Portable airconditioners

[Sally]

I'm moving out of home next week and the flat we got doesn't have airconditioning. I was thinking of buying a portable airconditioner but i was worried if they work well. I really need it for when it is over 35degrees. Has anyone used one before?

[Lorraine]

My beauty therapist has bought a portable airconditioner for her beauty room at her home. She boought it from Russell's Retravision. It can also be used for heating in the winter months. The "hose"on the airconditioner, needs to be put into an open window to let all the water outside.

[Milena]

Hi Sally

Welcome to the forum. We bought a De Longhi refrigerated portable airconditioner a few years ago because the double story we lived in did not have any airconditioning. We found it worked well in a small room preferably with the doors closed. It used water for extra cooling and needed to be regularly filled. It had air ducting that went out through a sliding window and the window had to be properly blocked. Our current house has winding windows which is not suitable for the ducting.
But last year we had days over 43C and it kept our lounge down below 30C. By contrast our upstairs bedroom was about 45C and it wasn't very pleasant.
Hope this helps.

[Lanne]

If you have aluminum windows... look for the ones that fit into the existing frame. Installation is next to nothing (literally four screws).. no hoses... you close the window up to it.. and pull up a screen. It is super secure (as in it wont fall out!) and can be installed just about any window. even those with security screens).

We had one and we used it for 2.5 years and then gave to my mother 18 months ago as this house has ducted air. it heats and cools and is AMAZINGLY tough and powerful and fairly quiet.. was about 1000 back then but perfect for renters or those who don't want to install a fixed system.

At one house we had it in our bedroom but it also cooled our whole living area... best aircon we have had. I wouldn't promise it would cool the entire flat but .. it cooled a master bedroom suite (large) a hallway, kitchen, dining, family room ...no problems.

Ours is/was a Teco system.

http://www.teco.com.au/images/uploads/ecatalogue/Skinny2009-TAC-VWB-MM-0810-web.pdf

see bottom of this page - http://www.teco.com.au/products.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=13

Hope that helps!

[rachel]

Given good portable/window air-conditioners can be quite expensive, have you thought about approaching your new landlord and asking if they'd consider putting a split-system into the bedroom (or lounge or whatever) if you contributed a little bit to the cost?

It'd be a tax deduction for the owner and it'd no doubt make the property more attractive for the next tenant, so big pluses for them.

I notice you say flat and that may make it harder to install air-conditioning cheaply but it may be worth a try.

[Milena]

Lanne what a great aircon. I wish I knew about it a long time ago.

I like your idea Rachel. We were thinking the same, to ask our previous landlord to install a split system upstairs and pay him the cost for the installation. We never had a chance to ask him because he decided to sell on us and we had to move to another rental. We are enjoying our new rental which has a split system airconditioner.

[Julie-Ann]

I'm so glad you asked about these Sally.
We have ducted evaporative a/c that works brilliantly 95% of the summer. Perth has a dry heat so it is all that is necessary. But when we have the odd humid day over 35c it isn't quite enough. I have often looked at these machines and wondered if they would help.
I would want it for a family/kitchen/meals area which is abut 60m2 but with high ceilings. I wasn't sure if they would be powerful enough to cool such a large space. Plus I don't know how they would work if you had the evaporative on as well. If you didn't have the evaporative on the rest of the house would be awful, so on the weekends that would be necessary.
Do you think it would work in this space?

[Milena]

Hi Julie-Ann
I don't think portable refrigerated aircon would work very well in that size space. I doubt it would be that effective. The portable was more suited to a single room. Lanne's idea sounds like it could work or perhaps a split system installed in that area would be perfect. In the previous house we owned we had a split system in the family/kitchen/meals area and it worked brilliantly.

[Lanne]

The one we have wasnt the most powerful HP they have (so maybe by one up)
but it did a room that was 8 m long x 8 m... (but L shaped not square) so if you imagine the two side of the L were 8 m.. but no more than 4 wide .... and it was on the western side.. we comfortably got it down to 24... no problems.

An normal sized 2 bedroom unit would be possible with the more powerful one.

[Sally]

We've decided to ask the landlord to put in a split system in the lounge area. I hope they will because we are happy to sign a 12 month lease.
If not then we will buy a portable system like Lanne's.Now we feel better that that is an option:)

[Julie-Ann]

Hi Lanne

The system you used looks very interesting. Our space is also an L-shape with the lengths being about 10mt and 4mt wide. But we also have higher ceilings. Do you think that is too large a space for the portable a/c to work well?
I imagine we would have to turn the evaporative off when you had this one on. But I guess that would be trial and error.
I hope your landlord agrees Sally:).