By contrast, a portable air conditioner usually needs to be near a window but is far easier to move around. Simply plug it into an outlet and install a window kit to vent moisture and exhaust. Many portable ACs vent their exhaust through a hose, potentially giving you the ability to cool down a room with a smaller window that couldn’t hold an in-window model.

Portable air conditioners often don’t meet the same specs as window units, but the Whynter ARC-14S comes close. It offers a respectable 11.2 EER rating while pumping out an impressive 14,000 BTUs of cooling power. That makes it one of the best energy-efficient air conditioners on the market. Due to condensation, water droplets are collected, so you'll need to manually remove the water from the tank every so often and clean the filter at the same time. While the electricity used to power portable air conditioners can come from renewable energy sources, this can’t be guaranteed. Electricity is generated from a mixture of burning fossil fuels, renewables, gas and nuclear, but this is mixed up in the grid. After adding 10%, you will have a better estimate of the cooling power you will need for this space. This is due to the added ambient heat added due to the environment. This may mean going up to the next available cooling power. There are a few useful things you can do to cool down in hot weather without having to invest in new equipment.Decreasing efficiency over the life of the heater or air conditioner. Like most appliances, the efficiency of a heater or air conditioner decreases with usage. It is not uncommon for an air conditioner to lose 50% or more of its efficiency when running with insufficient liquid refrigerant.

Homes in more extreme climates are subject to larger fluctuations in temperature, which typically results in higher BTU usage. For instance, heating a home in Alaska during winter, or cooling a home during a Houston summer will require more BTUs than heating or cooling a home in Honolulu, where temperatures tend to stay around 80°F year-round. Other FactorsBut no air conditioner is completely silent, even on sleep mode. In fact, you're better off pre-cooling your room before you go to bed, rather than attempting to sleep with one running. Timer Find out which retailers are rated highly by Which? members with our guide on the best and worst shops. Can you hire or rent an air conditioner?

They are generally heavy, unwieldy appliances. If you have reduced strength and/or live alone, you might need to get someone to help you set it up. Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now. Size of air conditioning condenser. Units too big cool homes too rapidly. Therefore, they don't go through the intended cycles they were designed for. This may shorten the lifespan of the air conditioner. On the other hand, if the unit is too small, it will run too often throughout the day.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Some models double up as a dehumidifier, meaning they serve a purpose throughout the year, not only in the summer. If you'll mostly be using this function, though, we recommend buying a dedicated dehumidifier instead. Adjustments for more than 2 people and kitchen are not really relevant for this smallest size of air conditioners. Use this calculator to estimate the cooling needs of a typical room or house, such as finding out the power of a window air conditioner needed for an apartment room or the central air conditioner for an entire house. Size Portable air conditioners also use refrigerant gas to help cool your room. This can come in the form HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), a greenhouse gas that when emitted can contribute to global warming. If yours is working properly, it shouldn’t release any HFCs. However, if the unit leaks or is disposed of incorrectly, that’s when harmful greenhouse gases can be released.

If you are attempting to cool a second story that is typically warmer than the ground floor or a space that gets a lot of direct sunlight (for example, a room with a large west-facing window), you want to add 10% of the recommended BTUs. Portable models extract hot air from your home and push it outside through the attached hose. A reliable model will cool the room you're in, but don't expect it to push cold air down the hallway or into another room.

Do I need a drain for a portable air conditioner?

We've tested portable air conditioners from a range of popular brands, including AEG, Argos own-brand Challenge, DeLonghi and ElectriQ. If you plan on using your air conditioner in your kitchen, or any area of your home where your appliances will likely generate higher levels of heat, you will need to add 4,000 BTUs to the recommended cooling power. Around two million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste are generated every year, so it’s important to dispose of your portable air conditioner correctly and in a way that isn’t harmful to the environment. Of all types of air conditioners – from portable, thru-the-wall, window, mini-split, central air conditioners– there is only one that can produce as little as 5000 BTU: Choose a suitable model for the size of the room Those with a lower BTU in a large space will have to work harder to cool it, which is going to use more electricity.