Portable air conditioner hot and cold

When searching for products for your home, research is key. This is true even for products such as home appliances like air conditioners. The thing with air conditioners is that you’ll want to get a jump on finding one before it’s too late — you do not want to be in the middle of a heat wave looking for one. There are lots of great options out there, but maybe they are too heavy or bulky. It’s always good to think about ways to make your space more efficient and less cluttered. You want to make sure you get the highest quality product for what you are paying these companies. But along with the cost of a product, you might also want to consider the long-term cost associated with that product.

That’s why portable air conditioners are great, as they are easy to use and very effective. They are easier to install than your regular AC units — you know the ones that stick out of your window and are super heavy. And the best part about portable air conditioners is that they can save you money. 

How portable air conditioners work

Basically, portable air conditioners take the warm air from outside and turn it into cold air. This aspect is the same as any other AC unit in the market. But what makes a portable AC unit different is that it can act as a fan and as a dehumidifier. Despite all of the things it can do you may be wondering, do portable air conditioners use less electricity? That is a good question to ask. If you rely on your home’s central air, then yes. A portable air conditioner allows you to more efficiently control the temperature in your room. Which will make you use your central air less, and by doing that you will be spending way less money on your energy bills. 

The portable air conditioner is also a great option for older homes. Why is this? Because in most cases, a lot of older homes do not have a central air system and many times, a lot of older homes may have older windows that can accommodate traditional air conditioners. This means that in order to cool your home you either have to install central air, which can run you a fortune. This is due to the fact that for a lot of older homes there needs to be a lot of structural changes for it to be suitable for a central air system. And the cheapest way to bypass this is by using a portable air conditioner. All you need is a three-pronged outlet and you are good to go.

Considerations before purchasing a portable AC unit

There are two important factors that you do have to take into consideration when purchasing a portable air conditioner. The first thing is to check is that your portable air conditioner is designed for the size of the space you desire. The best way to make sure is by checking the unit’s BTU. BTU stands for a British Thermal Units and it basically tells you how much the unit can cool.  The higher the BTU, the stronger the unit. But if you’re not careful, you might choose a unit with not enough power and this might compromise the cooling efficiency of your portable air conditioner. The other thing to check for is for proper ventilation sources. Your portable air conditioner still has to be sucking air. Which means that you need a window, a wall, or a vent that will extract air. 

Conclusion

I hope this article showed you that there are other options when it comes to cooling down your home, as it’s always important to conduct as much research as possible when purchasing a unit. Consider this article a starting point, and best of luck in finding your next portable air conditioner!

Are you tired of setting up your bulky AC unit in the summer? Is your current AC unit not satisfying your cooling needs? These are questions you’ll want answered before summer hits. You don’t want to be caught in the middle of a hot day with an AC unit that doesn’t work efficiently, and you don’t want to have an inefficient AC unit ruin your summer. If you live in a really humid part of the country, this can make the weather even more unbearable. But what’s the alternative?The answer to this can be very simply a portable air conditioner. This product allows you to cool your room, office, or any other part of your home, and the best part is that it can even help you with dehumidifying rooms in your home. 

How portable air conditioners dehumidify

You might think that portable air conditioners aren’t as efficient as regular ones or that they can only make spaces cool. But in fact, portable air conditioners actually serve another function beyond cooling — they also can serve as dehumidifiers. Basically how they work is that they extract the heat out of a room or space and cool that air. When the portable air conditioner extracts the air, it’s also extracting the moisture that is contained within that air. What this means is that your room will no longer feel humid because that humidity will be stored within the portable air conditioner. This portable air conditioner also has different functions than your regular and conventional AC unit.  Every portable air conditioner has the following functions: to cool air, to compress the refrigerant, and to move air. In other words, portable air conditioners help to dehumidify a room. So, to answer your question, do portable air conditioners remove humidity? The answer is a resounding yes. 

Other benefits of a portable air conditioner

But the benefits of a portable air conditioner can go beyond dehumidifying your room. You can also save some money while you use a portable air conditioner. You see, a portable air conditioner allows you to move it to the rooms you most use. If no one uses the living room and the only room being used throughout the day is the office, your central A/C system will be cooling rooms that no one is using. This means that you’re paying to cool rooms that are empty. Over the long run, a central A/C system can add up. But with a portable air conditioner, you can easily move it to the room you most use without having to fire up the central A/C system in your home. Portable air conditioners also allow you to control the temperature of the room in a more efficient way. This means that you can test different temperatures and find the right one for you. No more having to freeze all over your home when you can find the perfect temperature that will work best for you. 

