Are Portable Air Conditioners That Bad?

Sydney-bargainhunter on 06/01/2022 - 09:08
Last edited 06/01/2022 - 10:59 by 1 other user

I live in a rental without aircon and it of course suffers from being too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Hence I've been looking at aircon options and it seems there are two potentials: 1) a portable air con, 2) a window aircon.

I need some sort of heat in the winter so I've only been looking at the reverse cycle ones.

I see a fair few reviews on these portable aircons and they seem to be mostly negative. I don't expect them to be as good as a massive split system but are they really that bad in taking the edge off? Like get the night temp down from 25 to 20 kind of thing and winter from 15 to 20..

I was hoping someone could explain the energy efficiency, as I understand that (at least the split system ones) are more than 1:1 energy efficient (i.e. get more heat per kWh of used electricity than a basic fan heater). E.g. this machine

It says 3.5kWh, what does that mean? Because when you look at the specifications, it says 'Rated Input (Cooling): 1340W' and 'Rated Input (Heating): 1025W' - does that mean for e.g. the heating, it uses 1025W of electricity but generates 3500W worth of heat? That seems pretty efficient doesn't it, like a lot more than a 1:1 2000W Kmart heater that uses 2000W/hour?

• 

  John Kimble on 06/01/2022 - 09:15

  +10

  We have one, it works, but it's just expensive to run (because it's so inefficient, it never reaches target temperature so is always running and hardly ever switches off like a split or central one can) and noisy as hell.

  • 

    SF3 on 06/01/2022 - 10:21

    +7

    noisy as hell.

    probably why the AC can never reach target temperature, as it's trying to cool down hell.

    • 

      Lexus101 on 06/01/2022 - 12:23

      +1

      Mine was really noisy and can't sleep with it on.

      If someone finds a quiet unit, I would be interested to buy one myself.

  • 

    lgacb08 on 06/01/2022 - 12:12

    +1

    Can confirm, had it few years ago and it would chew 2kwh every hour until turned off. And you have to get it running when the room is still in the low 20s on those 40 degree days otherwise it'll never get room temp below 30.

  • 

    WT on 07/01/2022 - 08:21

    can confirm needed one of a few 35+ deg nights we had a few years back, it didnt help but what did work amazingly well was to put the sheets over the outlet. the sheets keep a lot of air in and its all directed on you.

    still a bit loud but better then being sweaty and tired the next day

• 

  ItsMeAgro on 06/01/2022 - 09:24

  Yes, they all suck. Too noisy, never cool the room enough.

  Not really better than a good portable fan (and 5 times the price).

  I once saw a "portable split" where you put a separate compressor out on a balcony. That might actually work. You'd have to google it.

  • 

    pharkurnell on 06/01/2022 - 11:46

    You must have bought the cheapest shitheap going… the one we had kept huge living area very cool. didnt take long either.
    wasnt the quietest thing on earth didnt give a shit was better than melting.

  • 

    Speckled Jim on 07/01/2022 - 07:30

    +1

    We had this DeLonghi Pinguino portable split. Purchased second-hand and sold on eBay a few years later for slightly more than what I paid.
    A bit noisy, but we lived in a tiny Perth apartment at the time. Wondered how we ever coped without it.

• 

  WreckTangle on 06/01/2022 - 09:31

  +4

  We’ve had window box ones, as long as the window is sealed around it then they are just fine. Get a decent one though.

• 

  shaybisc on 06/01/2022 - 09:37

  +11

  Start at 4.15

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mBeYC2KGc

  • 

    The Hawk on 07/01/2022 - 09:46

    +1

    Was going to post just that! Nice work.

• 

  Stopback on 06/01/2022 - 09:43

  +2

  They work but you need to setup the air con unit and do extra work.

  Seal the drafts. Try to setup the exhaust

  Also they pretty heavy.

• 

  Child on 06/01/2022 - 09:46

  I've got one. They do work, and the room comes down from hot to a comfortable temperature. They're very loud though and do make it hard to sleep, and aren't very energy efficient. If you have a window that can fit a window unit, get that instead as they're much better.

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  bobbified on 06/01/2022 - 09:57

  Budget lots of $$ for electricity and some earplugs if you need silence to sleep (it's a constant noise that some people may get used to). The air that comes out from the vent can be pretty cold, but for some strange reason, the small room that I used to use it in never really got anywhere near that cold even though the outlet was vented through the window.

  • 

    Antares on 06/01/2022 - 11:11

    +8

    To explain this, you should think about how the portable air conditioners work. They suck in air to cool the compressor and blow it out through that hose. But the air to cool the compressor is being sucked in from the room. Because air is being sucked in from the room and blown out the window, your room becomes lower pressure and draws in air from under the door (or through the window). So your room is constantly having hot air drawn in from another room to cool the compressor.

