As self-contained cooling systems, portable air conditioners are great for keeping rooms, offices, apartments, RVs, and even computer server rooms at comfortable temperatures because they can be easily moved and require no permanent installation. However, portable air conditioners still require venting through a window or wall with the help of an exhaust hose before cooling can begin. Nonetheless, overall, portable air conditioners have less maintenance requirements than swamp coolers. The following are some common maintenance requirements that are associated with most portable ACs:

Venting:  As mentioned above, portable air conditioners don’t require permanent installation, but the condensed hot air must be vented out of the room via a venting kit (usually included). This allows the vent hose to be slid into a window, with the exhaust hose being fitted into the appropriate window space. In some situations where venting through a window isn’t feasible, a portable AC can also be vented through a drop ceiling or wall. Although this method may require more work than if the unit was to be vented using a standard window kit, this will allow you to cool an area that lacks windows.

Draining the Water:  During the cooling process, your portable air conditioner acts like a dehumidifier because it removes water from the air. Most of this water is used to cool the actual AC and this results in better cooling efficiency. In fact, if you reside in an especially humid area, a good amount of water may be collected. However, this condensate must be removed, and portable air conditioners use various methods to accomplish this task.

Basic portable ACs will collect condensate in buckets which need to be emptied, but more advanced room air conditioners have the ability to evaporate more of this moisture, therefore resulting in less or even no water to be emptied. Furthermore, most portable air conditioners can support the connection of a drain hose that allows water to be drained continuously, and there are even condensate pumps available which pump the water outside or into a drain pump located indoors.

Cleaning/Replacing the Filters:  Portable air conditioners usually make use of some sort of air filter to eliminate airborne particles, and some advanced units may even come with built-in air purifiers complete with carbon filters and ionizers. Therefore, for effective particle abatement and optimal cooling efficiency, regularly clean or replace the filters in your portable AC. This should occur on a bi-weekly or monthly basis (depending on use).

If your portable air conditioner has a washable filter, slide the filter out, immerse it in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse thoroughly, and let it dry before replacing it back into the unit. On the other hand, if you have a portable air conditioner with a carbon filter, replace this according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Cleaning the AC Exterior:  A clean portable air conditioner will result in increased air volume, so the actual housing of the unit should be cleaned every few weeks. Wipe the surface of the unit with a soft, damp cloth when the unit is turned off, and don’t use abrasive chemicals or detergents. Furthermore, try to keep the portable AC away from direct sunlight because this can change the color of the unit’s surface. 

To optimize the use of the free standing type of air conditioner, some basic things need to be checked and understood. One thing that the homemaker should take note is the power rating in this device. The portable air conditioner that can be ordered in the market is often rated in BTUs or called the British Thermal Units. The BTU is the amount of heat that can effectively raise the temperature of a pound of water to one more degree higher in terms of Fahrenheit.

To put this concept in proper perspective and in layman?s term, then the concept of BTU is simply the measure of the heat the air conditioner can take out from the air of the room in a specific period of time. Now it should be remembered that the higher BTU do not necessarily mean that the portable air conditioner will be better than the rest. It is imperative that the proper BTU rating of the device should be used in order to get the best services. The cooling device that does not have enough cooling capability will find it hard to cool the whole area of the room. And in order to get the best results, it is often suggested that a proper research should be made when choosing the device.

Others will suggest that in order to gain the best benefits from the device, it is imperative that you get the portable air conditioner that can get a little more cooling capability than the home requires. This is a tried and tested suggestion; to get the best it is always better to have the device that offers cooling that is more than enough. It is safety net in order to gain better convenience at home. There are a number of guidelines as well that need to be considered in order to get the best cooling device for your home. Here is one trick that you can adopt inside your home; you can reduce the required capacity by 10 percent inside the room if the room is heavily shaded. The opposite will happen if the weather is on the sunny side; you can reduce the capacity of the device by as much as 10 percent. Also do take note that you can add another 600 BTU to the capacity of the cooling device for every additional person that occupies the same room. This is beyond the two people that the cooling device can support. If you need to put the portable air conditioner in the kitchen, then it is suggested that you add another 4,000 BTU.

Room size is an important factor when you want to get the best cooling experience from this cooling device. Strike the proper balance between room size and the cooling capability of the device. If the portable air conditioner is rated in kW, it is suggested that 0.080 kW is needed for every square meter of the regular sized room. If it will be used on the regular-sized living room then 0.125 kW will be used for every square meter area in the living room area.

