Are portable air conditioners any good?

[JohnJay]

I have seen many portable air conditioners for sale, some only cost 1,000 baht and the more expensive ones up to 6,000 baht. They seem to blow cold air but do they use a lot of electricity? 

 

I am thinking about buying one to replace an old air con unit that uses a lot of power and is expensive. Has anyone had good/bad experience with these things? I can only find reviews for them in Thai and some are not rated highly. 

[pgrahmm]

They don't cool...Put 35' water in them & they atomize it & spit it right back out at you.....The water wont be any cooler than the temperature of the room you're in.....

Only consider air conditioners.....They will vent to the outside and have a BTU rating.....Given that insulation building properties here are mostly marginal at best, over buy the unit.....

You can always drop the cooling level if it cools too much, but an undersized unit can't do the job for you.....

[JohnJay]

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

They don't cool...Put 35' water in them & they atomize it & spit it right back out at you.....The water wont be any cooler than the temperature of the room you're in.....

Only consider air conditioners.....They will vent to the outside and have a BTU rating.....Given that insulation building properties here are mostly marginal at best, over buy the unit.....

You can always drop the cooling level if it cools too much, but an undersized unit can't do the job for you.....

Not an option for me unfortunately as I live in a rented apartment

[pgrahmm]

6 minutes ago, JohnJay said:

Not an option for me unfortunately as I live in a rented apartment

 

[Daffy D]

As "pgrahmm" those cheap A/C are not actual air-cons, They blow out water that feels cool but will make every thing damp. OK for desert conditions but here inLOS there is enough humidity in the air without adding to it.

 

The actual portable A/C are not very efficient or very practical, not worth the money. 

 

There have been several threads on here about the subject, try a search.

 

You can't beat a split unit for efficiency and price. If you plan to stay for some time talk to the landlord maybe he'll share the cost. 

 

[DGS1244]

The water that is blown out is the same temperature as it enters the unit but in a very fine mist. This in turn lands on you and vapourises which in turn lowers your temperature 2-4 degrees, similar to using wet towels in very hot environments, so yes they do have some use. Also some have HEPA filters built in and can clean the air considerably. Used one as a temporary solution pending installation of a fixed unit, and found it very beneficial. You can even add ice to the water reservoir to cool even lower.

[GLewis]

Its a cooling device not by any means an air conditioner. The machines use water no gasses as all.   As stated not very effective at all.

[shadowmaster1971]

51 minutes ago, GLewis said:

Its a cooling device not by any means an air conditioner. The machines use water no gasses as all.   As stated not very effective at all.

Spot on! The first picture is of an water cooler/evaporative cooler, good for dry hot conditions, like in middle of the outback or Arizona desert. They put a bit of moisture in the area to help cool essentially, work effectively as I understand in area of less than 60% humidity.  Portable a/c is always debatable on how effect it comes down to room size and BTU.  Ive been told always go oversize on the BTU ie. 15,000 BTU.  But another good alternative is a window unit.

[realenglish1]

What you have is not an air conditioner It is a fan You cannot buy an air conditioner for less than 10,000 baht New

 

 

[muntergok]

Portable aircon is not a good option.

Aircon technology/efficiency has improved considerably.

Yearly service (฿300-700) & 6month filter clean (DIY see utube)  -they get dirty when aircon is not being used- saves money.

  Using 1 aircon instead of 2 where possible does reduce the humidity & cost.

 Using a fan in conjunction with aircon lets me reduce my aircon setting by 2℃.

 I am waiting to justify changing my York aircon`s for Daikin's, a brand worth considering when buying.

[Kwasaki]

I had one for a while would get the room cold quickly but a messy set up getting exhaust out of an open window and setting it higher on a stall to collect a lot of outing water, it had a heater too.

Wouldn't recommend one.

[norbra]

The evaporative type rely on water evaporating as it drains through the air inlet filter,as Thailand has humid conditions no evaporation takes place,you get only water sucked from the air filter blowing out of the unit

[timendres]

7 hours ago, Daffy D said:

As "pgrahmm" those cheap A/C are not actual air-cons, They blow out water that feels cool but will make every thing damp. OK for desert conditions but here inLOS there is enough humidity in the air without adding to it.

 

The actual portable A/C are not very efficient or very practical, not worth the money. 

 

There have been several threads on here about the subject, try a search.

 

You can't beat a split unit for efficiency and price. If you plan to stay for some time talk to the landlord maybe he'll share the cost. 

I have done this twice, and the landlord was always happy to accommodate me. Because the next renter pays more per month for a room with A/C. In one case, I paid 50% of the cost. In the other case, I paid nothing, but agreed to increase my rent 1,000 baht per month for the remaining 10 months on the lease.

[DJ54]

I bought one 2 years ago it worked really well I. The store (of course store was ac). It was one of the more expensive ones. It would not cool an 8 ft x 8 ft room. Used quite a bit of electricity. 

 

Once put partically on top of the bed (next to the bed) still would not cool. 

 

Bought wall mounted unit for partially the same price has worked well for 1-1/2 hrs. 

 

Suggest ST you look for other options. Even in rental they may allow you to install there is not mud to the wall unit. 

[exemplary21]

On 3/13/2018 at 7:23 PM, pgrahmm said:

They don't cool...Put 35' water in them & they atomize it & spit it right back out at you.....The water wont be any cooler than the temperature of the room you're in.....

Only consider air conditioners.....They will vent to the outside and have a BTU rating.....Given that insulation building properties here are mostly marginal at best, over buy the unit.....

You can always drop the cooling level if it cools too much, but an undersized unit can't do the job for you.....

 

This answer is totally wrong. The poster clearly has no understanding of how these evaporative coolers work.

