Are portable air conditioning units worth a punt at $1000? Anyone got any experiences?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Are portable air conditioning units worth a punt at $1000? Anyone got any experiences?

turtleattacks

1008 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 305

Trusted

#277252 4-Oct-2020 09:09

Anyone had experiences with portable air conditioning units in NZ?

The brands that Harvey Norman or Noel Lemming sells are all fairly unknown so would love to know if they actually work.

Also it looks like I need to run a pipe out the window? Will this work with the NZ 'fan'-type windows?

----

Creator of whatsthesalary.com and whatstheincometax.com

1 | 2

2851 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3159

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2578823 4-Oct-2020 09:16

A mate of mine bought one years ago when he was renting. It did the job well in a small room, certainly wouldn't have been suitable for an open kitchen, diner living room.

Regarding the pipe out the window. It will work best in a sliding type window where you can cut a piece of plywood to fit with a hole for the pipe to go through.

surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2159

#2578824 4-Oct-2020 09:18

I had a delonghi portable AC unit many years ago. Bought during a particularly hot auckland summer.

It worked, but, not the most convenient.

You have to open a window for the hot air exhaust tube. And, it had an internal water tank needed refilling from time to time.

I guess it is OK for short term situations where you might be renting.

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2578827 4-Oct-2020 09:29

Our work had a few of these and, TBH, the thing they were best at doing was making a lot of noise! Even in small offices they made little difference, and certainly not enough to make up for the racket.

Wouldn’t a tank in an air con unit be for gathering water it removed from the air, not for the user to fill with water?

richms

29097 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10206

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2578837 4-Oct-2020 10:30

Noisy, inefficient and will result in a lot more pollutants being drawn inside along with the air replacing the discharged hot air. Minimal change in temperature inside because of the outside air coming in so basically you have to point it straight at you.

Better than nothing, but that cash could go towards a real aircon system. Look for a used one since people sell them when realizing how useless they are.

Richard rich.ms

wazzageek

1095 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 108

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2578934 4-Oct-2020 11:28

When we were renting in Auckland, we had a unit (somebrand starting with E) - The configuration we had was we got a "cat hole" cut in a window, and mated it with a window vent.

Then, had the unit sitting on a small table, which I used the "overflow" pipe to drop into a 10L square container. It helped to keep the living area of the 2 bed unit cool during summer and warm during the winter.

It worked - it was cheaper than running a full heater, it was noisy - we used to leave it running overnight - it would help cool us in the bedroom. You couldn't have it running in a bedroom overnight - it's too noisy for that.

Overall - unless you're renting, I would strongly suggest just go with getting a proper aircon unit installed.

If you're renting, you must vent it outside, otherwise you're just wasting your time.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2938 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1860

#2578939 4-Oct-2020 11:50

Technology Connections did a video on why Portable Air Conditioners suck.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

raytaylor

4076 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1296

Trusted

#2578944 4-Oct-2020 11:57

Nope nope nope.

*UNLESS* its a dual-pipe system with two airpipes going outside but they dont seem to be on the market anymore.

The way they work is that
1) Air is sucked in from the room
2) The air is split into two directions
a. Half the air re-enters the room
b. Half the air exits via the window pipe
4) As air leaves the unit, heat is extracted from one output and put into the opposite output. So for cooling, heat is extracted from the indoor outlet, and put into the window outdoor outlet by a heat pump module. The reverse for heating mode where you want to capture the heat from a larger amount of air and leave it inside while sending cold (no-longer heated) air outside.

So thats nice - it takes heat from the air in the room and focuses it back into the room or directs it outside. Great right?

5) The air that goes outside creates a negative pressure inside the room again, so air is sucked in from outside via door cracks, and other gaps.

So they work when they can extract a greater amount of heat from the air and move it outside or keep it inside, and stay ahead of the unwanted temperature air coming back into the room to replace the air sent outside.

So they can provide a little bit of heat or cool a small area, but the one thing as mentioned they are great at is making a boat load of noise.

I dont recommend them.

Now if you can find a dual pipe system, then they suck air from inside, and blow that air back inside, and suck from outside and blow back outside. As the air moves through, the heat pump module moves the heat from the outside air to the inside air or vice versa.
The benefit being that it doesnt create negative air pressure inside so you dont get outdoor air trying to get back back in via the gaps.
Dual pipe systems are efficient but arent very common in shops now though they still make lots of noise.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here

raytaylor

4076 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1296

Trusted

#2578960 4-Oct-2020 12:34

Interesting tidbit of info...

About 12 years ago, Delonghi was bringing in a "portable" split unit.