Nowadays there are masses of free standing air conditioner units available in either online shops or brick-and-mortar businesses. We also know that some of these machines can become so specialized that the price tag is flashing the dollar sign right into the thousand dollar category. We also know that some of these portable air conditioner units are marketed as energy savers. However, this marketing information does not even scratch the surface when it comes to vital data about this product. If you really want to know more about what marketers are not saying, then read on.

This portable air conditioner is a space saving device. In normal language, this simply means that the unit is small. What the marketer is not saying are the technical specs that matter. Almost all portable air conditioner units are small. That?s why they are portable in the first place. They can easily be carried from one place to the other with relative ease. The larger models are not really suitable for home use since they do tend to occupy a greater space. However, these larger models are usually built on wheels or platforms with wheels to make transport easier. So when a marketer has nothing more to offer about his product, other than being a ?space saving device,? you may want to actually research or demand technical specifications like how much power does the machine consume, how much does it take for it to cool a small room, and what additional functions it has (like dehumidifying or heating functions.)

You also have to take note that not all space saving devices come with matching small(ish) price tags. Sometimes, the smaller the machine is, the larger its charges are. One more thing about small portable air conditioner units: since manufacturers are trying to make the model as compact as possible, the mechanism within might be geared for all outage usage. These may not be energy saving devices at all. Saying thus, we now go to when the ?

This portable air conditioner is an energy saving device. In normal language, this simply means that it eats up lesser kilowatt usage of electricity. What the marketer is not saying is that this device will inadvertently increase your utility bills, whether you like it or not. Any air conditioner unit, whether it?s portable or otherwise will most certainly spike your electricity usage by leaps and bounds. When the marketer says that it can help you save money when you use this product, ask specifically how the machine can do so.

The functions vary for one machine to the other. For example, a portable air conditioner unit with a dehumidifier is supposed to help you save money during the most humid and condensation-filled days. You can turn on the dehumidifier instead of blasting on the air conditioner. Although this may sound rational since theoretically, you can lower your electric usage by not turning on the air conditioner, it?s actually not viable. For one thing, how many days of the year would you need the dehumidifier more than the air conditioner unit? Secondly, even with just the dehumidifying functions on, the machine still uses energy. If you want the real score behind the tag line, it does not hurt to ask for details.

When most people think of portable air conditioners, what comes to mind is usually basic information that’s not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there’s a lot more to portable air conditioners than just the basics.

With the onset of the damp weather, it becomes difficult to survive without constant central air conditioning but that can prove to be quite expensive. The answer to this problem is a portable air conditioner as it has many advantages. It is easy to shift from one place in the home to another and that makes a portable air conditioner the ideal cooling system solution for your home, office or industrial site.

The portable air conditioners are easy and quick to install, as they do not involve any lifting or tearing up of windowsills. Moreover it can be shifted very easily from one place in the home to the other. For taking care of the hot spots in the central air conditioning, the portable air conditioners are far more convenient than window air conditioners. It is also ideal for window shapes, which present problems for installation. There is nothing like portable air conditioners for use as a spot cooler in the home.

A portable air conditioner is an excellent choice for saving money as just one unit needs to be purchased and it can be shifted easily to where you need it as it is mounted on castors and some can weigh only about 36 pounds. Moreover, as only one room is cooled at a time instead of the whole house, the total energy consumption is very low as compared to other air conditioning systems.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

Another advantage of portable air conditioners is the energy efficiency that they provide. The average efficiency is in the 8 to 10 range although some are as high as 15, which is 50 percent better than most older central air conditioners. The small size of the portable air conditioners is very advantageous and as such it can fit in a corner or against a wall. It functions like an effective dehumidifier if you do not vent the warm exhaust air out through a window and its size is also the same as that of a room dehumidifier.

In order to reduce humidity and allergies, even the small ones remove 35 pints of moisture per day from the room air. The portable air conditioners also use the heat-exchange principle as the other air conditioners to cool and dehumidify the air. The operating principle is also similar to a window air conditioner as the room air circulates over cold evaporator coils to cool and dehumidify it inside the unit. The room air is exhausted outdoor after flowing over the hot condenser. There is no chance of already-cooled indoor air escaping outside as two ducts are now used.

Nowadays, you have electronic controls in most models and you can set the desired room temperature, blower speed, start and stop timer, and operation mode (cool, dehumidify, heat). The portable air conditioners also have hand-held remote control with which you can conveniently change all the settings as per your need.

The other features of portable air conditioners include a built-in air cleaner with an optional charcoal filter and oscillating louvers to distribute the cool air throughout the room. You can also switch off the louvers to direct the flow of air towards yourself, if you so desire.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about portable air conditioners.

