How to Select a Portable Air Conditioner | Ask This Old House

[Music] richard the seasons are changing and it's heating up outside and you obviously are prepared look at all the air conditioning well people are hot and they're not happy about it so air conditioning is a big deal in this country about two-thirds of american houses have some version of air conditioning and it's not an inconsequential operating cost about 11 billion that's with a b in electricity for american homes americans love their air conditioning and you like installing central air conditioning where you install it in an entire house right and that's my business but for most people they have to look at alternatives because either it's too expensive or just doesn't line up they're renting or moving along so this is the most popular choice a window air conditioner we all know them we've all grown up with them okay and it has the basic refrigeration cycle all in one box inside it has a cold coil right here now the basic principle refrigeration is that heat goes to cold in any direction warm air from the room travels across a cold coil the heat in the air is absorbed by refrigerant in that coil the air that's left behind feels cooler because it's holding less heat the refrigerant travels outside where its heat is released to the environment refrigerant travels back through a compressor where it's recharged and gets cold again and the cycle repeats you have told us many times we're not making cold we're dumping heat that's right and so now we've got cold air inside there but now we one more byproduct that we have in the refrigeration cycle and that's water right condensation and that's going to settle out right here in a window air conditioner you always see it dripping right here on the outside of the building but we always have to deal with it and that's the humidity that's coming out of the air sure now they're very popular but there are a few knocks first of all they're heavy so you've got to hump them in and out of the window you know twice a season that's right they all live in fear of also dropping it down two stories to the ground but they also block your view and when they're not used they're actually blocking that window you can't have it open to let in fresh air and with a change of seasons you want to take them out of the windows for the winter too so one alternative is right here there's a portable air conditioner it has the basic refrigeration cycle all inside this single cabinet okay now in this case it might be a little bit noisier because all the unit is right inside the building none of it is on the outside of the building but we're not actually putting this in the window it can literally sit on the floor like this that's right and now that heat that we have to dump to outside now comes this way and has to dump out through this flexible duct okay and this thing sticks right in the window right here wait but wait a second you said these things also have a byproduct of water so we're not pushing the water up there no no there's a reservoir right here that you have to go back and dump and make sure the water gets up and dehumidifier so they're not going to be as powerful as a window ac but they're a great solution you have to worry about muscle into the window either so what is something like this because i don't see any way to dump the air there is no ductwork going out a window well this looks like a dehumidifier but it's actually something that is only going to fit in certain places in this country this is called an evaporative cooler also called a swamp cooler okay and it's portable now in this case you dump ice and water into right here in the evaporative cooler water is doing the cooling not refrigerant cold water drips down a pad and a fan pushes warm air through that pad heat is absorbed into the colder water leaving behind slightly colder air so obviously we're not dehumidifying the room in fact we're probably adding some humidity to the room which is why you say it's only good for the american southwest they could use a little humidity but a unit like this will never be as powerful or as effective as a window air conditioner or portable air conditioner but three good ways to cool down a room that's right but there's any wrap on these three units is that they're either on or off and you have to operate them when you're in the room right so some new technology i want to show you right here there's a window air conditioner looks like many of the others and it can operate manually just hit the button right there traditional and i can control it traditionally as well but now it connects by wi-fi so anywhere i want to be on the couch at the office i could just go from high to medium to low to off no kidding and because it's wi-fi now i could call ahead at the office and get it going but it also connects to your gps here so as you get close to the house it'll bring it on automatically so no more coming home to a hot house with that unit that's right so there's a lot of cool technology that's existed in our clock thermostats for a while but it's nice to see it now in a window ac americans love their air conditioning why not get some control over it stay cool all right thanks richard [Music]

Channel: This Old House

Views: 530,182

Keywords: richard trethwey, air condition, AC, portable, cooling, shopping, smart, This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, Kevin o’connor, kevin o'connor house, kevin o'connor this old house, kevin o'connor ask this old house, kevin o'connor interview, home renovation ideas on a budget

Id: BjB3TfKOYKk

Length: 4min 9sec (249 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 16 2018