| There are more and more 'Portable Air Conditioning' units available for normal 'house-hold' use. Those available are normally for use in confined spaces, ie; a room. You should remember that these units can and do, in most cases, consume a lot of power to make them operate effectively. Even with the advances in technology today, these types of products offer limited 'area' coverage. |  |
The output is measured in B.T.Us as with Central Heating. For a room about 12 feet by12 feet by 8 feet ceiling hight, no less than 3,500 BTUs. This is just a guide. It is advised that you seek proper advice when examining any units.
Buying 'Cheap' units does not necessarily mean that the running costs will be less. Always make sure you check everything out before you purchase.
There are other products called 'Air Coolers/Cooling' that use 'water'. These are not true air-conditioning units. Once again, you are advised to examine all details and ask as many questions as possible before purchasing anything.
 | Remember, to operate it correctly, your windows and doors must be kept shut in the room you are going to use it in. Most, but not all 'air conditioning' units require to be 'vented' outside. This usually comes in the form of a length of piping (between 4 to 6 inches in diameter). |
You can 'vent' to an open window or 'quarter light' (the small window at the top). You should consider covering the large gap with a towel or something just as thick. This will stop the cool air from escaping.
If you can, find an area where the unit can stand on the floor near an external wall. The outside of this wall should be within your property and not be a dividing one between you and your neighbour. Just like fitting a Tumble Dryer, a venting hole with an external cover, could be made giving you a perfect way to 'vent off'. This is an 'ideal' situation. However most people would like to move the air-conditioning unit from room to room. Before you start looking to buy, it is important to get some information about the area that it is going to be installed into.
You should measure the largest room that it will be used in, including the height and work out the 'Cubic' area in meters. This is very important to you as it will help in deciding what unit to purchase.
How often are you going to have it ON? and in what circumstances. Another couple of importamt things to think about.  |
Next, decide what is the 'maximum' amount of extra electricty you can afford per week. Do not neglect this. If you cannot afford to run it, there are other ways of keeping cool and a lot cheaper.
Having armed yourself with your 'needs', examine what is available. Do not just purchase the first thing you come across. You need to find out if 'parts' are available in the UK. What are the guarantees offered. Is there an extended warranty and if so 'what are the costs involved'.
If the 'unit' only has a 'one for one' (that's a new replacement) for the first year and nothing available after that, forget it. If something goes wrong, it's important to get it repaired as fast as possible and at little expense. As these items are expensive to purchase and require specialist type repairs, you really must get an extended warranty and preferably over a 5 year period.
Now, examine the running costs. Most portable 'Home' type air-conditioning units run at about 1KW to 1.8KW for the heating element side of things. That's 1,000 to 1,800 watts. Get the distributor to assist you in working out the running costs for the Air-Con side of things. This usually is much lower than the heater for winter use (if included). If the running costs are over your maximum budget, forget it. Look at something else.
Some small industrial units offer a running cost of 1.2KW with an output of around 10,500btu's for the Air-Con only. That covers about 82 cubic meters, a small 2 bed-roomed bungalow. Worth a thought. We worked out running a unit such as this on a small 2 bedroomed bungalow. It would cost an extra 3 weeks worth of electricty for each week used (if the temperature is not maintained at a constant).
If the running costs meet your requirements, examine what 'area' of cooling it covers. This is very very important to you!! If the 'area' is less than the room you measured, you will have to think very hard indeed. The less it covers, the less effect it will have on your comfort. Most units have a thermostat that will switch the power 'OFF' when a nice cool temperature has been achieved. If the room remains hotter than the setting, the unit will always be ON, or until an 'overheating' thermocouple cuts in and switches it off. In this instance, not a good thing at all. This will increase the 'wear' on the unit and could result in some problems requiring repair.
If the dimensions are within a cubic metre or so within your room size measurement, it would be acceptable.
Next, examine how it vents, can you 'wheel' it around', how to empty it, how long is the lead, what settings does it have and finally, if you have to purchase any other 'bits and pieces' to make it operate to its full potential. In this case, if other bits are required, in general, for get it. It just bumps up the overall costs and they may not be covered by any guarantees or extended warranties. They could be classified as consummable items and therefore not covered.
Suggestions.
To assist the air-conditioning unit, circulate the air in the room. Use a small desk 'oscillating' fan, or better still, fit a ceiling fan and have it run in reverse, pushing the air 'up' to the ceiling and down the walls. For those of you who suffer with 'hay fever', use a very powerful 'purifier' as well.
IDEALS.
The ideal unit running in a standard room would operate on 360watts with an output of about 3,500 BTUs. There was such a unit made in Germany which we tested quite some time ago. It was superb and operated well. It is a 4-in-one, offering Air con, Normal cooling, de-humidifying and a powerful heater for winter use. However, at the time of writing this article, no parts were available in the UK. Having said that, we have not been able to locate it at the time of releasing this page. When we do, we shall include details here.
UPDATE..(June 2001).
This Unit still offers NO PARTS in the United Kingdom, or a bare minimum. Dealers are still offering a 'one for one' be it New or a refurbished unit (in general) in the 'first year' with no options after that. Shame really, it's a great little unit.
NEWS update (June 2001).....
B & Q (kidderminster). The Mobile 600 is rated at 6,000 B.T.U with an 8 hour timer. At £199.99, it is a 'good value for money' package, although a bit 'tacky'. However (at the time of writing this article), there are no lables on the unit giving any form of specifications, and that includes power consumption. The manual is 'sparce' at best with a minor 'spec' written up, but still no power consumption details. When asked about extended warranties, power consumption and availability of spare parts in the UK, B & Q had no idea at all !
Having contacted the number in the manual, I was told that they were only the distributors and they gave me a telephone number for the manufacturer, so they thought. It turned out to be another distribution company. The actual manufacturers are abroad (not known at this time). After 2 days, I received the consumption figure. NOT BAD AT ALL. 750 watts. Now that makes it one of the best devices I have come across at 6,000 B.T.Us. However, I suggest that you make sure that an extended warranty is available before purchase. There is no point getting such a device to find it costs far too much to repair after the warranty period is over.
Cheaper Units...
There are other units being sold off at half the price, some are rated as 6,000 B.T.U with an electrical consumption of 2,200 watts. Personally, I would not purchase such a power-hungry device. It costs a lot of money to run it and a great deal of money to repair it. All units require your room to be fairly air-tight avoiding cooled air from escaping, thus making the units work harder and puting running costs up. Larger 'power hungry' units for the average Joe is really not practical, especially if you have a family running in and out of rooms.
Let's face it. Devices that need larger consumption rates to produce the same output, are just a waste of time anyway. It costs a great deal more in running costs to get the room to 'operating temperature' to start with, let alone the waste in general running costs.
ALWAYS CHECK IF PARTS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, IF EXTENDED WARRANTEES ARE AVAILABLE AND AT WHAT COST. ALWAYS GET A 5 YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY IF POSSIBLE. CHECK THE POWER CONSUMPTION AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE IF YOU DECIDE TO RETURN IT FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR RECEIPT AND ALL THE PACKAGING/DOCUMENTATION/ADVERTISING.
NEVER PURCHASE ON A 'WHIM'. MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THOUGHT IT THROUGH. AIR CONDITIONERS ARE NOT CHEAP AT BEST, AND DO HAVE HIGHER RUNNING COSTS IN GENERAL, THAN MOST COMMON HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES. |