Heya,
Moved into a new place that is just insanely warm and can't sleep at night. We have a fan but its doing nothing.
Are these aircon machines worth it? We have a proper wall mounted unit downstairs but upstairs is like walking into a sauna.
Thanks
From what I looked for years ago, the portable aircon do work, only if you can set it up correctly.
To my understanding, you would need to vent/drain just like the wall mounted one. Most of the window venting kit is for sliding door, there is (was?) a retrokit for the window that we have here but may not work well.
These aircon is also incredibly loud compared to the normal wall mounted unit so it may be hard to sleep? You might want to have a feel yourself in a store on how the noise would be.
As for me, I ended up saving up for a proper wall mounted unit.
I stayed at a Quest apartment hotel and it had a portable aircon with the venting to the atrium. It worked well but I agree that it was very very loud.
To preface, I am not a qualified with HVAC in any aspects but this is just based on my own personal research.
The general advice is it's always better to get a split system installed as it's much more efficient and quieter, or even a window aircon in terms of efficiency, however if the installation of those options is not viable, the portable aircon is still a strong option if the heat is unbearable.
In my case I couldn't install a split system (rental) nor a window style AC as I have casement windows (swing out). Performance is very case dependent on the size of the room and the specific model you have, of course they all will be loud as the compressor is inside the room now.
They will all have at least one duct to vent the hot air outside, most PACs only come with a window kit for slide windows, if you have casement windows in my case you'll either have to buy a third-party product which can adapt the duct exhaust for those style windows or in my case create a custom solution (google: plexiglass aircon vent).
Singe hose models will be very inefficient as they create negative pressure in the room which means you are constantly pulling air from any gaps/crevices ie. Under the door, which could mean pulling hot air back into the room which the appliance has to cool down. This is mitigated by dual hose models which pull air from outside, dump all the heat to that air and blow it out instead of the single hose models which use the cooled air inside the room to dump the heat out.
Some cheaper models will require you have a drain hose or bucket to drain condensate, most higher end models will evaporate the condensate and blow it out the hot air exhaust duct.
They are quite loud, as the compressor is inside the room and generally inverter compressor models aren't sold here (inverter essentially means the compressor can operate at a variable speed).
Regardless of the downsides they do definitely work but you can only reasonably expect to cool a room no bigger than the average bedroom, for me it was definitely worth it even with the noise and inefficiency, it makes it much easier to sleep and do work when it's not boiling hot.
A window aircon is also a good option as I think you can get inverter compressor models here and since the 'hot' side of the refrigeration system will be outside in the cool air they will be much more efficient.
The unit I went for was a Olympia 14HP (It's reverse cycle so it does heat pump as well), in terms of power usage, for me on cooling I get about ~0.85kw/h. Around the time I was purchasing basically it was one of the most powerful models in terms of cooling power and supposedly the quietest out of the non-inverter compressor models, I would probably say in hindsight it was not worth it for the heat pump feature as yes it does heat up the room decently and uses less power than those 2.4kw resistive heaters, the issue for me is having to have a bucket to drain the condensate in that mode as you can't evaporate the condensate when it's dumping cold air outside.
Also around the time I was buying Trade Depot had a Midea unit that was dual hose but only cooling, however it was a floor model and I couldn't find it online, but it seems to be a generic design and sold under a few brands, it's called the Midea Duo in the U.S. market (has reverse cycle for the U.S. market as well).
Just to add I did notice Trade Depot now has the dual hose model I saw online.
https://tradedepot.co.nz/midea-portable-air-conditioner-3-5k…
There is another model I found recently that's generally designed for camping/solar usage but it is inverter and dual hose but no clue to what the cooling performance is like and the price is a bit steep on this one, also seems to integrate with their battery/solar ecosystem.
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HOMECF4010/ECOFLOW-Wave-2-P…
Portable AC's are a last resort option, if you cannot install a window mounted air cond or a split system.
For what it's worth (I realise you already have a fan and it's not helpful), I have a Dimplex Whisper pedestal fan and it's wonderful. I live in a concrete building with huge west-facing windows, so the bedrooms get really hot in summer, and this fan is perfect. Very quiet, cheap to run, and cools us right down. Speed goes up to 12 but I never have to run it higher than about 5, so there's plenty of cooling power in reserve. And the remote control is a godsend.
Man, this comment thread reads like a recipe blog, just too many life stories being told.
In short: yes, they are worth it. These machines come with downsides (noise, required ducting to outside, running costs), but they will definitely cool a room down.
They work fine as long as you remember:
They can't get as cold as a split unit due to all the get hot bits being inside the room they are trying to cool
You need a good, short run to a window that you can seal around the hose to get as much of the hot bits cooling out the window as possible.
The hose itself will also get hot and isn't insulated - hence the short run
They are noisy for all the above reasons
You need to be able to point it in the right direction (which can make the above difficult)
You need to have it draining into something bigger than the supplied tray or internal tank if in high humidity/heating mode. It will overflow/the switch that is meant to turn it off when full WILL fail (I eventually resorted to putting mine on one of those storage cubes so I could fit an actual bucket under the drain - I still occasionally overflow slightly
Do not put one on carpet or wooden floors or anything that isn't waterproof
Keeping the vents clean is really important - and a lot harder because it will suck up everything that floats at ground level (pet hair and lint being the two big clogs around here)
They are really noisy
Don't expect to sleep near one.
They are really noisy
Expect any TV nearby to have to near double its volume
I have the exact same issue, just moved to a house with a powerful heat pump downstairs but upstairs is like a sauna! Just purchased the following portable air con and window kit earlier this week and have mixed feelings about it
https://tradedepot.co.nz/midea-portable-air-conditioner-3-3-…
https://tradedepot.co.nz/tdx-push-pull-window-door-kit-4-2m/
Firstly, it does do a good job of cooling and dehumidifying, but not as cold as a heat pump. The window kit is a bit unsightly but does the job. I didn't realise before I purchased that a drain is required, the amount of water that is pulled out the air is staggering! About 8L every few hours, which does make the room feel far less of a sauna. Due to the amount of water produced, I can't leave it on overnight as the bucket I have the water draining to would overflow.
The noise doesn't really bother me, white noise makes me sleepy anyway. The power of the fan that blows out the cold air isn't too powerful so doesnt reach too far into the house.
Overall, glad I purchased (especially as used Gem card for 24m interest free). First good nights sleep in weeks!