Portable air conditioner for home and office - how to choose, what to choose?



When planning to buy a portable air conditioner for home, we are faced with the dilemma of whether a portable air conditioner (also known as a mobile air conditioner) will be better, or it is better to buy a wall air conditioner (split). When looking for reviews of air conditioners, we search tons of topic forums and blogs. Especially for you, we have created an air conditioning selection guide to help you make the right choice. Here you will find valuable information, a device selection calculator and an electricity consumption calculator (it will allow you to estimate the cost of maintaining the device).

A portable air conditioner is a device designed to reduce the air temperature in a room. The main components are heat exchangers (condenser and evaporator), compressor and expansion valve, and two fans. The method of operation is similar to that of a refrigerator - the refrigerant circulates between the evaporator where it draws warm air from inside, and the condenser which expels the warm air outside. The compressor, together with the expansion valve, turns the refrigerant into a liquid or gas phase, thanks to which the evaporation process takes place and the warm air from the room is condensed outside the building. The difference between a portable air conditioner and a split air conditioner is the placement of the compressor and expansion valve in the outdoor unit, so that the noise is transferred to the outside of the building. The apartment has an evaporator with a fan that forces the air flow.

How to choose a portable air conditioner? It may seem that portable air conditioners are the ideal solution as they do not require complicated installation and can be easily moved. The truth, however, turns out to be slightly different, because each portable air conditioner has a hot air pipe included in the set, which we have to lead outside the cooled room - through a window, for ventilation, to another room or through a wall. The choice is ours, because we can handle the installation ourselves. Noise can also be an issue. The portable air conditioner consists of one piece, so the compressor is also placed in the room, which can be uncomfortable for users who value absolute silence. Split air conditioners consist of an indoor unit mounted inside the room and a unit that can be hung on the facade of the building with brackets or placed on a balcony or roof. A decisive advantage of this type of solution is the comfort of use, because the noise in the room is much lower, and the air conditioner is usually suspended from the ceiling, thus not taking up the space of the room.

Portable air conditioning uses an air conditioner to draw hot air from the room through the rear or side inlets, where it is treated, then cooled and expelled through the top or front outlet back into the room. Hot air, in turn, is expelled outside through a window or chimney through a pipe. In this way, we get rid of hot air from the room. The downside of this solution is the lack of fresh air supply, so it is worth considering air conditioners with a second air pipe attached. It works in a similar way, but instead of taking hot air from the room, the air conditioner takes it from outside via an additional pipe.


Do you need to repair or install AC? Check offer here: Heating reapir