With warmer weather on the way, it’s time to start thinking about ways to cool down our living and working spaces. Because, as we all know, temperatures in town homes or poorly cooled office spaces can quickly become way too uncomfortable. In situations like these, an investment into a portable air conditioning unit can be a wise decision.
So, if you are considering a portable air conditioning unit like I am, let’s chat about what is involved in the selection process, and what are the good and bad points you should look for when making your choice of portable air conditioner?
Portable Air Conditioners – The Pros
Portable air conditioners offer a much easier to install alternative to more expensive and bulky air conditioning systems. Portable units are ideal for rented premises where full-blown installations are not possible, and for premises where ventilation is not readily available.
For starters, DIY installation is possible with a portable unit. Most portable air conditioners come complete with simple to follow installation kits that help you prepare the most practical and safe setup of your new unit.
Portable units are also ideal if you need to regularly move them within a home or commercial space. To run your portable air conditioning system in the most energy efficient way possible, you can simply move it between rooms to focus its cooling efforts on the rooms and spaces in the most urgent need of it.
This feature can be especially useful if you are hosting a party or some kind of event during hot months, and you can simply redeploy your air conditioning unit into the space that the largest numbers of people will be in.
This targeted cooling is also more energy efficient than larger systems which are sometimes left on to cool rooms people are not even in. So, reducing electricity bills is a definite advantage of portable systems instead of larger more complex systems.
Portable Air Conditioners – The Cons
Although the positives far outweigh the negatives, even portable air conditioning units have a few things to look out for. Their noise levels can often be higher than permanent units since they function fully indoors (the most noisy part of permanent units is often located in a box on an outer wall).
It must also be said that although portable air conditioners, as their name suggests, can be moved around, it should not be assumed that they can just be picked up and redeployed as easily as a laptop computer for example.
Because of the complex systems contained within them, they can often weigh reasonably significant amounts. As such, careful consideration has to be paid to health and safety measures when moving them even short distances – and especially when moving between different floors of a building.
You should also take note of any restrictions as to where a portable unit can be situated. Each model will come complete with detailed instructions on where it can be positioned in order to adequately vent out warm air from a window or ventilation system.
It’s also important to note that you will also need to ensure that a power socket is in close proximity (do not rely on extension leads or adaptors for long periods of time). It is important to take these practicalities out when moving and resituating your portable air conditioning unit.
Final Thoughts
With these pros and cons in mind, take some time to decide if a portable air conditioning unit is the right fit for your living or working situation. If so, go for it!
In the meantime, check out more from Home & Garden on the blog!
