Portable AC units can be cool solution

 July 14 | 10:38 p.m.

I need an air conditioner for my apartment. What do you think about a portable unit?

Portable air conditioners are a good solution for spot or supplemental cooling of specific areas. They have wheels so they can be moved from room to room as needed, unlike window air conditioners. They also offer relief from summer heat to those living in apartments or condominiums where window air conditioners are not allowed.

Portable air conditioners operate like a window air conditioner and must be vented to the outdoors to remove inside warm air. They come with a flexible hose that runs between the unit and a window. The hose, which looks like a dryer exhaust, is between five and seven feet long. A plastic window kit seals the window area around the hose to keep hot air out. You also can vent the unit through a wall, but that makes the unit much less portable. When the unit is moved to another room, the exhaust hose installation also has to be moved.

"Overall it’s very easy to install and simple to operate," said JoAnn Paradis with DeWils Interiors, Vancouver. "I have one that cools my living and dining rooms and it works well."

Other typical features include several fan speeds, digital controls, a timer, moveable directional vents and a remote control. Wheels and handles make the unit easy to move.

A byproduct of the cooling process is condensation that is collected in an internal basin that must be emptied occasionally. Most, however, have an automatic shut-off to prevent overflows and a light that signals when the reservoir is full. Paradis said she only emptied the reservoir in her air conditioner once last summer.

Portable air conditioners are sized by BTUs, or British thermal units.

"Buying the right BTU capacity for the space is important. An oversized or undersized unit won’t operate as efficiently as a properly sized unit will, no matter how efficient it is turning kilowatt-hours into BTU," said Rick Cantonwine, an energy counselor with Clark Public Utilities. "Oversized units will start and stop frequently and not do a good job of cooling, while undersized units will run more than they really should, maybe even continually."

No Energy Star ratings

These air conditioners are not rated by Energy Star, most likely because most people don’t use them for long periods of time, so energy use is relatively low. They do have an Energy Guide label, which provides an easy way to compare the energy use on machines of similar capacities. Cantonwine said the labels show the number of kilowatt hours a unit will use along with an easy-to-read illustration of energy use.