And if you have an older home that doesn’t have a central A/C system, a portable air conditioner might be the best way to cool your home. Instead of having to spend thousands of dollars in buying a central A/C system, you can use a portable air conditioner as an alternative. Portable air conditioners can also be very energy efficient, and they also look nicer than those bulky A/C units that jut out from windows. 

The appeal of a portable air conditioner is that it’s easy to move around your home or your office. Whatever area it’s in, it will ensure that the air is just the right temperature — whether that’s cool, warmer, or perhaps just feeling as clean as possible for you to breathe in.

Because you’re able to move a portable air conditioner around, it goes without saying that you may think that this means that you don’t have to vent it. However, this is not the case.

Why do you need to vent your portable air conditioner?

It’s vitally important that you ensure that your portable air conditioner is properly vented, no matter where you choose to put it. This is because the nature of these systems is that they will extract hot air from around them.

If you want to ensure that your room is properly cooled, then you need to make sure that this hot air has a place to escape, which should usually be outside of the property. If you don’t do this, then not only are you likely to find it takes longer for the air to cool down in the space, if it manages it at all, but you may also see that the air conditioning system could be at risk of damage from overheating.

Do they all come with hoses?

So the question remains: do all portable air conditioners have exhaust hoses? The main thing about portable air conditioners is that they can be easily moved around your home, but are still able to be properly vented. This means that the majority of air conditioners come with exhaust hoses. This is to ensure that the warm air can be removed and that it does not warm up the air while it’s being used.

It’s important to make sure that your exhaust hose is kept straight while you’re using the air conditioning system as this will allow the air to flow down it. Not only this, but it’s also important not to extend the hose further than it can be extended, as this can cause damage and may impact the performance of the hose and the machine itself.

How to vent your portable air conditioner unit?

So you know that your portable air conditioner unit needs to be ventilated and you know whether or not it has a hose. The next question is how do you vent it? There are a variety of ways that you can do this and it will really depend on where you’re going to have the system in your home.

The main point to remember is that you need to ensure that the hot air that your system is going to extract has somewhere to go. Putting the hose through the window is probably the best option for you. Another way to vent a portable air conditioner unit is to put it through a drop ceiling, or perhaps to use a hole in the wall to pass the hose through.

Investing in an air conditioning unit is a great way to ensure that your home, your office, or anywhere else that you want to cool is properly cooled. It’s down to you to decide where you want to put your system and also how you are going to vent it. Make sure that it works properly for you and you can soon feel a whole lot more comfortable, wherever you are and in whatever weather.

When you think of air conditioning units, then chances are that you think of large systems that you often see in business and commercial premises. Along with these you can also find portable air conditioners as well. These may be smaller, but they are still incredibly useful, especially if you’re in a smaller area that you want to cool down.

One thing to consider about portable air conditioners is how you can vent them. Venting these units is important, because venting allows the hot air to exit the room rather than staying inside the space and not really allowing it to cool down. Here are the different ways to vent a portable air conditioner.

Out of a window

The most traditional approach that you can take is by directing the air out of the nearest window, which is great news if you want to place it near to a window. Windows give you the ideal opportunity to direct the warm air down the house and straight outside. Not only does this mean that you don’t have to do any drilling, cutting, or DIY in order to ventilate your system. But it also means that you’re pushing all that warm air out of the house or office and instead taking it directly outside.

Take it through the ceiling

If you’re placing your air conditioning unit in a room that has no windows (such as a server or computer storage room), then one option open to you is to ventilate through the drop or panel ceiling. This can be a little on the tricky side to set up, but it allows you to direct the warm air through an alternative route, therefore keeping your space as cool as possible.

Ventilate through a wall

Finding it hard to get through the ceiling? If you are, then you might want to consider putting a wall ventilation system in. These can be trickier to put in place as they require you to think about where you’re going to cut out the hole and then fit the tube through. It does, however, make things easier for you. Best of all, it means that you can have your portable air conditioner unit wherever you want it to be.

Be creative

While all of these methods work, you’re likely to find one that is ideal for your needs. And that doesn’t mean that you can’t get creative with your approach! Think about not only how you can properly ventilate your system but also how you can make sure that it has a minimal impact on your entire space as a whole.

Also think about just how portable you do want your system to be. The last thing that you’re going to want is to put a ventilation system in place and then find that you need to move it after a few days. It’s better to think about ways that can work for you in both the short-term and the long-term too.

