Home air con (likely portable I suppose)?

B0bbyEwing

Not looking at having one of them units that are permanently attached to the wall.

I know sod all about them but from a bit of looking the idea of something portable, similar to a dehumidifier, sounds ideal. Just a question over how well it works (and also how it works actually).

"all that for 1 week of the year".

Well it's usually 2 weeks actually and yes, our whole upstairs gets ridiculously hot. I don't particularly like summer as it is due to the heat & if I can make bed time more bearable then I will.

And no I don't have the windows open to 'let the [hot] air circulate' all day round. If it's colder outside then the windows are open until it's time to go to work. Then it's windows closed as well as blinds/curtains. They stay closed until such time it's colder outside than in.

Thought it was nonsense until I tried it as I was always of the follow the crowd mind - get them windows open. Taking what I read is the continental approach helped downstairs massively but upstairs is still unbearable at night.

Hence looking in to A/C units & would like to hear from others who've got them.

Mr.Generous

A/C unit works well provided you vent out the hot air produced, if the air in and out are in the same room it will warm it slightly. A ceiling fan makes sleeping much more comfortable when its really hot.

grumpy_codger

B0bbyEwing said:

Not looking at having one of them units that are permanently attached to the wall.

I know sod all about them but from a bit of looking the idea of something portable, similar to a dehumidifier, sounds ideal. Just a question over how well it works (and also how it works actually).

Well, it works like the one "permanently attached to the wall", but the latter has the compressor outside and only the fan inside. The 'portable' one has both indoors and is more noisy as a result. And have you checked images in the internet? The term 'portable' is sort of misleading.

FreeBear

Having used motel rooms with A/C units fitted, I had to turn the darned things off just to get some sleep. Yes, they could get the room temperature down to freezing, but they just made way too much noise.

Neighbour uses one of those models that you stick the hose out of the window. What with the hum and hose banging around, I'm forced to keep windows closed. Had hoped the huge rise in electricity costs would curb her usage. No such luck.

RedFraggle

Meaco are good 

Newbie_John

I got some random 10k BTU from Amazon last year for about £120.

They do work, gets a small room 3x3m from 30°C to 20 in about 1-2h but they are LOUD - I do sleep with dehumidifier during winter but cannot imagine being able to sleep with that air con during night.

Another issue is window, they all come with parts for sliding windows- that we don't have so right now I just open window, put a pipe through and put curtains on but that causes a lot of hot air leaking in. There are solutions for that but needs to be purchased on top - I'll do that.

And agree, for the two weeks of 30°C they're worth it.
I really wish external air conditioning didn't require planning permission..

EssexExile

I'm with Mr Generous above, a ceiling fan over the bed is great, almost silent and very effective.

Ectophile

Check how many hoses the unit comes with.  Many have only one. The ones with only one hose are really inefficient compared with units that have two.

Any aircon system will have two air inlets and two outlets.  To cool your room, it needs to suck in room air and blow out chilled air.  But the heat extraced from the air has to go somewhere.  So it also needs to suck in ambient air (from somewhere) and blow out hot air.

On a single hose unit, the hot air blows out the window.  But it's sucking air in from the room.  So it's chilling the air in your room.  Then sucking it in again, heating it and blowing it out the window.  To make things worse, that air needs to be replaced, so air is sucked in under doors or through gaps in the windows, filling your room with warm air again.

A two hose unit can suck air in from outside, which you don't care about, heat it and then blow it out again.  And the nice chilled air stays in your room.

twopenny

Can't stand the noise. Or the cost.

I use thermal or blackout fabric fixed firmly in the window and it stays there all day in a heatwave. Small cost and have lasted 7yrs to date.

Works for bitterly cold weather too.

At the back of the house (and I did use them in the front when I first moved in) I use Thermal Blankets, the foil ones and fix those outside the patio doors and kitchen. They work brilliantly.

It is actually cool on the inside.

Just a few pounds for 10.

Typhoon2000

A proper split airconditioner works as a heat pump and does not move any air in or out of the room and is much quieter. Also works very effectively as a heater during the winter and cheaper than central heating during the winter and heat a room quicker too. We use ours rather more than 2 weeks of the year just before bedtime and they are very cheap to run.

B0bbyEwing

Glad I asked now. The noise sounds concerning. I'll have to hop on YouTube to get an idea of how loud they are. 

Out of interest have any of you ran a test on those ceiling fans? 

As in checked the temp when it's not on, turned it on & then checked the temp again? I don't expect results to be instant but it may be a doable alternative.