Within domestic air conditioning aimed at improving the home comfort, above all, in getting cooler rooms , a viable, economical and very requested, is the use of air conditioning portable . An option to beat the heat in summer that many users are acquiring.
Although its operation may seem similar to air traditional conditioning whose main function is to bring cold air into the house , in fact, these devices have different characteristics that we must Know before you buy.
But... why does the mobile air conditioner have a tube that go to the window Don't worry, we'll explain it later, but, models without a tube, it is directly throwing money! That already we anticipate it!
You will see that throughout the article we will have to look many features, so let's start with the guide…
Content menu:
Among the types of air conditioners mobile devices offered on the market with functionality guaranteed can be mentioned:
| Types of air conditioning portable | Noise | Capacity to cool a stay | Installation | Sale price |
| Monotube or monoblock portable air conditioning | high | XXX | No works – Just place a tube in the window | €€€ |
| Double pipe portable air conditioner | high | XXXX | No works – Just place tubes in the window | €€€€ (Hard to find) |
| Portable split air conditioner | medium | XXXXX | With small work | €€€€€ (Very hard to find) |
| Portable air conditioning without tube – air conditioners evaporatives | low – medium | X | No works – No tube | € |
The range that works best to cool a room They are double tube equipment (one intake and one discharge air) and the portable split. Unfortunately, s on equipment difficult to find and more expensive.
Although in the classification we have seen several airs mobile conditioners , in fact, the supply and market demand has caused that – speaking for Spain – for domestic household use (another issue is industrial) only find two compact models for sale.
In stores we will find a range of air conditioners tubeless self-contained (portable evaporative cooler) and air portable monoblock or monotube conditioners (with a single hot air discharge tube).
Okay, watch out! We have mainly two models of compact conditioner to choose from, but... What difference is there from one to another? Better to see it in two drawings…
The portable air conditioner without evacuation is not actually an air vent conditioned. They are "refrigerators", thanks to a fan, make air pass through a humid element, water or ice, evaporates and provides some cooling thermal power (freshness) even if they try to sell it to us as such.
With the portable AA with tube SI we throw the air heat outside the room through a conduit flexible (diameter between 100 – 150 mm and a length of 1.2 – 1.7 meters) coming out of the device, to the window, are the best selling portable gadgets!
| Differences | AA Portable tubeless (air conditioners) | AA Single/double tube portable tube/split |
| Easy to install or remove | YES | YES (But it has a tube connected to the window) |
| Easy movement and security | YES | YES |
| Cold contribution | LOWER | MEDIUM |
| Electricity cost | LOWER | MEDIUM – HIGH |
| Plugged into a standard socket | YES | YES |
| Has a compressor | NO | YES |
| It has a fan | YES | YES (Function option in most) |
| Noise | LOW – MEDIUM | STOP |
| Compact design | YES | YES |
| Average sale price | LOWER | MEDIUM – HIGH |
| Usage area | < 15 m2 (recommended) | < 25 m2 (recommended) but there are models for everything |
We're done, nope! Now we have to see what we should look when buying a conditioner freelance and then, I'm going to recommend some in sale…
To make sure you buy the best air portable conditioner , depending on the use you are going to give, you should take into account the following characteristics:
It is silly for us to start practicing the calculus of frigorías of the air conditioning for refrigerated a room at home, we leave that to the engineers!
As much as they tell us, in reality, too many influence factors in air conditioning; room size (m2 of surface and height), hours of use, number of occupants, humidity, home insulation, location, orientation, etc. (See article here).
What you should know is that devices will They are reflected with the number of Frigories (fg = amount of heat extracted from the environment = Kcal) and, Typically, mobile equipment sold ranges from 1,200 fg at 3,500 fg (fg = frigories).
On average, 100 and 140 frigories are needed for each m2 of surface where we place the device on the stay
| Equivalences for those who want to play with the numbers |
| 1 frigoria (frigories is the amount of heat that extracted from the environment = 1 fg = 1 Kcal) equals 1,163 watts (W) |
| 1 kW (ie 1,000 watts) equals approximately 860 frigories. One frigoria is equal to 1,163 W (watts) |
| 1 watt = 1 Watt (W) equals 0.86 frigories |
| 1 BTU (Some appliances indicate the BTU – capacity of refrigeration) = 1055 joules and 1 W = 3,414 BTU |
There are three things to keep in mind:
The best portable air conditioners have A+++ energy label, which represents savings energy which translates into less electricity costs when in service.
Beware of
Energy consumption is related to the label energy that marks us energy efficiency – effectiveness refrigerator of the appliance would be the following:
The energy label regulations, when we speak from a technical perspective and according to the operating mechanism of the gadget, it's a mess Honestly! (We can consult regulations HERE).
For mortals, according to the AA model portable , we will have indicated values in the label such as SEER or EER (Seasonal Cold Energy Efficiency – Cooling efficiency coefficient). Find teams with higher values in SEER or EER. These are paired with the energy rating indicated by a letter, example "A+".