It was just like a normal split system heat pump that most new houses have, except the ~5 metre hoses came pre-gassed.
All you needed to do was cut a hole in the wall for the hoses to go through, and you route them to the outdoor unit.
At each end of the hose was a "quick connect" connector where you just plugged them in.

They advertised it as portable because you could uninstall and move it (leaving a hole in your wall). It wasnt designed for the gas hoses to go through a window.

It still works well.

Basically it cost about $1300 and saved the extra $600 of a professional installer.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here

richms

29097 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10206

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2578961 4-Oct-2020 12:36

raytaylor:

Interesting tidbit of info...

About 12 years ago, Delonghi was bringing in a "portable" split unit.

It was just like a normal split system heat pump that most new houses have, except the ~5 metre hoses came pre-gassed.
All you needed to do was cut a hole in the wall for the hoses to go through, and you route them to the outdoor unit.
At each end of the hose was a "quick connect" connector where you just plugged them in.

They advertised it as portable because you could uninstall and move it (leaving a hole in your wall). It wasnt designed for the gas hoses to go through a window.

It still works well.

Basically it cost about $1300 and saved the extra $600 of a professional installer.

I tried to find one a while back and it seems they were never legal to sell here, the connecting and disconnecting of the connectors is still regarded as refrigeration work and needlessly regulated heavily. Self install is fine in the USA where they even have ones that need charging sold for self installation.

Richard rich.ms

robjg63

4160 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1425

Subscriber

#2579024 4-Oct-2020 13:49

If you can't get a proper AC installed I suppose they are better than nothing.
But they aren't great.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

SomeoneSomewhere

1882 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1086

Lifetime subscriber

#2579043 4-Oct-2020 14:51

I'm pretty sure we have nearly zero regulations regarding refrigeration work here. The closest is that some suppliers require you to be an 'approved filler' to purchase bulk refrigerant.

But quick connects are not great as even a tiny, tiny leak can empty a unit over the course of a year or two.

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

BlueShift

1692 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 969

#2579476 5-Oct-2020 11:56

A simple back to back smallish heat pump install should be about $2000.

If you're not renting, its a no-brainer.

If you are renting, and are thinking of spending $1000 on a portable unit, try hitting up your landlord and see if they'd go halves. Costs you the same, landlord will have to install one in a year or two anyway when the legislation kicks in, so they should be keen as. In fact - hit up the landlord for a heatpump first, and if they say no cos they're waiting for National to get elected and reverse that law, then try for halfsies.

1101

3141 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1143

#2579483 5-Oct-2020 12:50

I had one for a while (untill it died)
In a small room they do work very well. It was really noisey , but better than no sleep due to summer heat.

By design, they will be really inefficient.
The hot air exhaust has to be vented outside , usually a long plastic tube.
All the exhaust air blown outside, air has to come back into to replace it (from outside). So while you cool the room, you also draw in alot of hot outside air.

I'd buy another, I wouldnt pay $1000 though.

CokemonZ

1106 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 313

#2579553 5-Oct-2020 13:50

I had one for both heating and cooling last year when I started working from home.

It was noisy, filled up with water and just horrible.

Sold it after 3 months, brought a heater and a ceiling fan. Much happier.

In another year I'll get a proper heatpump.

Scott3

4176 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2990

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2579700 5-Oct-2020 18:09

I have a really old one I brought when my partner was pregnant. Got us through a hot summer in a house that bakes upstairs. Single hose type. I think it was around $200 - I anticipated the need and purchased in winter. Still use if for my childs room when she naps. Just broke it out for this summer.

It works, but:

Quite loud - compressor is inside
Relatively inefficient (I think the COP is about 2.0. Modern split units run at about 4.0) - thats before you consider the impact of make up air from outside.
Needs to be near window obviously
Hot air blown outside will be replaced with outside air via an open window
Non insulated discharge means quite a bit of heat rejected back into the room.
Takes up space in the room.
Only suitable for small rooms - still struggles on very hot days.

Mine has a tank to collect water, but barely collects any, so doesn't need that emptied very often.

Unless it is a last resort I wouldn't pay $1000 for one. Can have a proper small split unit purchased and installed for under $2k if you shop around (assuming you have a suitable location to install it in). Will be much tidier, quieter, more efficient and more effective than a portable unit.

The portable split units mentioned above haven't been available in NZ (and many other locations) for quite some time. Issues with the flexiable pipe being prone to failure and dumping the environmentally harmfull refrigerant to the atmosphere. I think the properties of modern refrigerants are also less suitable for flexible piping.

1 | 2