Conclusion

Portable air conditioning systems are a great way to keep any space cool. However, they can be tricky to find out the best way to ventilate them. That said, it’s worth the effort. No one wants to sit in a warm space and no one wants to feel uncomfortable while they’re at home or at work. So this is where a portable air conditioning unit  — and the right ventilation techniques — come into play.

Also referred to as evaporative coolers or swamp coolers, portable evaporative air conditioners manage to provide some comfort during blazing hot temps by harnessing the power of evaporation. The science behind it is pretty simple. Remember the cooling sensation you get when you put a moist cloth on your forehead when you have a high fever? This happens because the temperature of your head drops as the water from the cloth evaporates. Now instead of a cloth, imagine you have a piece of equipment that does this to the hot air that surrounds you.

You see, when water evaporates, it changes from liquid to gas form, with the particles bearing the highest energy being the first ones that leave the water. This process results in a reduction of the air temperature. Try misting the air around you on a hot summer day and you will immediately notice some difference in how much cooler the air feels. Now magnify that by a few hundred times and add technology to the process to get an idea of how effective and efficiently a portable evaporative air conditioner works.  

How Evaporative Coolers Work – Step by Step

So how do portable evaporative air conditioners work? In general, a portable evaporative air conditioner consists of a water reservoir, a thick cooler pad (or multiple pads), a fan, and some additional controls that help fine-tune the results. The fan has a double role (1) to draw the hot, dry air into the machine and across the pads, and (2) spread the resulting cooler air around the room.

Here is how it all works:

1. The cooling pad(s) absorbs water from the water reservoir.
2. The fan draws warm, dry air across the pad(s).
3. The water on the cooling pad(s) evaporates quickly.
4. The air becomes chillier (often by as much as 20 degrees).
5. The fan releases that cold air back into the atmosphere.

Note: Some portable evaporative air conditioners feature additional parts for enhanced functions, such as air filters, to help minimize mildew growth and reduce allergens to improve air quality. Others come with an extra ice pack to further cool the air.

Important Considerations About Portable Evaporative Air Conditioners

Evaporative coolers are more sustainable and energy-efficient than traditional air conditioners. In fact, they may use up to 7x fewer watts of electricity (traditional AC units need a compressor to deliver the intended cooling effect, which requires a lot of electricity). This means that evaporative coolers also lower your carbon footprint — and your utility bills. For one to be effective, however, you need to live in a dry climate with low relative humidity. This is because portable evaporative AC models add moisture into the air. The released water particles need to occupy “space” in the air they are released to. In humid air, there is not enough room for them to float off easily as the air is already saturated with water. This is not the case with dry air and arid locations.

Also, bear in mind the following:

• Evaporative ACs need a steady stream of fresh air. For this reason, open the windows closer to the fan to allow quicker evaporation. This will also prevent your home from feeling too clammy.
• Ensure you empty and clean the water reservoir often to avoid mildew and mold growth. Plus, you prolong the life of your evaporative cooler while also maintaining clean air quality.
• Choose the right size for your square footage.
• Although it may sound counterintuitive, avoid adding ice to the water reservoir to achieve a more intense cooling effect, unless your AC unit features an ice pack. You will get the opposite result.

Need a welcome accessory to an outdoor gathering, pool party, or picnic during scorching hot days? Or a portable AC unit to use in any room inside the house to lower the temperature? Then starting to experiment with a portable evaporative air conditioner is definitely a step in the right direction!

One of the essentials of camping on hot summer days is a tent with proper cooling to make the experience as pleasurable as possible. Of all the different ways to get air circulation inside the tent, nothing can guarantee a better sleep and living conditions in an otherwise hot stuffy tent than a portable air conditioner. But do portable air conditioners work in a tent? Here are some details worth noting about the popular cooling appliances among camping enthusiasts.

Cooling a Tent – How Much is Enough?

Let’s start by saying that most models are electricity-powered. Nevertheless, you may also find many battery-operated appliances on the current market to help you cool that tent down.

That being said, you will probably need a generator to keep the portable AC unit running (unless your model is battery-powered). You can skip this part if your campsite provides some sort of electric power supply. In any case, portable AC units can cool rooms between 50 square feet and 250 square feet. With a 5000 BTU rating, for example, you can cool a 150 square feet tent just fine. However, it’s advised not to go with any lesser BTU rating even if your tent is smaller than 150 square feet – you will most likely not get enough cool to last through the entire night.

