Lots of people think they will save on home air conditioning costs by having portable air conditioners. But as Jeff Stienstra of Stienstra Heating and Cooling in Hudsonville, Michigan points out, they may end up costing you more money.
Portable air conditioners can be moved easily from one room to another, unlike window air conditioners, which need to be installed into a window of a room to cool it. All they require is sufficient space, an electrical outlet for it to plug into, and an opening for the exhausted warmed air. They do not need permanent installation, and can be moved from room to room in your house.
But from a comfort standpoint, one big drawback of having a portable air conditioner is that a portable air conditioner cannot cool an entire house evenly. Usually one room is extremely cold, and the rest of the house is warm and humid.
High Electrical Consumption
Also their electrical consumption is quite high when you compare the amount of space they cool versus a whole house air conditioning system. While they are certainly not as bulky as they used to be, they work by drawing the hot air into the unit, cooling it and blowing it back out again. That can be a costly process.
Another major drawback is that if the air conditioner is tipped on its side when it’s moved or it’s stored upside down, then the liquid refrigerant can get into the compressor, causing what we call liquid slugging of the compressor. That results when un-compressable liquid is forced through a compressor’s cylinder, damaging the valve. This can dramatically lower both the effectiveness and efficiency of your portable air conditioner.
Don’t Last Long
Though they are relatively affordable, many of them do not have a long life, lasting two to three years before a breakdown happens. And often it is cheaper to buy another unit than to have your current one fixed, which is extremely wasteful from an environmental standpoint.
Also, often with small appliances, the refrigerant gets vented into the atmosphere, which contributes to the depletion of ozone. That’s not to mention the cost and resources needed to recycle the old equipment and make another unit to replace it, as well as additional refrigerant for the new unit. It all adds up.
the portable air conditioners have a few draw backs. They don’t air condition the whole of the capacity as any other form of air conditioner does. In this respect, the electricity consumption is high to cool down a bigger area. In addition to this, these air conditioners are not durable enough.
8000 btu airconditioner – March 8, 2010 , 3:28 PM
I’m really glad I came across this article. I always thought they were better because they’re smaller, less hazardous (hanging out my window, two stories up) but now I’m having my doubts. I don’t want to use more energy. Sounds like a waste of money to me.
air conditioning duct – June 5, 2010 , 10:33 PM