Portable Air Conditioner

Have you ever thought about buying a portable air conditioner? Do you have an outdoor workshop or some other building that you spend time in that isn’t part of your home? Or how about a room inside your home that isn’t cooled by your central air conditioning system? Even if you have a central unit, if you have a room with southern exposure and live in a hot, humid climate, your central unit might need extra help to keep certain rooms in your home cool and comfy. You might be thinking that your best option is a window air conditioner, but you could be wrong. For example, most basements don’t have windows, and your workshop might not, either. So what’s the best solution to your cooling problem? It might very well be a portable air conditioner!

What’s a portable air conditioner?

A portable air conditioner is an air conditioning unit that can be moved from room to room or from your house to your workshop. Since they’re stand alone units, portable air conditioners require no installation. All you have to do is plug it up and run the exhaust hose through a window, and you're ready to enjoy cool, refreshing air.

Portable air conditioning units not only cool rooms – they also remove the warm air and humidity from the room and expel it outside via the hose. The unwanted moisture collects in the water pan and needs to be emptied periodically.

Think of portable air conditioners as coolers – not chillers. They’re not as powerful as most window units or as central cooling systems. They will, however, make an area much more comfortable with the combined effects of cooling and removing humidity. As you might already know, dry air can feel much cooler than moist air, even when both are the same temperature. Portable air conditioning units address both problems.

Why a portable air conditioner?

As already mentioned, portable air conditioners can provide much needed cooling in outbuildings or in parts of your home that aren’t connected to your central air system. Even if your entire home is serviced by your central system, a portable air conditioner can also be used to provide extra cooling and dehumidifying in especially hot and humid times of the year. You might have a room with a southwest exposure that just doesn’t get as cool as the rest of the house. Portable air conditioning units could be beneficial here, too.

Portable air conditioners aren’t fixed in a certain location the way window units are. They’re freestanding and can be moved from place to place easily. They also come in different sizes, so if you need a small portable air conditioner for a small area, or whether you need a larger portable air conditioner that's capable of cooling a larger area, you can find the size that fits your needs.

Portable air conditioners can actually be used all year, even when cooling isn’t needed. They can also function as fans and as dehumidifiers.

What size portable air conditioner will I need?

The size portable air conditioner you’ll need depends on the size of the room or rooms you want to cool. First, figure the square footage of the room. Portable air conditioners come in four sizes, based on their BTUs.

For rooms up to 150 square feet, you’ll need a 7,500-BTU portable air conditioner.

For rooms up to 200 square feet in size, purchase a 9,000-BTU portable unit.

If your room is larger than 200 square feet but smaller than 250 square feet, you’ll need a 10,000-BTU portable air conditioner.

A 12,000-BTU portable air conditioner will cool up to 350 square feet.

How much do portable air conditioners cost?

Portable air conditioners generally cost a little more than window air conditioners, but of course they’re much cheaper than buying a larger central unit and running additional ductwork. And if you have two rooms or areas that need cooling at different times during the day, one portable air conditioner will work where two window units would be required.

To view an example of a portable air conditioner, see the photo below the article links.