When it comes to the performance of a portable air conditioner, it varies among units. Some are designed to keep the tent temps as low as 35F for about an hour, while others provide you with a nice cooling sensation for as long as 10 hours. For electricity-powered models, the average wattage ranges between 600-1250 watts (after starting up), which means they spend between 6-12.5 kilowatt-hour of electricity per hour. As for the required watts to run a battery-operated AC unit, take into account that these usually run on 12-volt batteries and consume 40W or higher per hour (the batteries can last for up to 10 hours).

What to Look For in a Portable Tent Air Conditioner

Admittedly, you’re spoilt for choice when considering AC units that are available for tents. You may choose from ice chest blowers to evaporative coolers and a lot more options in between. At campsites, however, it’s best to watch how the climate changes post-midnight as well as other features before you pick the portable AC unit for your tent. For instance, consider the following:

• Power. The selected unit must not consume too much power, otherwise you will run out of power shortly after you set up that tent. The good news is that all new portable AC models feature better SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio), which allows them to last for a longer time. At the same time, it needs to be powerful enough to ensure that you get the desired cooling effect through the night.
• Size. You don’t need just another bulky item on the list of your camping essentials. So your portable AC unit must occupy the smallest space possible and should not be too heavy to carry around. The most common sizes of portable air conditioners for a family tent of a decent size are 6000 and 8000 BTU, but anything above 5000 BTU will do.
• Air exhaust type. Typically, room air conditioners are easy to set up as they do not require you to rig them to exhaust air via the tent window. However, window AC units usually have superior cooling capacity.
• Affordability. The price plays a vital role when choosing a portable air conditioner for a tent. If the model you’re thinking of buying can perform as expected and is reasonably priced, then it probably is your best option.

Given the many additional functions that usually come with newer portable AC units, it’s only a matter of time before you find the ideal model for your next camping trip!

Many people wonder if their new portable air conditioner can also function as a heater. Most live in climates where temperatures require both a heater and air conditioner at different times of the year. An ideal solution would be a unit that can cater to all your climate control needs, without having to spend a small fortune. 

So then, do portable air conditioners heat? This is not a simple question to answer. Strictly speaking, the function of a portable air conditioner is to cool down the area. It draws in warm air, cools it, and pumps the cool air back into the room. But in considering this, there are two especially important questions that you need to keep in mind. Firstly, where does the warm air go? And secondly, what about the unit itself heating up from the energy it exerts while doing its job?

How an AC unit works

Once an air conditioner draws the warm air in, it cools it down before expelling it again. This is usually how most portable air conditioners work. Some units make use of an exhaust hose, which, when placed by an open window or door, pumps warm air outside. This exhaust hose is also where hot air created by the unit whilst it is functioning goes. The idea being that pump the hot air outside, and the cool air inside, to cool down the room.

Now think about this for a few moments. If you want to use your portable air conditioner as a heater, how might you accomplish this? How could you use your existing unit to warm your home without needing to buy a second one? Knowing the above facts about how portable air conditioners work, have you solved it?

Turning your portable AC unit into a heater

Imagine your portable air conditioners exhaust hose did not lead outside the room. Imagine you are using the unit in a closed space, with the hose pumping exhaust air right back into where it initially took the warm air from. What might the effect on the space be?

With nowhere for the warm air to go, and the heated exhaust air from the unit working so hard staying within the room, the area will not be cooled down. Instead, it will become warmer. This would of course be horribly counter-productive if you are trying to cool your home, but if you’re trying to warm it up, it becomes a handy little life hack. Simply use your portable air conditioner as normal but keep the exhaust hose inside the room and make sure all windows and doors are kept closed. There you have it, your portable air conditioner has now magically become a portable heater.

Potential problems

Noting that portable air conditioners come with specific use and safety instructions that direct you to make sure the exhaust hose is leading somewhere outside, many may wonder if this method of turning your air conditioner into a heater is potentially dangerous. And this is a valid question. Nobody wants to be using any electrical appliance in an unsafe manner and risking damage or injury to themselves, their family, or their home. Likewise, nobody wants to bear the cost of needing to replace a unit that broke down because it was not being used correctly as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Never fear. This method for turning your portable air conditioner into a heater is completely safe and risk free. As with any electrical device, it’s always recommended to not leave it unattended. And be aware that you should not put anything too close to the exhaust hose and should never obstruct it anyway. If you stick to these safety precautions, your portable air conditioner will be safely heating your home in no time.