SummaryA quick introductionPortable Air Conditioner Buying GuidePower in BTUsSturdiness and reliabilityNoise levelEnergy consumptionFeatures and AccessoriesReversibilityConclusion So, you want to invest in a portable air conditioner that will cool your living areas in hot weather, but when it comes to making a choice, you don’t know exactly what to look for because there are so many products available? Well don’t worry, because you’re in the right place! The purchase of such a AC unit is serious : a portable air conditioner is expensive, costing no less than 300 to 500 dollars for a machine that performs well! At The Air Geeks, we know a thing or two about air conditioning. We’ve been having so many questions from would-be customers about their upcoming purchase that we decided to make this guide! We aim to become the online reference for the purchase of a portable air conditioner for your home, giving you a clear and independent, point by point guide on the various criteria for choosing a portable air conditioner.

Apart from the price, the choice must be made based on other parameters such as room size, exposure or consideration of whether to invest in a reversible portable air conditioner that will provide additional heating in winter. Our sole purpose is to provide quality information on what to look for when investing in a portable air conditioner. A portable air conditioner is an easy-to-install unit, and it is, as the name suggests, portable : it’s easy to move thanks to wheels on most models. It helps cool living rooms during hot weather, but also, more often than not, acts as a dehumidifier and air filter. A portable air conditioner is low maintenance and but WILL need cleaning and the occasional fixing. Do not expect to cool a very large area, but depending on the power of the unit, it can cool up to 500 square feet in a few hours. You see, there are two types of air conditioners: So how do you choose which one you need? Well, it depends mainly on whether or not you want to pay professional to modify your home.

For split portable air conditioners, you just need a balcony or a window sill on which to put the outdoor unit, and insert the hose through the door or window. The fixed split air coolers are, in turn, much more expensive and installation is usually carried out by professionals. At The Air Geeks, we opted to present only the free standing air conditioner models, because we find they fully meet the occasional use requirements on hot days. The split models are certainly very effective, but as these require the investment in professional help, we are not including them in this guide. In our opinion, certain criteria have to be looked at more carefully when you want to invest in a portable free standing air conditioner. We put these criteria forward in our buying guide to help you select what will best meet your own air conditioning needs – while saving you the time and worry of a huge study. We recommend you pay particular attention to the following criteria! This is the key point to watch when you want to invest in a portable free standing air conditioner, because it is the parameter that will determine the efficiency of air conditioning.

The power of refrigeration (or heating for reversible models) is expressed in BTU, for British Thermal Unit, a unit of British cooling energy, which reflects the thermal power AC units. price of a 4 ton ac unitThe more BTU’s, the higher the surface that can be cooled.ac unit per square foot This parameter is very important and must be adapted to the areas of your home:split unit air conditioner with two indoor units The power required depends not only on the surface of the parts to be refrigerated, but also on many other parameters inherent in your home such as orientation, sunshine, overall insulation of your home, the number of openings or even ceilings. The conversion of BTU to watts is simple : 1 watt-hour corresponding to 3,414 BTU.

Thus the cooling capacity corresponding to the cooling capacity in BTU can easily be converted into watts. The power consumption in watts, in turn corresponds to the energy consumption of the device. In these conditions, it is difficult to give precise values per area, but we note that for the majority of homes you will need a power at least equal to: In our opinion, this is the number one quality issue when it comes to buying a portable air conditioner as they are expensive and are no good if they break down on the first use! We have only selected devices from brands with guaranteed models whose after-sales service we know is responsive and efficient. Do not expect us to review you low-end models straight out of TV shopping! The noise level of your portable air conditioner is a criterion of choice because nobody wants a noisy unit in their house. A noise level between 55 and 70 dB for an air conditioner is the norm. Beyond that, the sound may disturb you, so remember to look into the noise level of each device!

Note: Some portable air conditioners have a silent or night option which is very useful if you want to cool your room at night. The air conditioner will switch to quiet operation so you can enjoy a peaceful and cool atmosphere as you sleep. This is another very important point, because the portable indoor air conditioner is an electrical connection device that consumes a lot of energy, which is its main disadvantage. You should find out where your device is located on the level of energy class and energy performance, and this is a point not to be overlooked when making a purchase : it can add a lot on the bill! We obviously recommend that you choose the least energy-consuming device : the majority of good quality portable air conditioners fit in this category. However, besides the very humble “Energy Star” rating, there is no unified, commonly-accepted and easy-to-read grading for how much energy your device will consume! Remember, it is absolutely necessary to choose an air conditioner adapted to the size of the room to be refrigerated because it will be much more energy efficient, producing just the right amount of cooling necessary… and your electricity bill will come down accordingly!

In our reviews, we WILL DEFINITELY take this element into account. The freestanding portable air conditioner has various features depending on the model:In some models, the portable air conditioner also acts as a dehumidifier, draining air in addition to providing freshness to the environment. The difference will be the ability to run the air conditioner on dehumidifier mode only, without air conditioning, and on this point the models differ. The dehumidifier capacity is measured in litres per hour. Some devices also have a function to control humidity in the room. The air purification function, it is expressed in m3 per hour and corresponds to air flow. The presence of a remote control, which is convenient to control your portable air conditioner without the need to get up off the couch or out of bed! Depending on the model you can increase or decrease the temperature, as well as turn the unit off and on remotely. Integrated thermostat or timer function: the timer will allow you to run your air conditioner for a given period, for example enough time to sleep.

With a timer you can set the times you want the unit to come on and switch off. With the thermostat function, the portable air conditioner automatically turns off when the desired temperature is reached in the room. This feature allows energy savings and prevents premature wear of the device because the air conditioning is not operating unnecessarily. Depending on the model, the portable air conditioner will automatically start up again as the room temperature rises. The possibility for the portable air conditioner to also produce heat is a selection criterion to bear in mind. So you can use it as a summer cooling device, but also as additional heating in winter, making it a versatile and useful device throughout the year. That’s it, you have our synthesis of the information in hand to choose from the wide variety of freestanding portable air conditioners available on the market. Power must be adapted to your home and the size of areas to be cooled, and it must also be energy-efficient and silent.