I was looking for a portable air-conditioning unit and came across this beauty at a bargain price on TVSN website
Cheapest elsewhere I had seen was $669 and Hardly Normal has it for $699. This is a steal at $269 + $90 postage.($359)
This is clearance stock so I'm guessing numbers are limited.
Nevermind not cooling an area sufficiently; the noise (good luck sleeping the same room as a portable AC unit), the water leakage (in summer you need to drain the water valves daily), the very porous air filters, and the flimsy, unsealed construction that radiates heat back into the room are all reason enough to not own these things.
The only portable ACs worth owning are DeLonghi's high-end, double-ducted, fully self-evaporative systems.
My portable air conditioner (Altise APC15) vents the water out the exhaust tube so you never have to empty it.
It managed to keep my bedroom cool on very hot days last Summer (even 40+ days).
It is a bit noisy, but the sound irritation is far less than the irritation the heat would cause.
Portable air conditioners aren't ideal — but for renters and people on a tight budget they are easily sufficient, especially for bedroom use.
Ummmmm they don't consume 4kw of electricity… More like 1.5kw maximum
And they can work in certain situations
Some better than others… And definitely better than nothing.
The confusion is cooling power vs input power.
My APC15 is 1655W and it creates 4395W of cooling power.
It is expensive if you run it 24/7, but still a damn heap cheaper than a ducted solution (which cools the entire house)
Nothing wrong with portable aircons, at least not the one I got from Big W before they cleared out. It was a 10,000 btu and the same complaints from people about the "noise" and air leakage etc. On a stinking hot summer's night the portable aircon worked wonders. The noise does not worry me because I'd rather that than laying in bed covered in sweat.
Did you try a fan?
Good point. Fans do a great job on hot nights.
Especially ceiling fans.
Another alternative is the window aircon. Can be self-installed in rentals. Just needs a bit of creativity to fill the gap properly.
Yup. Fans don't do it when you are high 30s, at least not for me. I RARELY use an aircon and normally use a fan.
The noise does not worry me because I'd rather that than laying in bed covered in sweat.
So the choice is between not sleeping in comfort or a sweaty, sleepless night in silence? Not exactly the sweetening the deal there mate.
Love our portable air con too. Its not efficient, its true, but it does the trick. We only use it when its a really really hot night, which is not too often. And we have found that we can't sleep without the noise now, we are addicted…why do you think people have "white noise" apps on their phones and tablets?
You are being very dogmatic about this. @amar89 These things DO have a purpose and a market.
Got one! Did anyone notice the payment plan? Its $150ish down and $50ish per month to the balance and its only $2.20 extra! That's why I got one. Don't know if will cool a room but $360 for a refrigerated fan to sit in-front of on 45 degree days, I'll take that.
So the Aldi pool table, got one. The portable air conditioner, got one. If anyone posts a spray on baldness cure I'm screwed!
Bought a Kelvinator one while renting a sweatbox. Was awful. Was a godsend.
Was awful. Was a godsend.
Hmmm…
What's the normal / average price for Porable Air Con???
I had a check on google and found most are over $500???
Umm, not sure if i should take this one for the crazy summer time…
These units are just not upto the task unfortunately. My neighbour purchased one from Harvey Norman, and it's at-best an air 'cooler', and although it is refrigerated, its certainly not on-par with a traditional refrigerated air-conditioner. This unit would be best suited to a small bedroom, NOT a living area. In his 6x5m living area, on a 28 degree day, it did not get below 21 in the room. *And yes, everything was installed and sealed up correctly, I double checked for him, as he's 70yo, and was complaining about the performance of it.
Not just that, but these things do not contain inverter technology, and therefore, are constantly using 4kW of power, every hour, non stop! Currently that means in 24 hour period over summer, running non-stop, this thing is costing you approximately $26 per day. OUCH!