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Why Buy a Portable Air Conditioner?

When it comes to portable air conditioners, there are plenty of reasons to buy one, depending on  your own needs and situation.

Obviously, the main reason someone would buy one is too cool an area off, but the reasons go far beyond that.

Let’s look at some of the more common reasons why someone would need to purchase a portable air conditioner for their own property.

Some Rooms Just Need More Cooling 

This is a fairly common reason to purchase a portable air conditioner.

Central air conditioning is the preferred cooling method for many, but it doesn’t always guarantee evenly dispersed cooling in a home.

Rooms with large windows, and areas with appliances that emit heat need an extra boost of cold air, and that’s just a few examples.

Many opt to just crank the thermostat down to keep the air coming, hoping that the colder parts of the home will spill their cold air over to the rest of the home.

But doing this drives up your energy bills, and also results in an inconsistent climate inside.

Some Areas Can Have High Tempratures

These inconsistent temperatures can result in several members of your household being uncomfortable. One person may be freezing in the living room, while someone else may be burning up still when in the kitchen, or in a back room or office space.

Portable air conditioners can be used in strategic ways around the home to keep your local temperature down without having to continually run the central air system, resulting in lower electric bills, and a consistent climate throughout.

Everyone wins.

Got No Central Air

Over two-thirds of those living in the United States use some form of air conditioning, but this doesn’t mean they have a central air unit that sends cool air through the air ducts of your home.

The reasons for not having a central air unit vary, but plenty of people live in regions where the weather is fairly mild during warmer seasons.

The highs may only reach into the upper 70’s to low 80’s, which results in the lack of a real need for a large air conditioning unit.

Garage Portable AC

In this case, a portable air conditioner can provide just enough cooling to keep the home comfortable, even on the warmest days in that region.

Other parts of your home, such as a garage or work shed, may be entirely without any air conditioning at all. If you spend long periods of time in these areas, this can be a real problem.

Portable A/C’s are an easy remedy to this issue and help you avoid installing new vents or an entire new system in a standalone building.

Some Areas Need Dehumidification

Humidity can be more than just an annoyance in your home.

While the musty, clammy feeling is certainly undesirable, excess humidity can result in a number of problems that can sneak up on you before you know it.

Allergens are one of the things that can be made much worse with too much humidity in your home. Dust mites and mold spores can increase when more humidity is present, wreaking havoc on your allergies and causing plenty of discomfort.

Allergies Caused by High Humidity

There’s also the issue of mold growth in certain areas, and even inside of walls. The problem may be catastrophic before you even catch on.

Portable air conditioners act as dehumidifiers simply based on the way they cool a room. Part of the cooling process cycle that these units go through involves removing the moisture from the air while cooling it. This results in less humidity, and a cooler space.

If you have allergies, or a particularly humid home and climate, a portable air conditioner can be a big help in keeping the humidity level appropriate, while offering an extra boost in cooling your home down.

Some models can even operate as dehumidifiers without cooling the room down, giving you a multi-use appliance.

Energy Savings

Each year, over $11 billion is spent on cooling homes in the United States. Central air units, although much improved and more efficient over the years, can certainly drive your energy bills up with repeated use. Summers are especially brutal.

Portable air conditioners are not as energy efficient as central units, but that doesn’t mean they can’t save you money each month. As mentioned earlier, if you are running your central A/C for hours on end just to cool off warmer parts of your home, you are wasting your money.

Lower Bills with Portable Air Conditioners

Leaving your central air unit on non-stop will eventually cool off other parts of your home that are naturally warmer, but you are going to pay for it, sometimes with an energy bill that is 30% more than what it could be.

Portable air conditioners can be placed in these warmer areas to offer a helping hand in regulating the home’s temperature as a whole. Do a lot of cooking in the summer? Your kitchen is going to be hot. A portable A/C can help keep the kitchen area cool, while preventing your thermostat from triggering as much.

Other Uses

Likewise, if you have a room that has lots of computers running, high-heat items such as guitar amps, or just a room with lots of windows, you’re going to need some extra help cooling it.

The same can be said for home gym rooms. Simply shut the door, turn the portable air conditioner on, and enjoy the cool air without having to run your central A/C longer.

Cooling Server Room

If you live alone, or share a room with someone and have nobody else in the home, you can often get by with just using a portable air unit at night in your bedroom, while shutting the central A/C unit off for the night.

You’ll get a perfectly-cooled room, and a lower energy bill to show for it.

About the Author Tom Hanson

I’ve worked as an HVAC tech in Phoenix, AZ for the past 10 years. I created CoolAndPortable.com to help home owners select the right portable air conditioner, cooler or air purifier for their needs & budget in just a few minutes.

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