How to vent and install a portable air conditioners

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All portable air conditioners require some type of ventilation. It is important that you vent the hot air outside of the room you are trying to cool. Our entire units comes with hoses to vent the exhaust and window filler kits to allow you to properly vent out of most windows. However, you do not need to vent the hot air out a window. The window venting kits also fit most sliding glass doors ( if you make modifications , or you may make a custom modification and vent the exhaust through a wall do not install exhaust hose into a drop ceiling or anything that does not vent outside
Can’t I just let the portable air conditioner run without a vent?
Portable air conditioners are designed to operate with a vent. Your going to be able to cool the room because front of the machine would blow cold air, but the back of the machine will blow hot air….The two air streams will mix and you will be left with a warm room.
Extending the Exhaust Hose

These units are designed with the hoses included. You may have read it else ware that you can but any additional hoses will cause the compressor to shut down from back pressure, and cause the output air to be warm. This will diminish the efficiency of the unit.

Exhaust hose placement
How close is the unit to the wall? If the unit is only inches away from the wall and you are running the exhaust hose out a window, more than likely their exhaust hose bend is at 90 degrees which restricts air flow. In order for the unit to run more efficiently and not overheat, it should be at least 1-1/2 feet away from the wall and the exhaust hose should not exceed more then a 45 degree angle.

Exhausting to a ceiling, attic, plenum or basement

We are going to have to say no for two reasons, if the no outside room does not have a way of pushing the heat from the exhaust to the outside, the unit will work for a short period of time and then eventually overheat and shut off. The second reason is you our exhausting condensation into that room, which over time can lead to mold & mildew

Can I vent a portable air conditioner out a dryer vent?

Generally, this is not recommended by the manufacturer, especially if the diameter of the vent hose is greater than the diameter of the dryer vent. A standard dryer vent is 4″. Most portable air conditioners have 5″ exhaust hoses. Some units have smaller diameter vent hoses and these units may be vented out a dryer vent. However, you should not use the external part of the dryer vent that has flaps, as the compressor is not strong enough to push these flaps open. If you need to cover that exterior opening of the vent, we recommend using a screen.

Can I discharge the hot air out of a sliding glass door or sliding glass window.

Although most units come with window kits for traditional double hung windows – only selected units will work with sliding glass doors and sliding glass windows. In some cases this may require the purchase of additional accessories. Please see the product descriptions and / or contact us for details.

(Note the window Kit max dimension, 48” is a standard width.)

I have a casement / crank out window, will this work?

There are no portable air conditioner units with a window kit that will work for a casement window. Some customers have fashioned a solution using plexiglas to cover their entire window area and then have a small hole cut into the plexiglas for the hot air discharge hose. No solution is provided “out of the box” but some customers have fashioned their own.

What is the difference between a single hose design and a dual hose design?

Single Hose System

Pros: Single hose unit will have a high EER rating then the single hose and does not draw as much power because it only has one motor and more fresh air

Cons: A single hose cool the condenser by pulling the air from the room they are cooling, and then this air is expelled through their exhaust hose. This creates the negative pressure in the room, in which hot air is continually seeping into this room you are trying to cool from the rest of the house or building to replace the air that the portable AC expels, so that effective cooling capacity is reduced, and slower initial cool down

Dual House System

Pros: Dual hose unit work with one hose intakes outside air to cool the condenser and another hose to expel this air A two hose unit can cool the room air quicker than a single hose unit, approximately 2~3 times faster depending upon the room size and outside temperature . Also a two hose unit can achieve energy savings since it can reduce the compressor from continually running as it circulates cool air inside the room.

Cons:

1) Same air circulating within the room, which will decrease in oxygen and increase in carbon dioxide.

2) If outside temperature is high (>90°F) or when humidity is high (>80%), compressor cannot be cooled and results is increased temperature of front air output. In such cases, the second hose should not used to prevent the compressor from overheating.

3) Uses two internal fans and consumes more energy due to added hose.

Do I have to remove my screen from the window?
The answer to this question may vary based upon your particular window and screen. However, most of our customers find that they can leave the screen in the window and that the exhaust hose of the AC does not extend out from the window.

How do I use the window venting kit? Does it fit my window?
The window venting kit is essentially a “filler” kit to allow the end of the exhaust hose to vent out the window without allowing hot air from the outside in around the vent hose. The window vent kits fit most windows and glass doors that slide to open (this includes sliding glass doors and windows that slide both vertically and horizontally). These units do not come with a filler kit to fit casement (crank-out) windows, but with a little ingenuity, you should be able to devise some sort of filler kit

How long is the exhaust hose that the portable air conditioner comes with?
Exhaust hose lengths vary by model, but generally they are 4-5 feet in length. They are made of a temperature-resistant plastic reinforced with metal.

Installation / Set Up

Requirements will vary based upon the model. However, all portable air conditioner units exhaust hot air as part of their cooling process. This hot air is typically directed out of the space being cooled through a hot air discharge hose. This air hose is often vented out of a window, through a wall ( like a dryer vent) Do not installing a unit into a drop ceiling, attic. Or plenum or an adjacent space. A Portable A/C is exhausting hot saturated air which can leave the other spaces wet clammy, and more susceptible to mold

The window venting kit is essentially a “filler” kit to allow the end of the exhaust hose to vent out the window without allowing hot air from the outside in around the vent hose. The window vent kits fit most windows single or double hung windows and sliding windows for sliding glass doors you will need two window kits, for Casement “ crank out” style windows sorry there really is not a good way to install it a window kit for this style window.

Set Up :

Portable air conditioners come with installation instructions and kits for installation into windows. Here are a few tips for what a standard installation might entail. Of course, you should follow the installation instructions that come with your portable air conditioner.

Location
this is one of the main advantages of portable air conditioners- they can be installed in many places that other air conditioners cannot. However, the easiest installation is into a standard sliding window. Due to the design of the venting kit, it is equally easy to install one of these units into a standard double-hung window or a side-to-side slider window.