Portable AC units
Discussion
Trevor555 said:
They're better than fans, they will get the temp down in a smallish room.
But they're noisy.
Agreed. However last night mine knocked the bedroom temp down from 28degC to 22 meaning I could actually sleep - I don't mind the noise if it's constant, the trade-off is worth it for me. The air coming out of it was -11degC, it was great.But they're noisy.
Make sure you vent properly - mine came with a kit to fit the sash window which stops the hot exhaust air coming back into the room and doesn't leave a gap. This is the one I have: https://www.toolstation.com/tristar-smart-air-cond...
The only feature I wish it had is a 'swing' setting, the vents on mine are static.
Edited by Funk on Tuesday 26th May 18:19
Seems Tesco are still selling the one I have: https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/32657621...
Landlubber said:
Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed. My neighbours over te road have one and I can hear it from here.
They pump noise out of the window along with hot air.The problem is, they pump air out of the room, so there is continuously warm air from outdoors drawn in to replace it.
If outdoors is a lot hotter than your target temperature, the incoming hot air knocks the efficiency.
If outdoors is hot and humid, that's worse still.
But sometimes it's better than cooling and recirculating stale air.
If they are still in stock, I'd recommend Meaco unit 12000 BTU or more.
They works wonders for the kids room, brought the temp down to a cool dry 21c from 28c.
This was after an hour of run time, and the room isn't massive.
They sleep through the noise as it's constant hum, I would also recommend the use of an air circulator to move the cooler air around the room.
It won't match a purpose built Aircon split unit, but it helps in this heat.
They works wonders for the kids room, brought the temp down to a cool dry 21c from 28c.
This was after an hour of run time, and the room isn't massive.
They sleep through the noise as it's constant hum, I would also recommend the use of an air circulator to move the cooler air around the room.
It won't match a purpose built Aircon split unit, but it helps in this heat.
Funk said:
Trevor555 said:
They're better than fans, they will get the temp down in a smallish room.
But they're noisy.
Agreed. However last night mine knocked the bedroom temp down from 28degC to 22 meaning I could actually sleep - I don't mind the noise if it's constant, the trade-off is worth it for me. The air coming out of it was -11degC, it was great.But they're noisy.
Make sure you vent properly - mine came with a kit to fit the sash window which stops the hot exhaust air coming back into the room and doesn't leave a gap. This is the one I have: https://www.toolstation.com/tristar-smart-air-cond...
The only feature I wish it had is a 'swing' setting, the vents on mine are static.
Edited by Funk on Tuesday 26th May 18:19
Landlubber said:
Funk said:
Trevor555 said:
They're better than fans, they will get the temp down in a smallish room.
But they're noisy.
Agreed. However last night mine knocked the bedroom temp down from 28degC to 22 meaning I could actually sleep - I don't mind the noise if it's constant, the trade-off is worth it for me. The air coming out of it was -11degC, it was great.But they're noisy.
Make sure you vent properly - mine came with a kit to fit the sash window which stops the hot exhaust air coming back into the room and doesn't leave a gap. This is the one I have: https://www.toolstation.com/tristar-smart-air-cond...
The only feature I wish it had is a 'swing' setting, the vents on mine are static.
Edited by Funk on Tuesday 26th May 18:19
Funk said:
Trevor555 said:
They're better than fans, they will get the temp down in a smallish room.
But they're noisy.
Agreed. However last night mine knocked the bedroom temp down from 28degC to 22 meaning I could actually sleep - I don't mind the noise if it's constant, the trade-off is worth it for me. The air coming out of it was -11degC, it was great.But they're noisy.
Make sure you vent properly - mine came with a kit to fit the sash window which stops the hot exhaust air coming back into the room and doesn't leave a gap. This is the one I have: https://www.toolstation.com/tristar-smart-air-cond...
The only feature I wish it had is a 'swing' setting, the vents on mine are static.
