Best Windowless Portable Air Conditioners

Windowless portable air conditioners make a great alternative to window units for a number of reasons. Some homeowner associations do not allow the installation of window units, because of the way they appear when installed. Portable air conditioners are also a much more economical choice for single rooms than window mounted air conditioners, especially if you are only going to be using them for a few months of the year. 

As portable air conditioners are easy to move around your home as needed, you can transport the unit to wherever you are currently spending time. Window units are static, and cannot be simply moved to another space which requires cooling. Instead, you will need to leave the window unit running for much longer to enable the cooling effect to spread throughout your home. Clearly, this is a much less efficient and expensive way of cooling certain rooms.

A portable air conditioner is a self-contained AC system which is designed to cool individual rooms. These units are generally upright in design and come complete with a simple-to-use installation kit which takes minutes to set up. Almost all units come with a wheeled base, so that they can be easily transported from one room to another. 

As all air conditioners take in warm air, before extracting heat and moisture, there is always some heat which needs to be dealt with. Many models have an option to deal with this by increasing the use of refrigerant, but there is also the option of using the supplied exhaust kit to expel warm air out of a window. This kit consists of hoses and a window slider, which is simple to install and move from room to room as needed.

There are many different metrics through which to measure portable air conditioner units. While we’ve mentioned a few of these points before, we think it’s important that you keep the following in mind before committing to one of these four units:

Single Vs. Dual-Hose AC Units

You may have noticed that the single hose units are generally more affordable and lighter than their dual hose brethren. And while accessions to this rule exist, this is because of the more complex tubing required to operate a dual hose system.

How do they differ? The answer has to do with negative air pressure. Single hose units create negative suction thanks to the single source of obtained air. This suction probably won’t be noticeable for you, but if the room you’re trying to cool is adjacent to warmer rooms, this suction might result in a slower cooling process. Dual hose units may be more bulky and cumbersome as a whole, but they resolve the negative air pressure problem and can cool rooms nearly twice as fast. 

Whether or not you need a single or dual hose unit is entirely dependent upon your needs. We generally feel, though, that dual hose setups are better for rooms that need to be cooled quickly or are in humid environments, while single hose units are best for affordability and ease of use. 

Volume & Features

When it comes to portable air conditioning units, the volume is a major consideration. As we’ve noted here, volume for air conditioning units is measured in decibels, which can provide a clear objective measurement to the loudness of the unity. It is important to remember, however, that decibels are exponential, not linear. For example, an air conditioning unit that runs at 50 decibels is half as loud as one that operations at 60 decibels. This is why you need to ensure that you’re comfortable with the decibel level of your unit before purchasing it.

Other features that come with air conditioning units are unnecessary, but can help sweeten their best qualities or minimize their worst. Easily programmable units are also preferable for those who keep a set schedule and don’t want to worry about messing with the unit on a daily basis. Features like self-evaporation as reported on the Friedrich unit are also handy for a hands-off experience.

Dehumidification

Finally, there’s the issue of dehumidification. Removing the humidity from the air of a room is going to result in condensation. For central AC units, this process is generally unseen by the end user, but when it comes to portable units, this process often results in periodic pan emptying. The dehumidification of an air conditioner can be automatic as well, which can simplify your experience. For those who live in more humid environments, you’ll also want to consider the amount of dehumidification you can expect from your unit, which is measured in pints per hour. 

The cooling power of the unit itself (measured in British Thermal Units) is also worth considering for a good dehumidifying portable AC unit. A combination of a high pints per hour metric along with a high BTU is going to mean a unit that isn’t afraid of a little humidity.

Pros:

• Very easy to install – Windowless portable AC units are incredibly simple to install, with no handyman or DIY experience required. Simply plug into the power and switch on. If you wish to use the exhaust, the hoses easily attach to the rear of the unit and can be placed out of the nearest window. 
• Can be used wherever needed – Portable windowless AC units are perfect if you only need to cool the room that you are in. Their mobility means that you can simply take the unit with you should you move to another room. 
• Easy to operate – Windowless portable AC units often have a handful of settings which are easy to navigate. Many models come complete with a remote control, so you can switch settings from the other side of the room. 
• Highly effective – Unless you had a window mounted unit in every room, the cooled air from a window mounted air conditioner in another room may take some time to reach all the areas of your home. Because a portable air conditioner can be transported to the room you need to cool, this makes them a quicker and more effective option for single room cooling. 

Cons:

• May be noisy – Some portable air conditioners can be quite noisy when used on their most powerful settings. Many models offer a ‘sleep mode’ or ‘energy saving’ mode which reduces noise levels, but for those who are sensitive to noise, these may not be quiet enough. 
• Not as economical as window units –  Although portable air conditioners are a great solution to single room cooling, they are not as energy efficient as window mounted units. This is because warm air is discharged into the room alongside the cooled air, so more refrigerant is needed to counteract this. Even if you use the exhaust venting hose out of the window to expel warm air, the fact that the window is open will often mean the air conditioner has to work harder to keep the room cool. 
• Require regular emptying – Many portable AC units have a tank which collects moisture extracted from the air. These tanks will need to be emptied as soon as they are filled, to allow the air conditioner to work effectively. This may become frustrating if you live in a humid climate. 
• Not so effective for very large rooms –  Portable windowless air conditioners are highly-effective for most rooms; however, if you wish to cool a very large room, one with a very high ceiling or a large commercial space, a portable air conditioner is unlikely to be powerful enough.