Portable Air Conditioners

Portable Air Conditioners at Abt

As the seasons change and the sun begins to warm things up, keeping your home cool and comfortable becomes a necessity. Abt offers a variety of different cooling systems for your space, including central air and window AC units, but it can be hard to find a machine that works for apartment or condo owners with especially small living areas. The solution? A portable air conditioner.

What Is A Portable Air Conditioner?

A portable air conditioner is a cooling system model that rests on the floor. This air conditioner has caster wheels and can travel from room to room, wherever you plan on spending time to keep the area temperature and keep you content. Because you are focusing cold air in specific places only when necessary rather than investing in a central air conditioning system to actively cool every room at once, you ultimately save energy and money long term. Select portable air conditioners also remove moisture from the air, quite similar to dehumidifiers. This water is collected in a tank within the machine that needs to be emptied from time to time, although some models are self-evaporating.

How Do They Work?

Portable air conditioners use a flexible hose to direct the hot air from the room outside. This venting hose is designed to fit in small spaces, like center vents that can sometimes be found in windows. Most portable air conditioners now come with a digital LED display, allowing you to control your system by fan power, temperature, and more. Gone are the days of depending on a built-in wall thermostat; Abt also offers models that are WiFi-enabled, also called smart air conditioners. Using an app on your smartphone or voice commands, you can adjust the temperature, delay its on/off times and change fan speeds and other settings. No matter if you're at work or out on the town, you will always have control of your cooling system.

Choosing The Right Portable Air Conditioner

While portable air conditioners can usually cool an area between 100 and 950 square feet wide, Abt offers a variety of models ranging from 4,000 BTU-10,000 BTU DOE. BTU stands for British Thermal Unit and is a way to measure the energy it takes for your air conditioner to produce cold air. While choosing the highest BTU seems like the best practice, you don't want to spend your days shivering because you've made your home too cold with a too-high BTU. You also don't want high energy bills because your low-BTU air conditioner is working too hard all day to cool too large a space. There are many factors to consider when determining the necessary BTU for your space such as ceiling height, climate, where you place your model, your home's insulation or how many windows you have. As you must install your portable air conditioner by a window for venting, it's also vital to choose a window with little obstacles in front of it so as to not block airflow. Perhaps you live in a location that experiences all four seasons; you may be interested in a more versatile model that offers heating as well as cooling.

Questions about these portable AC units can be directed to our team members at 800-860-3577. If you'd like to learn more about cooling systems before purchasing one perfect for your lifestyle, review our guide to all things air conditioners.