Dual Hose Portable Room Air Conditioners

What is a Portable Room Air Conditioner?

A portable room air conditioner is an air conditioner that is mobile. Unlike window, through-the-wall, or central air conditioning units, portable air conditioners do not require permanent installation, the quick installation is the main attraction vs its other air conditioner family members…. Commonly, these units have caster wheels for easy movement and are between 2 ½ to 3 ft tall a weight between 50 to 90 pounds

Portable Room Air Conditioners do however require venting through one or two exhaust hoses so the unit must be w/in 5 feet of a single or double hung window or sliding window. The installation can be easily installed with a window kit or to another location. When searching for a portable Air Conditioner there are many model that vary in cooling capabilities, condensation removal, controls and noise and efficiency.  Not only do portable air conditioners cool the surrounding air, they also dehumidify - keeping the air both cool and comfortably dry.  Perhaps the most important thing to determine when choosing a portable air conditioner is the size needed. An air conditioner that is too small will not be able to keep up with cooling demand.

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.

What size portable room air conditioner do I need?

The cooling capacity of an air conditioner is measured in British Thermal Units (BTU), and the capacity you require depends mostly on the size of the room you need to cool. If you buy an air conditioner that is to small for the room it will not cool adequately. If you buy one that is too large, the air conditioner will cool the room before it dehumidifies and this can leave you feeling clammy. For larger areas, sometimes two smaller units are more efficient than 1 large unit.

Make any adjustments for the following circumstances: (energystar.org)

Heavily shaded rooms, Reduce capacity by 10%.

Very sunny rooms, Increase capacity by 10%.

If more than 2 people regularly occupy the room, add 600 BTUs for each additional person.

If the unit is used in a kitchen, increase capacity by 4,000 BTUs.

Consider where you install the unit. If you are mounting an air conditioner near the corner of a room, look for a unit that can send the airflow in the right direction.