Portable AC is useless

[DPelletier]

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. I've used 2 hose portables many times to suppliment room cooling or to add cooling to a space that didn't have it and they've done the job. Not ideal, but sometimes cutting a hole in the wall or removing a window isn't in the cards and the cost of a ductless split is substantial in comparison....especially in a temporary or rental space.

Dave

 

[American Locomotive]

Zombie thread!

Portable a/c units are not optimal but are better than nothing.

If it's a single tube portable unit, and it's over 100 degrees outside, it's actually probably worse than nothing. The hot air it'll pull inside your house will more than likely negate all of its cooling.

 

[Scud67]

"Portable air conditioning units will either have one exhaust hose for hot air or they will have two.

If your unit has one hose, it takes air from the room that it is placed in and then returns most it after the cooling process. However, since a small amount of air is always removed from the room, it will cause some negative pressure.

If your unit has two hoses, one will be to bring air in from the outside, and the other will exhaust it. Dual hoses will not create the negative pressure like the single hose, but because of this design it does result in less efficiency."

So.... the two hose version is the one that pulls in air from outside (hot air if it is hot outside) and is LESS efficient according to this information pulled from an A/C website.

 

[American Locomotive]

"Portable air conditioning units will either have one exhaust hose for hot air or they will have two.

If your unit has one hose, it takes air from the room that it is placed in and then returns most it after the cooling process. However, since a small amount of air is always removed from the room, it will cause some negative pressure.

If your unit has two hoses, one will be to bring air in from the outside, and the other will exhaust it. Dual hoses will not create the negative pressure like the single hose, but because of this design it does result in less efficiency."

So.... the two hose version is the one that pulls in air from outside (hot air if it is hot outside) and is LESS efficient according to this information pulled from an A/C website.

A two hose portable may have marginally less EER/COP due to less condenser air flow, however it will much more efficiently cool the space because it's not pulling hot air in from inside.

It's not a "small amount" of air. It's a huge amount of air. Remember, air conditioners are heat pumps. Every BTU of heat they pull out of your house, they dump outside. So however hard the inside vent is blowing cold, the outside hose/vent is blowing just as much hot air instead.