    Your room will end up as a balance between the hot air outside and the cool air being blown out through the vent.

    There are ways to fix this on portable air conditioners, but none of the brands I've seen in Australia do that (by drawing in air from outside, and blowing it back outside).

    • 

      bobbified on 06/01/2022 - 11:14

      +2

      Thanks for the explanation.

      The unit creates a vacuum in the room and that then draws in air from somewhere else to "normalise" the pressure between inside and outside. That makes a lot of sense.

    • 

      MikeKulls on 10/01/2022 - 16:52

      Everything you've said is accurate, however the unit is pulling in air at, say, 25 degrees instead of 40. So they get back some of those losses. Not sure how much that helps but I would say it would be a bit. Overall still less efficient of course.

    • 

      MikeKulls on 19/01/2022 - 12:32

      Actually, thinking about this further, the thing that would likely make them really inefficient is that the air is likely coming back into the room at the same point it exits. Those vents are horribly bad a sealing at the window so it's likely sucking in the very hot air. If you seal around that window properly and then crack open another window very slightly they would work a lot better.

• 

  Axelstrife on 06/01/2022 - 10:05

  +1

  Yes, but still better than nothing but you need to get a very powerful one.

  My brother has a 1.6KW window aircon recently for his room at his place and the room is larger than my bedroom and it cool sit down extremely faster and better than my 4.4KW portable aircon and his is MUCH quieter as well.

  If you have the ability to go for a window aircon over a portable do it, the stupid windows in my room are pushout so its impossible for me to use a window aircon.

• 

  OzChick on 06/01/2022 - 10:32

  We had a Nobocool one once which was bought from Harvey Norman. It was pretty good in cooling down a room to a comfortable temperature but was noisy when it was on.

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  sharkyoz on 06/01/2022 - 10:34

  bought a 2nd hand Carrier window unit, been going strong, but not very silently for about 8yrs

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  try2bhelpful on 06/01/2022 - 10:51

  +3

  I live in Melbourne. We have a portable aircon but we haven't used it in a few years.

  A few things that might be worth considering. When the temperature outside is hot we put thermal blockout curtains on the outside of the bedroom window - using the adjustable curtain rods to hold them up. This stops direct sunlight actually hitting the window. Also, if it is cool enough in the evening, we open up the house as much as possible and use fans to blow cool air in/move hot air out of the house. We leave the window open, overnight, using a sheer to cut down the mossies. If they are real bad I spray the sheer with flyspray.

  In winter we've created a snug area in our house. I've made some thermal curtains using two queen bed flat sheets and a king size doona in the middle. We only need one of our hydronic radiators to heat the snug. This has reduced our heating bill to about 1/3 of what it was originally.

  Frankly, I would look at ways to effectively heat/cool/insulation. If you can minimise the area you need to heat/cool it makes it much more efficient.

  We looked into putting in a reverse cycle air conditioning unit but we are having trouble justifying it now. Maybe when we get around to solar panels.

• 

  AndyC1 on 06/01/2022 - 10:59

  Check out https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/675511

• 

  dogboy on 06/01/2022 - 11:15

  They suck but are better than nothing on a very hot/humid day. As said by others, they are noisy and never get the room to the desired temperature.

• 

  oscargamer on 06/01/2022 - 11:19

  +3

  Window rattlers work

  Portables, not so much

  Do some research, but it's to do with air movement. Whatever air the portables put out through their exhaust, has to be replaced in the room. That air usually comes through gaps throughout the house, but ultimately comes from the outside . and that's the problem.

  the rattlers work because the working elements are split by the window.

• 

  wizzy on 06/01/2022 - 12:05

  Yes the portable ones do work, but as others have said they are very noisy. We also experienced a problem with leaking water. The water reservoir was never big enough to contain the water, and we used to elevate the unit on bricks and put an extra tray underneath to catch the water. We installed a split system in the end, but did use the portable unit in one bedroom that got very hot for many years before that.

  Another option might be to approach your landlord and come to an understanding. Some options:

  1) You could ask for a split system to be installed. You might be lucky and your landlord might just agree because it adds value to the property and keeps you (a good tenant I assume) happy.
  2) You could offer to pay extra rent if your landlord installs a split system.
  2) You could offer to pay for the split system and it's installation yourself and leave it there when you leave.

• 

  shaybisc on 06/01/2022 - 12:18

  I had a window rattler back in the day and the compressor used to wake me every morning at around 2am when it turned on or off.

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  JIMB0 on 06/01/2022 - 12:46

  +1

  I have a Delonghi unit that works rather well. It will keep a large living room cool on a hot day. It runs water over the condenser fins to take advantage of the evaporative cooling effect and thus doesn't need to draw as much air out of the room.

