Portable air conditioners are a relatively new item for homeowners seeking relief from hot weather. So, you might wonder if they’re better than the window units that have been around forever and if so why. Well, “better” is sometimes relative – in particular to your personal circumstances. But for most people, portable AC units have several advantages.
First of all, you can take your air conditioner with you more easily when you move. Portable air conditioners are much easier to install. They utilize a long hose (or two) that fits through a small window kit that can be installed in minutes. Looks better, too, than a big rectangle of metal hanging out the window a foot or so. Also, you don’t have to worry about an outside portion getting in the way of bushes (and vice versa) or anything else.
“Portable” really means portable, too. If you move your home office to another room, or just prefer to cool down the bedroom rather than the office, it’s easy to relocate the hose. You can get a spare window kit and just roll the AC unit to the other room, install in a minute by poking the hose into the window kit, and you’re done.
Portable air conditioning units are frequently quieter than window units. Sometimes, much of the noise generated by a window unit goes outside, but that may not be desirable either. Most portable models generate less than 60 dB, noticeable but far from deafening. And a lot of that noise is just from blowing cool air, not the loud hum of some window models. The compressors and fans in portable units are frequently superior.
Best of all, contemporary models can generate a lot of cool for a modest amount of electricity. A 12,000 BTU model can cool a 400 square foot room (with standard, 8-foot ceiling) from 90F/32C down to 68F/20C in an hour or less. That cooling power isn’t free – most models consume about 1,100 watts – but it’s far less than the cost of the average central air conditioning system.
So, portable air conditioners may or may not be best for your home and circumstances. But the idea is definitely worth looking into before you buy.