Portable Air Conditioners Buying Guide
Portable air conditioners employ the same operating principles and basic components as the window air conditioner units. The key difference is portable room air conditioners come with an exhaust hose that directs the hot air from the back of the portable air conditioner unit through a window or a cut out in a wall where as window air conditioner units don't have this feature. Some portable air conditioning units also have a water reservoir that collects the condensation from the air which needs to be emptied once or twice a week. We recommend purchasing air conditioning units that have a built in water pump or a self evaporation feature which minimizes the need to empty the reservoir. Sizing Portable Air Conditioners Portable room air conditioners are rated by the number of British Thermal Units (Btu) of heat they can remove per hour. Another common rating term for air conditioning size is the "ton," which is 12,000 Btu per hour. How big should your portable r