from the room.
Your goal is to locate the vent that is pulling air into the condenser.
It might help to see a side-by-side example of what we’re talking about.
Above, we have two examples of portable AC units from the same company, Hisense, side-by-side.
The lefthand unit features a dual-hose design.
Fresh air comes in on the left, and hot air is ejected through the hose on the right.
to cover that area of the machine briefly.
If the machine is sucking in air the piece of paper should stick.
initiate the system and monitor it for any malfunctioning, overheating, or other problems.
If you’ve jerryrigged the whole thing properly, you’ll notice two things immediately.
When in doubt, justbuy a unit that comes with the dual-hose designright out of the box.