Edited by Funk on Tuesday 26th May 18:19
Got the unit out and set up in my bedroom 3 nights ago but today I see that the heat from the sun has melted the glue and the windows are covered in a gooey mess
I stick mine on an hour before I go to bed to bring the temp down then turn it off as it's bloody noisy.
Temp very quickly rises again but by then I'm asleep.
Oh, and it's about 70p an hour to run.
I saw a comment on YouTube that pretty much summed these up, to the effect that you get one, spend ages trying to make it work better and then get a proper split unit installed.
That said, mine (no longer available) does a decent job if you just need a particular room cooled down. As others have said, it will suck in air from somewhere else, so if that is outside air at 31 degrees, you’re probably warming up another part of the house.
I have hacked together some improvements for mine - sheet of plywood cut to the size of a window opener plus 2 inches all round, hole for the exhaust pipe cut in it, command strips to hold it in place. Feed the exhaust pipe through it with as much spare on the outside as possible - you don’t want the hot exhaust air coming back in through any gaps.
Make sure no hot air is leaking from the exhaust, and insulate the exhaust pipe with anything that works - foil pipe insulation if you like. (The exhaust pipe gets hot).
The next step is to bodge another hose to the inlet to stock the “sucking from the rest of the house” problem, but that’s on the to do list.
That said, mine (no longer available) does a decent job if you just need a particular room cooled down. As others have said, it will suck in air from somewhere else, so if that is outside air at 31 degrees, you’re probably warming up another part of the house.
I have hacked together some improvements for mine - sheet of plywood cut to the size of a window opener plus 2 inches all round, hole for the exhaust pipe cut in it, command strips to hold it in place. Feed the exhaust pipe through it with as much spare on the outside as possible - you don’t want the hot exhaust air coming back in through any gaps.
Make sure no hot air is leaking from the exhaust, and insulate the exhaust pipe with anything that works - foil pipe insulation if you like. (The exhaust pipe gets hot).
The next step is to bodge another hose to the inlet to stock the “sucking from the rest of the house” problem, but that’s on the to do list.
I agree about a full mini-split system being the goal but there are a few major considerations - in some places it's simply not an option (eg. flats), it's massively more expensive than a £300 device and also, at least for now, they're really only needed a few times a year.
That being said, I'm in the process of buying a house at the moment and one of the first things on the agenda will be putting in a proper AC system as I don't think we're going to see average temps coming down and the peaks in the summer months will get higher too.
That being said, I'm in the process of buying a house at the moment and one of the first things on the agenda will be putting in a proper AC system as I don't think we're going to see average temps coming down and the peaks in the summer months will get higher too.
OutInTheShed said:
They pump noise out of the window along with hot air.
The problem is, they pump air out of the room, so there is continuously warm air from outdoors drawn in to replace it.
If outdoors is a lot hotter than your target temperature, the incoming hot air knocks the efficiency.
If outdoors is hot and humid, that's worse still.
But sometimes it's better than cooling and recirculating stale air.
Do they?The problem is, they pump air out of the room, so there is continuously warm air from outdoors drawn in to replace it.
If outdoors is a lot hotter than your target temperature, the incoming hot air knocks the efficiency.
If outdoors is hot and humid, that's worse still.
But sometimes it's better than cooling and recirculating stale air.
My understanding was the cold air blowing back in was just cooled air from the room and the heat that it removes gets blown out the window.
119 said:
Do they?
My understanding was the cold air blowing back in was just cooled air from the room and the heat that it removes gets blown out the window.
Yes and no. The air passing over the cold side of the heat exchanger circuit doesn't leave/enter the room, but you can't blow hot air out of the window without drawing air in from somewhere.My understanding was the cold air blowing back in was just cooled air from the room and the heat that it removes gets blown out the window.
Some units have two hoses, one to pull air in and one to vent it out, but to work properly they really need to be well separated. Most just vent hot air out and rely on the poorly sealed house to let ambient air in.
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