 

Evaporation absorbs latent heat. If you blow a breeze over a body of water, the air will cool as the water evaporates.

 

Atomising that water will very much increase it's evaporative efficacy, and thus its ability to cool the surrounding air.

 

But atomising a fluid requires pressure.

 

And atomising that fluid by pressure to cool only works if you transfer the heat created by that pressure to the outside, which is exactly what air conditioning and refrigeration does.

 

Evaporative coolers certainly work, just not to the extent that air conditioning does.

 

Joule by joule...?

 

Not sure...

[Lacessit]

They are useless. There's no point in cooling air by a few degrees when the relative humidity is boosted to 100%. A person's comfort level remains unchanged. Evaporative coolers only work in regions where the ambient RH is 30% or less. Such as deserts.

 

If your landlord won't provide full aircon in what you are renting, change your landlord.

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, exemplary21 said:

 

This answer is totally wrong. The poster clearly has no understanding of how these evaporative coolers work.

 

Evaporation absorbs latent heat. If you blow a breeze over a body of water, the air will cool as the water evaporates.

 

Atomising that water will very much increase it's evaporative efficacy, and thus its ability to cool the surrounding air.

 

But atomising a fluid requires pressure.

 

And atomising that fluid by pressure to cool only works if you transfer the heat created by that pressure to the outside, which is exactly what air conditioning and refrigeration does.

 

Evaporative coolers certainly work, just not to the extent that air conditioning does.

 

Joule by joule...?

 

Not sure...

Partly correct but you don't use much pressure to atomise the water, so that isn't a significant factor. Also the energy absorbed by the water in the phase change from liquid to gas is 540 cal per gram this is much higher than the 1 cal per gram needed to raise 1 degree C.

 

So the physics show that swamp coolers do work in Thailand despite the humidity, but as any given temperature feels much less comfortable at 80%~90% humidity than at 50%~60% humidity they are not very effective.

[lust]

Do NOT buy a swamp cooler in Thailand. I made the mistake of buying one. Waste of money. Absolutely useless 

[jacko45k]

There is a reason they are demonstrated in a well air-conditioned Mall environment, they do feel like like they are cooling. Similar to the atomised water sprays they set up in Pattaya for Songkran. If you really want to cool your bedroom, get a proper AC unit that spits the heat outside.

Added humidity you get from these can cause other issues like mould.

[EVENKEEL]

I have had them in the US. Work good in dry heat. Add a block of ice to reservoir helps lower temp. Typically inserted in windows. 

[StreetCowboy]

Try a dehumidifier, if you sweat a bit

[wump]

I got a proper portable unit back home which set me back nearly 400 euros. For that price you could get a proper split system if you're allowed to install it. Worth it? Definitely yes. But it's not as quiet as fixed units. 

[rickudon]

When i first came to Thailand i bought one of these 'air coolers'. As said, pretty useless. It had a water reservoir and an ice tray. I once measured the input and output temperature of air from the thing (without ice). The difference was 0.5 degrees Centigrade. Use a big fan and a bowl of ice, just as effective (i.e. not much!) and cheaper.

 

As for how many BTU you need for an air conditioner, rubbish to say you need 15,000 in a bedroom unless living in a palace. We have a 10,000 BTU and a 6,000 BTU in our 2 rooms (25 square metres and 14 square metres. Both are quite capable of keeping the rooms at 27 centigrade even in April.

[pgrahmm]

1 hour ago, rickudon said:

When i first came to Thailand i bought one of these 'air coolers'. As said, pretty useless. It had a water reservoir and an ice tray. I once measured the input and output temperature of air from the thing (without ice). The difference was 0.5 degrees Centigrade. Use a big fan and a bowl of ice, just as effective (i.e. not much!) and cheaper.

 

As for how many BTU you need for an air conditioner, rubbish to say you need 15,000 in a bedroom unless living in a palace. We have a 10,000 BTU and a 6,000 BTU in our 2 rooms (25 square metres and 14 square metres. Both are quite capable of keeping the rooms at 27 centigrade even in April.

Condo or house - could make a difference....

[rickudon]

Quote

Condo or house - could make a difference....

House. And an old house, so insulation not very good. We just air condition our personal rooms, also 3-5 other people in the house. There are also 2 shared very large rooms, 50 square metres plus, I'm not paying to air condition them for the benefit of the extended family!

[elgenon]

Would a fan blowing over a tray of ice be better? Maybe blue ice to last longer?

[pgrahmm]

11 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Would a fan blowing over a tray of ice be better? Maybe blue ice to last longer?

You'd be forever buying 9B ice from 7/11 - about 1 every 40 minutes .....

[mrwebb8825]

17 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

You'd be forever buying 9B ice from 7/11 - about 1 every 40 minutes .....

Not very creative thinking here. Take 4-6 small water bottles, fill them 90% with water and freeze them. Reusable and free. OP-depending on the size of your apartment, the evaps work just fine for bringing the temp down enough to use a fan later. Leave the windows open to reduce humidity inside the room. Don't get the ones with electronic controls as those just die after a year. The mechanical push buttons do the same thing but they don't breakdown.

Given this, my apartment has 2 rooms, I use it in my computer/bedroom which is around 10'x12'. I get home in the afternoon around 4pm, run it for about 3 hrs then switch to a floor fan. Mine cost 2,500 baht at Mega Home. My electric bill went up about 50-75 baht a month.

[elgenon]

21 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

You'd be forever buying 9B ice from 7/11 - about 1 every 40 minutes .....

Ahem. You answered a question that wasn't asked. But thanks. Do you know what a theoretical question is?

[pgrahmm]

22 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Ahem. You answered a question that wasn't asked. But thanks. Do you know what a theoretical question is?

Yep - just decided to pop some humor into it.....Theoretically.....