To stay cool when it is impractical, impossible or cost prohibitive to install a traditional air conditioning unit, some people use portable air conditioners. They are maneuverable and easy to install. In fact they don’t even need to be permanently installed. They just need to be vented. Portable air conditioners are perfect for people who want cooling without having to give up window space. They are more convenient than window air conditioners and are simple to operate. Most have wheels or casters on the bottom that make them easy to move from one part of your home to another. Money is saved because only the area you need is cooled. They can act as a fan when there is less need for cooling and sometimes a heater function is included so that it can be used all year long.

Portable air conditioners have simple configurations. There is a box-like design that holds the cold and hot sides in one. An exhaust hose expels the heat and water is condensed out of the air. The resulting water is collected in an internal drain bucket or through a drain hose. Some portable air conditioners use evaporative technology so that little to no water is produced.

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a portable air conditioner is the BTU rating. BTU stands for British thermal unit, which is a unit of energy used in power, steam generation and heating and air conditioning industries. BTU rating describes power and cooling capacities. It measures the heat that an air conditioner can remove from a room. The higher the value, the stronger the air conditioner. BTU ratings usually range from 5,000 to 30,000 and the size needed depends on the area being cooled.

Your portable air conditioner’s cooling efficiency can be affected by the wrong BTU value. If there is a higher value that the corresponding room size the unit will cycle on and off too quickly and will not properly remove humidity from the air. When it cycles on an off like that, energy is wasted, electric bills are increased and the unit is strained. Also, there is a chance that the unit can freeze over but many units come with an automatic shut-off switch that operates when the unit gets too cold. If the BTU rating is lower than the corresponding room size, the room will not be adequately cooled

Portable air conditioners only work properly when appropriately sized so keep these simple steps in mind when choosing a unit:

-         Measure the room dimensions by multiplying the length by the width. You’ll need about 30 BTUs per square foot of space.

-         Verify the size of the window opening.

-         For each person over two in a room add 600 BTUs. Each person at rest adds approximately 230 BTUs to a room per hour.

-         For kitchen cooling or other rooms with a lot of heat add 4,000 BTUs. Also, if you live in a very warm climates you’ll probably need a portable air conditioner that outputs more BTUs per hour

Not all portable air conditioner units are the same! Aside from the price tag, there are some machines with specifications that would be great investment options even if it means going over your budget substantially. In other cases, some units may be inexpensive, but would later turn out to be not worth the money you paid for it at all. As a way of protecting your hard earned cash from spot buys which you might regret later on, here are a few tips on how to make your budget work for you when it comes to purchasing your very own free standing air conditioner.

1. Are you deciding on a portable air conditioner purchase because you know that you would need one for most parts of the year; or because you think that you need some thing on a more temporary basis? Believe it or not, many people buy second hand junk ? I mean ? portable air conditioner units because they need one on a temporary basis. Say a special project came up and the room you are working in is stuffy and ill-ventilated.

2. On the other hand, if you are trying to find a portable air conditioner on a more permanent basis, then do a bit of research first. There are so many online catalogues now that are easy to download and screen. One tip: instead of focusing your attention on prices alone, look at specifications as well. Some units are worth their way in gold. Pricier tags can sometimes mean installment payment options, to make purchasing a bit easier on your wallet.

3. Since you are looking into specifications now, you may want to choose an energy efficient model. You do have to remember that once you set up your portable air conditioner unit, your utility bills will soar. An energy efficient unit can cost more than its counterparts, but will help you save money in the future.

So what is a portable air conditioner? In essence, a portable air conditioner or free standing air conditioner is a specially designed A / C that is made in such a way that it does not need to be installed to a window or to a wall. Portable Air Conditioners can be used in any type of room, whether in your office or your house, it doesn’t matter. Without using expensive installation procedures, you can install your portable A/C in less than an hour and get it up and running.

Most freestanding air conditioner units will have heating capability as well as cooling capability. Moreover, a huge portion of them will have dehumidifiers (devices that remove the high humidity from the air) and thus you feel more comfortable and cooler while breathing less humid air. In addition, portable air conditioners will help ventilate rooms that have poor air circulation or poor ventilation. In addition, some units will have the ability to de-ionize the air and also remove any bad smells along with dust and dirt particles from the air.

As you can see, portable air conditioners are nice little gadgets that have many useful functions. But perhaps the most useful trait of these devices is the fact that you can relocate it easily anywhere and any time.

