PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – If you’re considering buying an air conditioner, but you don’t want a lot of fuss with a window installation, you might be tempted to go with one of those portable floor units. But beware, Consumer Reports tested a bunch of them and found they’re not much better than your average fan. With temperatures rising outside, a seemingly easy fix is a portable air conditioner. They’re designed to draw in warm air, cool it, then exhaust it outside through a hose that connects to your window. Consumer Reports tested eight of them, brands like Honeywell, Haier and Frigidaire. Prices range from $250 to more than $500. Consumer Reports used a special chamber to test their cooling power. The temperature outside was kept at 90 degrees and the humidity at 70 percent. Inside, each air conditioner was set to 75 degrees. Strings of thermocouples recorded temperatures throughout the room. The results were disappointing. “None of these units, not even the biggest ones, could get our test chamber below 80 degrees, even after an hour and 40 minutes,” Bob Markovich, Consumer Reports, said.

That was true even of the most expensive unit tested – a $550 Honeywell, which promises to cool up to 550 feet. It struggled to cool the test chamber, which was half that size. “Window air conditioners are much more effective, and they tend to cost less,” Markovich said. Consumer Reports found at least one window unit to recommend for each sized room. For larger rooms and medium sized rooms, two LG brand air conditioners won, costing $350 and $240 respectively. For smaller rooms, Consumer Reports’ best buy is a $210 GE. The reason these portable air conditioners don’t work is because while they use conditioned air from inside the house to cool the condenser and force the hot air out through that vent, it creates negative pressure, which actually draws more hot air into the room you’re trying to cool. Also, because the entire unit is inside the house, they’re often much louder as well. More Reports by Susan KoeppenWhat is a Portable Air Conditioner?

Portable Air Conditioner (PAC) is an easy-to-install appliance floor unit for areas that need cooling and dehumidification.  Quick installation, without damaging window sills permanently, and casters that allow convenient portability, make the portable air conditioner ideal for use in different locations and rooms.  hvac unitsPortable Air Conditioners can also be used to support any central HVAC (Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning) systems.combination heating and cooling wall units Portable Air Conditioners do not require any permanent installation and instead have a standard window venting kit for the exhaust hose.  wall unit air conditioner partsPortable Air Conditioners release hot air and excess moisture in the cooling process and vent it through the exhaust hose, which extends 3 to 5 feet long. 

The exhaust hose is then vented out of a window, door, drop ceiling, or through a wall, using a customizable window venting kit.  All window venting kits are adjustable to easily slide to the appropriate size, but must be individually configured for non-standard windows. Determine Size and Efficiency: BTU’s (British Thermal Units) Portable Air Conditioners efficiency can be determined by the level of BTU’s offered, which is rated per hour.  Choosing the right BTU for your room size, while integrating all other outside factors, like ceiling height, type of room insulation, and type of climate, sun exposure, and location, will give the most energy-efficient cooling system. To choose the right portable air conditioner: 1. Measure the room size (Length x width) 2. Match the room size with the BTU Room size (length x width) *All calculations are a rough approximation based on standard rooms, insulations, climate, and location.* Window Unit BTU vs. Portable Air Conditioner BTU

Window unit air conditioners listed BTU’s are slightly different in comparison to Portable Air Conditioner listed BTU’s because of different industry standards for listed Portable Air Conditioner’s BTU’s, cooling methods, and exhaust configurations. It is recommended to follow the BTU list for Portable Air Conditioners to have the most efficiently cooled space. Single Hose vs. Dual Hose Single Hose Portable Air Conditioners draw in indoor air from the room and output hot humid air through the exhaust hose, which is from cooling the compressor.  The Single Hose uses indoor air, which can create a negative air pressure in the room, due to the percentage of air taken from the air drawn into the Portable Air Conditioner. Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioners draw in fresh outdoor air and output the hot exhaust air through a separate hose.  Dual Hose allows an intake hose to be used to circulate fresh air so that there is no negative pressure in the room, greater unit performance efficiency, and maximized output cooling from discharging the hot humid air through the separate exhaust hose.

As the air is cooled, moisture is removed from the air automatically and can be collected and removed in various methods. Internal bucket that needs to be emptied when full Moisture is evaporated internally and released through the exhaust hose Permanent drain for water to be discharged by means of gravity Water is pumped through a hose for continuous draining and pumped vertically in an upwards directionThis topic comes up very often when deciding to purchase a new air conditioning machine for your home or business. Most buyers are used to the traditional window AC setup and are a little bit hesitant to venture out for a portable machine. Thing is, buying a portable ac is a completely different experience than owning a stationary window unit. For more information on what we’re talking about, keep reading this article. These are the kinds of machines that stay pretty much in one place. Moving your machine around between the room to room can be a bit tedious.

You’re essentially going to have to have two different window kits (or more), and be willing to carry around your machine from room to room. What most people do is they end up buying two window AC’s and spread them out within their home apartment, or business. Which seems to work for some people. If carrying around a unit or buying more than one is something that you’re not really interested in then there is another option. However, it might be a little bit pricier depending on the size of your room. Although more expensive than window AC’s and in some eyes less efficient. Portable air conditioners are a more convenient way to cool more than one room within your living or working space. The thing is, just like a window unit you need to find a machine that will work best for your room. Additionally, in most cases dual hose AC’s are the best to go with for maximum efficiency. Depending on your room this isn’t always true. Plus you may want to save some money going with a single hose unit depending on your situation.