Thursday, September 12, 2013

How To Choose The Right Portable Air Conditioner For You

By Doug Freedman


Buying a portable air conditioner needs to be thought through carefully so you purchase the correct model and type for you and your home. Style will also play a part in the final decision too, but it should definitely not be style over substance. In this article, hopefully you will find some nuggets of information that will make you come to a decision about which portable air conditioner ids best for you.

Probably the most important thing you are looking for in your portable air conditioner is that the BTU suits the size of the room you are looking to use it in. The BTU, (British Thermal Unit), simply is the amount of energy needed to heat or cool the room. If you get this wrong you will either be spending money on BTU's that are not needed or your room is not being cooled adequately.

Calculating the BTU you require is very simple, once you know the room size in square meters. For example, if the portable air conditioner has a BTU of 18,000, this will adequately cool a room size of 50 square meters. Some other factors will influence the level of BTU you require. If the room is very sunny or is a kitchen, you will probably need a higher BTU from your portable air conditioner. The BTU of an appliance will be clearly displayed on it, there are also helpful BTU calculators available online.

Condensation is produced during the cooling process and this needs to be taken care of or you may end up with a damp problem. Fortunately the portable air conditioners can deal with this quite easily. They do this in 2 different ways, and it's up to you to decide which one works best for you. There is the non-drip and the drip models. Firstly the drip model, quite simply gets rid of the extra water produced into an in-built bucket. This needs to be emptied more if you use the unit more. The non-drip model tends to be more expensive than the drip model. This is because it reuses the moisture produced and turns it into cool air.

Excess heat is also produced during the air conditioning process, and this will need to gotten rid of too. One way this is achieved is by using ducted condensers. Inbuilt into the unit is a duct, which blows out the hot air produced in the cooling process. Ducted condensers need to be placed near a window or on a window to vent the hot air. There are remote condensers, which are slightly more portable in that they have a tubing that can be hung out of a window or opening allowing you more mobility than the ducted condensers.

Lastly but not least, cost and energy efficiency should play a part when choosing your model. Try and choose a model with a high energy rating efficiency. This will tend to cost more but is much more environmentally sound. It will also save you money on your energy bills. Always check the energy rating label on the unit itself, this will give you a good indication of how energy efficient it is.




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