If you have made a decision to buy a portable air conditioner, it will be up to you to decide which model suits you best. There is a wide variety of portable air conditioner in the market, but most of them share the same underlying technology.
In addition, each different specification and feature are not really so hard to compare. Below are 5 tips to help you buy portable air conditioner the best way:
Buy Portable Air Conditioner The Best Way
1. Ensure that you pick the proper BTU rating
Portable air conditioners are commonly rated using BTU (British Thermal Units). This is a unit used to measure the cooling power of portable ACs. The higher the BTU rating, the higher cooling power the portable AC unit has.
The size of your room will help determine the necessary BTU rating when looking for a portable air conditioner. Here below is a general guideline:
– 7500 BTU rating is recommended for a 150 square feet room.
– 9000 BTU rating is recommended for a 200 square feet room.
– 10,000 BTU rating is recommended for a 250 square feet room.
– 12,000 to 13,000 BTU rating is recommended for rooms which are 400 square feet and over.
However, it is advisable to increase BTU rating needs for your portable AC unit if:
– Your room has many windows or heat generating appliances
– You live in a warm, humid area
– The room to cool has inadequate insulation
– The room has a high ceiling
2. Efficiency
It is also best to ensure that the portable AC you will be buying is energy efficient in order for you to save money on your monthly electric bills. The portable AC’s efficiency is measured by ENERGY Efficiency Ratio (EER).
The higher the EER ratio the more energy efficient is the Portable AC unit. A rating of 10 is considered very good for portable ACs.
3. Maintenance Requirements
Portable air conditioners do not require a lot of maintenance. The only regular maintenance you have to do is draining collected moisture. It is because all portable ACs pull moisture out of the air when they carry out their normal function of cooling down the room.
Make sure that you buy a portable AC that requires minimum maintenance. The best units feature a fully self-evaporative design. These models evaporate all or most of the water it collects.
Since the type of model removes the moisture automatically, you will not have to worry about draining your unit frequently. You may only do so occasionally when the need arises.
4. Noise Level
Portable ACs normally create noise as they work to cool your room. If the noise level is a matter of concern to you, you need to compare the decibel levels (dB) produced by different models.
The higher the dB setting of a portable AC, the higher the noise level. Quieter models reach only a maximum setting of 45 dBs.
5. One or Two-Hose Portable ACs
Some new models of portable ACs come with a dual tube design. These types of portable ACs have the capability to cool their compressors with air coming from outside the room. It helps increase their efficiency and prevents the creation of negative pressure inside the room.
On the other hand, single hose portable ACs exhaust air from the room, thus causing a suction pressure on air. It makes them less efficient.
Pros for dual tube portable AC:
A dual tube unit brings temperature in a hot room down faster than single hose units. It is much more efficient than a single tube unit.
Cons for Dual tube portable AC:
If the temperature outside the room is too hot, it can lose some of its efficiency.
Read Our Comprehensive Review On The Best Portable Air Conditioners
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