Been thinking of getting some sort of portable aircon unit for upstairs.
It gets pretty hot during summer upstairs when it’s above 35. Insulation isn’t the issue really as it’s all well insulated in the roof space. I was thinking of getting split installed upstairs but considering it’s pretty open space, if I want split, it has to be in one of large bedroom. But then I don’t want to end up installing split in all 3 bedrooms upstairs. Getting even single split installed upstairs going to need some fair cable run to the meter. It’s going to cost a bit of fortune really.
So, may be getting portable aircon is a good idea? This way I can put it in main bedroom or in open area to cool upstairs down. Just want to see what’s others experience with portable aircon? Or should I bite the bullet and just go with split on wall in main bedroom? I don’t think installing split in each room will be good idea for my pocket. Looking for some helpful tips and ideas. How is your experience with portable unit, vent and noise. Especially if you live in bit larger double storey house.
Without a shadow of a doubt, if you don't want to do a proper solution and air condition all the rooms, still get a split system over portable. Possibly a double-head one, in the most central space and the main bedroom. (or better yet, the ceiling cassette kind as they are often better at distributing air centrally … but more expensive). Or just one in the open area or main bedroom if you can't afford that … and couple it with well placed fans.
I have both splits and a portable in different areas of the house. I don't really use the portable. Despite being hot, just last week I didn't run a portable air con for more than 1 minute because what I didn't consider until I was rudely reminded by turning it on when trying to go to sleep, is they are often much louder, too loud to run in the same room as you sleep and despite the name, they are often quite large and not that portable, you have to set up a thing in the window to send out the hot air and seal off the window around it, which is a water leak / break-in risk, and ugly. It's not like you will wheel it in with you when you go to bed and back again to the other spaces like a portable fan. So, they often stay in one spot taking up space and looking like a turd, and so aren't really much more portable than a split system in the short term. Additionally, the occupants of each room will all be hot on a hot day / night at the same time - and it can't be in two places at once anyway. They are good for renters where the house rented doesn't have an A/C to keep in one spot, and take it with you when you move out, and that's about it.
The other considerations are they are usually way less electrically efficient - which adds up to more cost in the long run and usually don't heat and A/Cs are an efficient heater in winter. On a power hungry appliance like A/Cs, always consider efficiency.
Portable is basically a shorter life span, lower performance, temporary / ugly, louder solution IMHO - a disposable appliance.
Whereas a good proper air conditioner properly installed is an asset of the house, and if selected correctly, can be an efficient way to heat and cool. They aren't usually all that expensive for a bedroom split system when considered as a long term investment of the house.
Then, what I have had success with, is pre-conditioned air circulation. If you have a good size air conditioner in one central room (e.g. split), cool that room well, you then select which other rooms you want to cool, shut off the doors to the ones you don't, open the doors to the ones you do and have a window cracked (with window lock) in each to allow air flow out of them, then put a fan in the door way pushing preconditioned air into that room from the central cooled room. Works surprisingly well over time - not instantly such as in the room with the A/C itself, but if on for an hour before bed then you have the fan on for the night and rely on that, together with the fact the house is well insulated and the cool from the central room should radiate into the larger space, it is good enough to sleep with sharing the cool across multiple bedrooms when coupled with a fan on you for each room. … However your family have to be willing to sleep with bedroom doors open. Otherwise you need separate systems and there's no way around that.