Portable Air Conditioners

Portable Air Conditioner Size chart:

Portable Air Conditioners:

If you want to avoid blocking the windows or if you can't have a window air conditioner because of rental or association rules, then Portable Air Conditioners might be your best choice. What makes a Portable Air Conditioner unique is that the entire air conditioning unit (except the window kit) resides inside the room being cooled. This means that there is not an unsightly window air conditioner sitting on your window sill. Also, Portable AC's can be more moved from room to room if needed.

Which Portable Air Conditioner is right for me?

Dual Hose vs. Single Hose Portable AC's:
There are several factors to consider when deciding between a dual hose air portable conditioner and a single hose portable air conditioner. Dual hose units are, by design, are more efficient than single hose portable ac's. This is due to the fact that dual hose units use outside air to cool the components of the air conditioner and then the hot air is exhausted outside. With a single hose unit cool room air is used to cool the components and then exhausted outside. Single hose units are not recommended for spaces like garages, storage sheds, or other spaces where there is no insulation. Single Hose units still provide solid cooling capability, however not as efficiently as dual hose units. Here are questions that you will want to consider:

Why would I want a single hose portable AC?:
There are situations where a single hose unit works well – they perform best in situations where supplemental cooling is needed – i.e. a room that your central air does not cool well enough or perhaps is not connected at all. For example, sunrooms, laundry rooms, etc. In these situations they can easily provide the supplemental cooling you need.

When would you recommend a dual hose portable air conditioner?:
We generally recommend dual hose air conditioners for any situation where they are the primary cooling unit for the space and where window or thru-wall ac's are not desired. We also recommend them anytime allergies are a consideration. Single hose units can lower the air pressure in your home which can cause airborne allergens to be pulled in from outside. Dual hose units do not have this issue.

What Size of Portable Air Conditioner do you recommend?

Why does it require more BTU's to cool a space with a portable air conditioner than a window or thru-wall air conditioner?:
The main reason is that, with a window or a thru-wall air conditioner, all of the heat-producing equipment is completely outside. Because of this there is no loss of cooling power from those heat sources. With portable AC's, the exhaust hoses get hot, especially the exhaust hose, and therefore will radiate heat into the room being cooled. This affects the overall cooling of the room. Many of our customers have insulated the hoses with something akin to a hot water heater insulation blanket that they have cut and fit to the hoses. By doing this there is a significant increase in cooling efficiency.

Standard Installation:
With a portable AC, you will need to vent the hot air conditioner exhaust outside. Because the entire air conditioner is located inside, the exhaust heat has to be pushed outside through an exhaust hose – usually through the provided hoses and window kit. The diagram below shows how to install a portable, as you can see it is quite simple.

Custom Installations:

Not everyone has the ideal situation for installing the exhaust hoses. Because of this we would like to offer ideas for a custom installation that our customers have used. Some have vented a single hose portable through their ceiling to the attic, others through the fireplace chimney by creating a plexi-glass cover for their fireplace with holes to accommodate the exhaust kit fitting. There are also many other custom installation possibilities for portable AC's. One thing to take note of is that dual hose portables require fresh air from outside to perform properly so you will need to take this into consideration before proceeding with a custom installation. However, the performance improvements of dual hose portables outweigh the hassle of installing the second hose. Something else to consider- dual hose units do not mix the outside air with your room air. They pull the outside air in through the inlet hose and use it to cool the mechanical components of the AC, including the condenser and then push it outside through the exhaust which means that you are not using the interior air to cool the air conditioner and the air pressure will remain neutral so no allergens will be drawn into the room. We hope that you will find this information useful. However, please bear in mind that we cannot advise you on custom installation scenarios as we are not onsite to see the full situation.