As a summary, and as a general rule, we will have:
As we normally use them at night, it is recommended put them into service at a temperature between 23 – 24 degrees, which is a comfortable temperature to sleep in and also not we will force the apparatus, and, therefore, we will have less noise.
Remember that we have three articles to reduce the heat from inside the house with cheap systems:
The noise in the air conditioning equipment It has always been one of the great headaches of buyers. They add the "silent" label to them in order to sell, but the reality in most devices is contrary.
The main problem of cold air equipment window portables , is the compressor, which in Traditional appliances are placed outside, but these units being compact, it has it all together. So we have the compressor inside the room, although many call them window air conditioners.
But… When is a noise annoying in a water cooler? portable air? Noise is designated by decibels (dB) and in the energy labels of each system it is indicated, both inside and outside. To better understand the topic of sound level look at the following scheme:
Since we have an overview of when it starts to bother us a noise and looking at the technical characteristics, not they seem very quiet… Why sell us devices with the " portable air conditioner" label quiet «?
| Models | Noise | Why are they making noise |
| Portable monoblock or window monotube | high | It is a compact unit and the compressor is inside stay |
| Portable with double window tube (Hard to buy) | high | It is a compact unit and the compressor is inside stay |
| Window Split Laptop (Hard to Buy) | medium | There are two units: one inside and the other outside, where is the compressor |
| Portable Tubeless – Evaporative Coolers laptops | low – medium | No compressor |
As a summary, they sell us the
This is not the first time someone has bought a equipment mobile to refresh the air in a room and it is given note that it has a tube that has to be attached to the window (Remember that there is also Portable air conditioning tubeless – evaporative coolers).
Although the function of the duct is only to evacuate the air hot in the room, you have to be clear:
With the thermostat we control the operation of the appliance, that is, once the programmed temperature is reached, the unit turns off and only turns back on when the temperature rises again.
It is one of the best allies to save on consumption electric for home or office, which we can also use it to operate the appliance when the electricity is cheaper (time discrimination).
Sometimes we forget that there is a range of models that are portable air conditioner with pump heat . And to be honest, for a little more money, we can have a room covered in winter.
In this section there is not much more to comment. Just keep in note that there are models that can add heat to the style traditional air conditioning heat pump.
Even LG has an AA for sale portable inverter, with a «Dual Inverter» compressor (model LP1419IVSM) of 3500 frigories (The selling price is exorbitant) but in theory consumes less (See article bomb inverter heat).
Many stores already sell the three in one: Equipment cooling, dehumidification and fan in one same system. Not to mention many other appreciations technological. An example of a standard model for sale:
Technology advances by leaps and bounds in the air mobile conditioner to make our lives more comfortable, but the more options and accessories you know! price more high. Even in some manageable high-end equipment already They play with home automation and Wi-Fi to control them from the mobile.
After considering various opinions of airs portable conditioners , we add some examples of the best “low consumption” brands are the following:
Compare prices! from large surfaces like Carrefour , El Corte Ingles , Leroy Merlin , Mediamark , Bricomart , etc. To online offers for compare, for example, Amazon , while continuing to see the neighborhood stores. I already told you that they launch offers in very good price!
In my opinion, I don't see second-hand viable, mainly because the difference with the new ones is very low And when we talk about technology, you have to have a lot of watch out!
By the way, good and cheap, forget about it!… Please, these devices do not buy them on Amazon. I have been reviewing a little, and I have been greatly disappointed. Just to compare prices, if you find the exact model. You can see some examples from HERE on Amazon, which are:
Summary on which situation will be best for us use them:
| Air appliances portable conditioners are suitable when: |
| They are suitable for rooms that we cannot use the traditional air conditioning for some circumstance |
| They are suitable as a reinforcement for the air conditioning of the housing to cool a specific room |
| No works need to be done for them to work. Depending on the model, just place the tube in the window to expel hot air. |
| They work best in temperate and cold climate zones. AND when our house is well insulated |
| They are more suitable when we talk about second homes or use in short periods of time |
| We can turn them on directly to the standard plug of the house |
| It can be used in any room of the house, but for large spaces, they are not the best option. Are mobiles and we can move them around the house |
| Depending on the model, it can heat and cool rooms so it can be used both in summer and in winter |
| Depending on models, apart from providing cold – heat, They may also have the ability to dehumidify the air or fan |
| They are easy to use and almost all go with remote control, electronic timer and thermostat |
As a quick summary of the main features and how to install a portable air conditioner the following video is great :
Be careful with the air evacuation tube hot and its position for the machine to work properly. Take a look at the following image:
Sometimes we may have a problem with the equipment, some will be easy to solve and others, we will need support technical. At the moment, we can consult the following scheme that reflects problem – cause – solution:
Creating cold in a home artificially is not always It is good for health, and more, if we go too far. In this article about negative and dangerous effects of air conditioning in people's health you can find information.
