Of course, you can’t have a cozy house without an air conditioner around. The heat will feel so uncomfortable especially when the summer comes.
Most of you may still go with a conventional air conditioner which needs some kind of installation step. For some, it can be quite bothering.
As an alternative, you might want to keep a portable air conditioner around. As the name implies, the type of air conditioner is not installed permanently on the wall, but you can move here and there. Therefore, there will be no complex installation involved in using a portable conditioner.
There are tons of portable air conditioners that you can find in the market which come with various features, designs, and price tags. It can be quite confusing to choose the one that suits your needs and taste.
(Read also: Ac Repair Jupiter: Affordable & reliable AC repair in West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Tequesta & Royal Palm Beach. Amtek guarantees your satisfaction.)
To help you to narrow down the options, here we share with you a quick guide on How to Choose Portable Air Conditioner that you can use as an ultimate reference.
How to Choose Portable Air Conditioner
How does it work?
Before we jump into guiding you to choose the right portable air conditioner technically, it would be nice if we get to know better what it actually is. Once you know it better, you can see whether a portable air conditioner actually suits you or not.
Basically, a portable air conditioner works by taking air around the room, cooling it off, and releasing it back to the room. You can control the fan speed, temperature, and other settings just like the conventional air conditioner.
As mentioned above, the installation of the portable air conditioner is typically easy. It comes with a compact design and some wheels so you can move it around and cool one room to another in a very convenient way.
How to choose portable air conditioner?
So, how do we choose the right one? An essential point that you need to keep in mind is the size of the room where you want the portable air conditioner to work. It’s a key to letting the unit work efficiently. A portable air conditioner that doesn’t fit the size of the room properly will not provide the best performance.
You can measure the square footage of the room by multiplying the length of the room by its width. For further reference, you can use the British Thermal Unit (BTU) rating for the air conditioner which tells you a particular rating can remove some amount of heat from a room with a particular size.
Here’s the basic comparison of BTU rating to the size of a room that you can refer to:
- 8,000 BTU unit fits for a room with up to 200 square feet.
- 10,000 BTU unit fits for a room with up to 300 square feet.
- 12,000 BTU unit fits for a room with up to 400 square feet.
- 13,000 BTU unit fits for a room with up to 450 square feet.
As you can see from the list above, the bigger the BTU is, the larger the room size it can handle. The other thing that you might want to consider regarding the BTU rating is that the higher it is, the bigger and the heavier the portable air conditioner can become.
In addition to the BTU rating, the EER which stands for energy efficiency ratio is another consideration. A portable air conditioner with high EER is definitely a good option.
How about the features?
In regards to the feature of a portable air conditioner, these are things to consider:
- Versatility – As the main reason why you go with a portable air conditioner is its versatility, make sure that you choose the one that provides great convenience to move it here and there.
- Dehumidifier – Besides the cooling feature, some portable air conditioners also come with dehumidifiers which gives more comfort to the room. However, this type of air conditioner needs access to a drain that will be used to remove the collected moisture.
- Heater – For you who want a portable air conditioner that works both to cool and heat the room, there are some products available for you. You can use it to comfort the room year-round. Keep in mind that a heating feature of a portable air conditioner has a different BTU rating, so you need to refer to the size of the room to determine whether it can heat the room properly or not.
- Programmable timer – It simply allows you to set a particular timeframe for the unit to switch on and off automatically. It’s a good feature to reduce energy consumption.
- Remote control – You can easily control the unit from across the room with the one that comes with remote control.
How about the setup and maintenance?
The best spot to put a portable air conditioner is the one that is close to the window and power outlet. Some manufacturers may specifically require you to not use an extension cord and directly plug the unit into the outlet.
In general, you will only need as simple as a screwdriver to complete the setup of a portable air conditioner which can be done in no time. You can totally get the steps done all by yourself without hiring a pro.
Besides easy installation, you can also maintain a portable conditioner easily. Here’s some basic maintenance that it requires:
- You need to drain the water from your portable air conditioner when needed. All types of portable air conditioners require draining even the self-evaporating one.
- Every two weeks, the air filter of the unit needs to get cleaned. You can follow the manufacturer’s instructions to get the job done.
- To clean the dust, you can use a damp cloth and use a dry cloth to remove excess moisture
So that is our guide that you can use as a reference when you are planning to buy a portable air conditioner. For sure, it’s a good alternative to a conventional air conditioner, especially for you who are looking for the one which is more versatile and convenient.
