Anyone Have Any Good Experiences With Portable Air Conditioners?
I want to get one of those wheeled portable air conditoners. Cruising the net I see lots of people unhappy with theirs. Anyone own a good one? Favorite Brand? I have a 1 bedroom apartment. Total about 550 square feet. 500 without the bathroom....
Answer:
The first, and most important, part of choosing an air-conditioner is to do the maths. I suspect most people buying from DIY centres don't bother with that which is where most complaints are likely to arise. Here's an online calculator that'll help you choose one that's correctly rated: http://www.csgnetwork.com/acroomsizecalc... I'm a little surprised that it doesn't ask for the required temperature drop (it should) as this is an important factor in the equation. It should also include the ambient and required relative humidities as removing moisture from the atmosphere also uses energy. Finally, if you want to be able to drop the temperature in a specific time (or less) that should be included as well. Not a great calculator, but the first one I came across! I owned a portable air-con which I used in a small lecture room for a couple of summers. It worked well enough. You'll need to search the net for specific models available in your area to find their advantages/disadvantages. I used to build and test air-con and other refrigeration equipment (packaged air-con to military standards, dehumidifiers, building dryers, timber seasoners etc) in single skinned and balanced ambient calorimeter rooms.