The only hard part about their installation is the hose that comes with the unit. Some units may come with a single hose while the more expensive ones will have two hoses. In a single hose unit, the air enters from the hose, gets cooled down and exits into the room as cool air. In double hose units, one hose will receive air from the outside (another room or the exterior of the building depending upon your choice) and the other one will exhaust the air. In any case, most portable A/C units will not require complex installation and drilling. In fact, for windows, most units will come with a kit so that you can put the hose out of the window easily.

Of course, for all their advantages, Portable A/C Units also have some cons. They are more expensive compared to regular A/C units; but the fact that you can take them anywhere, whether it is your office, home or even summer cottage will offset that fact. One problem you may face will be the water exhaust from the air conditioner units. In some portable A/C units, you will have to remove the water manually while some of them will have evaporators to do this automatically for you. In any case, having a portable Air Conditioner can change your life for the good.

As the temperature continues to rise, thanks to the summer season and global warming, more and more people are seeking for ways to keep themselves nice and cool. There are those who opt to go to the beach and enjoy the cool breeze as well as the refreshing ocean water however for those who do not have much choice, and do not have enough money to blow on a huge air conditioner, a great alternative is getting a free standing air conditioner.

However, getting a portable air conditioner is definitely more advisable for people living solo or couples. Basically not just those with big families or else you are better off getting a big air conditioner or a window air conditioner instead. Why? Because free standing air conditioners, due to their compact size, will not really be able to keep the temperatures down if it is used in a big place packed with a lot of people. Portable air conditioners simply do not have enough power to be able to compete with the bigger sized air conditioners, its machine will not be able to hack such a responsibility.

So for those who are on a budget but are still willing to spend a little for something that will keep them cool all summer long, then a portable air conditioner is their best bet. In spite of being obviously not at par wit the usual air conditioners, portable air conditioners are still way better than the usual hand fan even those cheap electric fans.

Unfortunately, just to make a good sale, there are still some stores who will dupe their customers into buying something that turns out to be completely useless just after a few months, either that or you will end up just sending the item to the repair shop on a regular basis.

A good portable air conditioner should not cost as much as a new car, do take note of that. So before you go shopping for budget portable air conditioners, just look around first what?s available in the market today as well as to make sure that you will be able to stick to the budget that you have set. Getting yourself a portable air conditioner should not be such a stressful task, just know your budget limits, be a little patient in trying to score the best deals and soon enough you will surely be able to find the model that is perfect for you ? and your budget of course.

What could sound lovelier than a cooling device that can easily be transferred from room to room, especially if window space is not readily available, or if regular air conditioners are forbidden in the area. This device is called a free standing air conditioner, and it is the solution for those who can?t stand both the heat and the fixed aspect of regular air conditioners. No air conditioner may be portable enough to literally be used anywhere, but portable AC units today come close.

A disadvantage to using portable air conditioners, however, is the possibility that they might not be able to cool an entire room. Some may even be pricey, with costs up to $500 at times, especially compared to ordinary air conditioners, but did not offer the same amount of cooling. This may be because of their smaller size. It is important to check the cooling capacity of certain models before purchasing them. Usually, a number in square feet will be listed in a unit?s information. That indicates the size of the room that the portable AC unit can cool.

Less efficient units are the ones that come with only one exhaust hose, which is used to send air from inside the room, to the condenser coils of the air conditioner, and then to the outside world. Typical portable air conditioners also come with a vent adapter bracket that that is placed outside a window to allow hot air to pass through and be released outside. Installation of those pipes is fairly easy.

The sole function of portable AC units is convenience, and unfortunately, this means that their cooling capacity is only half of that of an average window air conditioner. Whereas portable AC units usually have an energy-efficiency ratio (EER) of around 5 or 6, normal units have around 10, and can go as high as 12. However, very good quality portable AC units can match that EER, which is often why they cost more.

Some may argue that portable units are inefficient, but in truth, they require much more processes than a regular unit and therefore are often forced to multitask. Air from inside the room must be used to cool it, and a lot of air is exhausted to the outside. This causes some energy to be wasted, as it is ejected through the vent hose instead of getting to be utilized further. Also, sometimes, warm air from outside can enter the room, which adds another necessary cooling and dehumidifying process to the mix. One must commend the portable air conditioner for being able to do that much and still function properly.

In order to be better prepared for all the aforementioned processes, some portable air conditioners come with two hoses or pipes: one that brings in air from the outside and cools it, and one that exhausts that air back to the outside. With these pipes, portable AC units are getting closer to matching the cooling process of a traditional window air conditioner, which is good news and means that in the future, portable air conditioners will be more efficient.