Many people don’t know how portable air conditioners work. They think that cool air is simply produced and released into the room. It takes an understanding of how they work in order to take care of them, shall you purchase one. There are different parts that will need to be maintained and cleaned for your unit to work properly. Here are some facts that everyone should know about portable air conditioners.
How They Cool
A portable air conditioner cools a room by removing the warm air from the room it is in. Some units cool that same air and release back into the room, while others cool outside air and release it into the room. Most units also have a dehumidifier function which absorbs all the moisture in the air and either evaporates it or releases it into a tray, container, or drainage hose. That’s the gist of how portable air conditioners work.
Single VS Dual Hose
A single hose portable air conditioner takes in the warm air, letting most of it out through its exhaust hose leading out a window. The air that is not exhausted through the hose gets cooled and released back into the room. This can cause negative pressure in the room. A dual hose unit takes in the warm air, lets it out through one hose while taking in cooler air from the outside with the other hose. It then cools the air taken from the outside and releases it into the room. A dual hose won’t create any negative pressure in the room. Some dual hose units have 2 internal fans which may cause for more energy usage.
BTU and EER
An air conditioner’s cooling capacity is measured in BTUs or British thermal units. A BTU is a unit of energy. A 150sq ft room will need about 5000 BTU to cool it. It is important to have the right amount of BTU for the room you are trying to cool. Too little BTU will not cool the room properly and too many BTU will cause for more condensation. Too much condensation build up can cause water damage to the unit or your home. EER stands for energy efficient ratio. The higher the EER, the more energy efficient it is. Most portable units have an EER that ranges between 8 and 11, depending on the amount of BTU it has.
It is fairly easy to understand how portable air conditioners work. As long as you know these simple facts, you should be okay to purchase one. Since a portable air conditioner does take in the air from the room, it does have filters and other parts that will call for replacing and/or cleaning ever so often. You will also need to rid of any excess water the unit may gather in its drip tray. Not all portable air conditioners come with a drip tray but that is rather rare. It is very important to take care of all the unit’s pieces and parts as well as to understand how it works.