Are Portable Air Conditioners Right for Your Family?
When you live in a home that’s either without AC or has a unit that doesn’t work as well as it should, you may be considering what you can do to create a more comfortable environment. Portable air conditioners can be excellent options in some situations, but won’t always be the perfect fit. Learning more about this cooling option can help you to determine whether portable air conditioners are right for your family.
Benefits
If you’ve already decided that a central AC installation or upgrade is out of the question, window units and portable air conditioners are really your two remaining affordable options. The beauty of portable AC units is that you can use any size window to install the vent, as opposed to only standard window sizes. This may make it possible for you to cool down rooms that you couldn’t before.
As the name suggests, portable air conditioners can move from room to room, depending on your needs. Since you would have to install a window unit or two in each room you hoped to cool, your portable unit could help you save money as long as you don’t need to cool each room simultaneously.
Disadvantages
While portable air conditioners are far less expensive than central air conditioning and much easier to install, they’re still not the most affordable option. When comparing window units and portable air conditioners of similar cooling ability, a portable unit will typically run about $100 more than a window unit. If you need to simultaneously cool multiple rooms, this could become an unaffordable solution.
It’s also important to realize that portable air conditioners can be bulky and heavy in some cases. Not only may they be difficult to move from room to room, but the unit itself may not be the most attractive addition to your home’s décor.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, neither window units nor portable air conditioners are appropriate cooling solutions for your entire home. Where portable AC units excel is providing additional cooling to parts of the home where the current air conditioning system is unable to sufficiently cool. Portable air conditioners may also be right for your family when there’s a significant issue with your central AC and you’re saving up for a replacement.