• 

  ddhar on 06/01/2022 - 13:30

  Portable ACs are alright if you can't get a split unit installed. They can decently cool a bedroom (albeit very noisily). While quite inefficient on electricity, this is less of a concern with 1000W units.

  On heating, my 20yo column heater does a better (and silent) job.

  • 

    lunchbox99 on 06/01/2022 - 14:40

    Column heaters are far less energy efficient than a reverse cycle aircon. One makes heat, the other just moves heat.

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  Mechz on 06/01/2022 - 16:04

  +1

  15 degrees in winter is cold? Are you anaemic?

  • 

    LFO on 07/01/2022 - 13:49

    15 degrees in winter is cold?

    22 degrees is a lot better. YMMV.

    • 

      Mechz on 07/01/2022 - 22:30

      I sleep with the fan on in winter and don't use a heater.

  • 

    gesco on 08/01/2022 - 07:19

    For some reason I find 15 in summer feels nice, but 15 in winter feels too cool. Must be psychological.

    But yes, if 15 is too cool put on some clothes.

    Also reckon that 25 in summer feels warm but not hot - take the quilt off, open the window, or use a fan.

    I've never lived in Sydney. Maybe the humidity there is very different to what I am used to.

• 

  mitch01 on 06/01/2022 - 19:39

  +1

  https://youtu.be/_-mBeYC2KGc

  I recommend watching this ^.

• 

  Peter Enis on 06/01/2022 - 22:01

  For me personally, probably rhe worst purchase I've ever made.

• 

  nylonolive on 07/01/2022 - 08:56

  Maybe look into the cost of a portable vs. the cost and installation of a split system and talk to real estate/landlord. It couldn't hurt to ask and maybe offer to cover half the costs? It'll only add value to their property.

• 

  burnerman on 07/01/2022 - 10:13

  Like most folks have said, they work, they aren't as good as a split system.

  I've never used one for heating so I'm genuinely not sure, I think I would prefer just wearing extra layers and investing in a hot water bottle/wheat bag/pet.

  For helping you sleep in summer the massive caveat is that it will cool your room down at the expense of being extremely loud.

  I bought the enormous Kogan one a few years ago when it was on sale and it was fine, when I got my new place with AC I waited until the start of summer then put it on Gumtree at the same price, so it ultimately cost nothing.

• 

  rowenaduncan on 07/01/2022 - 10:21

  Has anyone yet mentioned that the size of the aircon vs room is relevant. If you're trying to cool a large loungeroom style area with a small window unit, you'll usually be struggling. Also the the portable ones. Check the cooling capacity in sqm of any unit you're considering, compared to the area you're trying to cool. Maybe worth considering cooling a smaller room (bedroom maybe) and spending most of your time in there?

  • 

    lgacb08 on 07/01/2022 - 10:57

    -1

    Size doesn't matter, the unit will be next to useless in large room and barely tolerable in small 3x3 room. My experience with it with the small bedroom showed it ran non-stop and could only brought room temperature down to 29 degree on those 40s days (whereas other places in the house it was around 36).

    • 

      Pelicannn on 07/01/2022 - 11:06

      I disagree. I had a portable aircon in a studio apartment sized room and it was able to cool very effectively. That being said it was also around $1000 on sale to $600ish so it wasn’t at all a cheap model. If I recall it was about 4kw or so.

      They will work but you will also be paying for it to make sure they do, smaller units are not worth the investment. At that point it might just be worth negotiating with the landlord to put in a split system and share costs.

• 

  skillet on 07/01/2022 - 11:06

  If you have no other options and own a wind farm, then portables are okay. They works but not as good as normal splits because they have an exhaust.

  It blows air(hot exhaust) out of the room, that means fresh air needs to be sucked in to the room. If the air is warm outside then it's a constant cycle of cooling and heating. It's never ending. However, I have seen some units with dual hoses. These are the ideal units that you want provided that you seal the windows and keep the two hoses apart.

• 

  LFO on 07/01/2022 - 13:47

  Between a window air conditioner unit and a portable one I will pick the window one:

  1. Portables are inefficient by design sucking your cool air from inside to blow it outside.
  2. Portables produce all noise (compressor and fans) INSIDE your room, just next to you …

  Window units sell for about $500 (more if needing heating as well) and the noise is somehow shared outside and fans inside.
  More than one window unit can be installed to distribute cooling as needed.

  I have seen "split units" installed in such a way that can be take away with no structural damage (pipes thru windows left permanently semi open).

  There is no silver bullet.

• 

  MikeKulls on 10/01/2022 - 16:57

  We had one and it was pretty good, it would cool the one bedroom right down. Was noisy but I found sleeping with a constant noisy easy. It was a pain in that you had to remove it from the window when you went out