Portable air conditioner with heating mode?

Spies

I could justify the purchase of an air conditioner moreso if I could use it all year round, are portable ones as effective as split systems with heating if I only wanted to use it in a single room? What would the CoP rating be? 

Reed_Richards

How will you vent your portable air conditioner?  

Spies

I'm going to guess it needs to be vented properly through a wall for it to be beneficial? 

Martyn1981

We have one in a building (animal rescue), that does both. But as RR points out you need to vent the hot/cold air out. That was easy for us, I simply cut a hole through the insulation and wall (wood), but will be harder in a 'proper' house situation.

There are window kits, for venting through a panel in an open window, but that's not going to be a great seal in terms of insulation, and possibly security. You'll also need to consider drainage for the water that accumulates, especially in AC mode.

Now, all that said, it's a great machine, though I do have to constantly turn down the temp (target) for heating, and turn up the temp for cooling, so that the machine can modulate, otherwise it'll probably burn out in less than a year. But in a domestic situation, working one room (our building is ~50m2 and leaky) it should be fine.

However, the fan noise is more noticeable than our domestic split systems, as the vent area is smaller, and its designed for a larger area, so it's 'blasting' out the air.

Here's an example, I've simply picked the cheapest, with a COP of ~3. At a guess, the in-room vent looks bigger and the decibels look lower, but just a guess.

QrizB

Spies said:

I could justify the purchase of an air conditioner moreso if I could use it all year round, are portable ones as effective as split systems with heating if I only wanted to use it in a single room? What would the CoP rating be? 

It's a trade-off of convenience (and price) vs. efficiency. Most of the portable AC machines only have one hose. This means the waste air is drawn from the room, and when cooling the room you end up taking some of your cold air and dumping your waste heat into it bevore venting it (and vice-versa for heating). Also the really cheap portable AC units only cool, not heat.

You can get twin-hose portable AC units. These get their exhaust air from outside, so your cooled (or heated) air remains in the house. Last time I looked there was quite a price premium for a twin-hose unit.

Window AC units are more efficient and quieter but don't work well with typical side-hinged British windows and as a result are sadly uncommon in the UK.

Here's a video that explains everything in a much more professional way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mBeYC2KGc

matelodave

He's also not mentioned what happens to the condensation that gets collected, window units discharge it outside, but these have to collect it and then have to be emptied regularly - perhaps a couple of times a day it it fairly humid.

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

Here's an example, I've simply picked the cheapest, with a COP of ~3. At a guess, the in-room vent looks bigger and the decibels look lower, but just a guess.

FYI there's one of those exact models BNIB for auction on eBay, currently £180, collection from near Gatwick (I think):
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234313870776

ispookie666

I used to have AEG portable aircon, it was very good at heating.  These rely on a continuous flow of air to replace the air which is being vented out. They are noisy and can be a bother if you are a light sleeper.  For a little bit more £, i'd just get a split aicon.  

markin

matelodave said:

He's also not mentioned what happens to the condensation that gets collected, window units discharge it outside, but these have to collect it and then have to be emptied regularly - perhaps a couple of times a day it it fairly humid.

I got real cheap ac unit in june and it has a little motor that splashes the water to send it out with the hot air, so cheap they say when/if it brakes you can still use it with the drain plug and a hose, surly the expensive units can do this now?

givememoney

If you have one do you have to turn it on occasionally during the winter to keep it functioning properly or can it be left until next summer.

2nd_time_buyer

givememoney said:

If you have one do you have to turn it on occasionally during the winter to keep it functioning properly or can it be left until next summer.

You shouldn't need to turn it on. However, it is a good idea to fully drain any water condensate if it is not going to be used for a while.