Nothing sounds 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 portable 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.