What to Look For in a Portable Air Conditioner
Portable air conditioners work by pulling in room air, lowering its temperature and humidity level through condensation, then blowing cooled air into the space. They have a compressor, condenser coils and an evaporator coil.
Many models are on wheels and roll easily from room to room. Some vent out a window using an exhaust hose that can be extended to reach the outside. Look for ENERGY STAR certified units that meet efficiency standards to save electricity and money.
Cooling Capacity
Most portable air conditioners have BTU ratings that indicate how large a room they can cool. You can use these numbers to find the right unit for your space, but you should also consider other factors.
For instance, if you have heat-generating appliances like stoves or dishwashers in your home, you’ll need to take into account how much their combined output is. In addition, the ductwork in your home can add warmth to a room, too. Similarly, the exhaust hose on a portable AC can get hot when it’s working and radiate some of that heat back into the room the unit is cooling.
Another factor to consider is how many watts a unit uses. Portable units that require a window vent aren’t as energy efficient as single-duct, wall-mounted models. Consequently, they Small Portable Air Conditioner tend to run for longer periods of time to cool a room and cost more per kilowatt than other types of air conditioners.
You’ll want to look for a portable air conditioner with a low energy consumption rating or an energy star label. This will help you reduce your energy bills while still enjoying a cool, comfortable home.
Noise Levels
Depending on the model you select, an air conditioner can produce up to 68 decibels of noise. This is far too loud for most bedroom spaces, particularly if you want to sleep well and have conversations with someone else in the room at the same time. The good news is that newer compressor technology, like the ones used in the Danby Wave 2 and LG LP1419IVSM portable air conditioners, reduces this machine noise significantly.
Most portable air conditioners have a quiet setting for reduced noise output. But you should note that this will significantly limit how powerful the AC is as it operates. It is not recommended to run the unit on this setting.
Aside from selecting a unit with a low decibel operating noise, there are several things you can do to reduce the overall volume of a portable air conditioner. One way is to place the unit on carpet, as this will absorb some of the vibrations that can make it noisy. You can also put a blanket over the unit to further absorb some of the noise.
In general, portable air conditioners with inverter compressors are the quietest units. They are more quiet than window air conditioners and even smaller portable AC units that have lower EER ratings. This is because inverter compressors have a more efficient motor design, which helps to keep the unit quieter.
Energy Efficiency
A good portable air conditioner will use less energy, which means lower electricity bills. Look for models with a higher combined energy efficiency ratio (CEER) rating, and features that let you reduce power requirements even further, such as sleep, timer or auto modes. Some models are also solar-ready, allowing you to use clean, green energy from a panel on your roof or in the wild.
Portable air conditioners work by passing indoor air over a series of coils that remove heat and humidity. The cooling process is powered by a compressor that compresses a refrigerant gas into a high-pressure vapor, which passes through the condenser coils where it cools down and turns back into a liquid. The fan then blows the cooled air into the room, while the hot air is expelled through an exhaust hose that vents out of the window or through a wall or drop ceiling.
Some models are fully self-evaporative, so the air isn’t pushed through an exhaust hose. Instead, the moisture gathers in a reservoir in the unit where it must be emptied manually several times a day. Other units will have collection hoses that drain into a drip hose that runs down a wall or floor, into a drain or outside.
Controls
A smart AC controller like Mysa for AC can Small Portable Air Conditioner wholesale connect to your existing air conditioning unit, allowing you to control it using your smartphone. You can use the app to set cooling schedules and monitor usage reports. You can also pair it with smart assistants like Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, and Samsung SmartThings for complete home climate control.
The process of keeping a room cool is fairly simple: refrigerant absorbs the heat in the air, warms up and turns into a gas, loses its heat to the surrounding air, then cools back down to a liquid. Then it repeats the cycle over and over to keep your room at a comfortable temperature. A smart AC controller can help you reduce energy consumption by setting scheduling and turning off your AC when you are not home.
You can also use an app to set a timer that turns your AC off within a certain period of time so you can come back to a cool, comfortable house without worrying about leaving it on all day. Some portable air conditioners also have features like a fan, dehumidification, and oscillation to distribute cool air more evenly throughout your space.
Some smart AC units have built-in smart technology, while others need a compatible external smart AC controller to make them smart. Both options are easy to install and can make your home more comfortable while saving you money and energy.
