Portable a/c units

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Are they just as effective as window units?

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We bought 2 (Hisense Portable) after Laura. One would've worked for me for our Living area we stayed in. Probably 20x30 and we could close off the Living from the Dining. Mrs. Speckhunter said she wanted another so 2 we did with 2 generators. Stayed comfy thru mid-September when power came back.

Used probably 20 gallons of gas per day and I kept up with oil changes on the generators but thankfully we made it unscathed.

Hopefully we won't get hit again but I am prepared if so. Good Luck.

They are not as effective as window units.

I've had a 12,000 btu portable in a 450sf bonus room with no central AC for the last 5 years. I'd say it works about as well as a 8-10k window unit would work in the same size space. My 12k really should be 14k or more for the room size but it works well enough.

The fact that it's portable makes it easy to roll into the closet during the winter. Also came in handy during Ida.

Also FYI you'll see alot of single hose vs. dual hose stuff and it can be hard to get a clear answer about what you should get. Long story short, in the deep south (high heat + high humidity) a single hose is actually better AFAIK. High heat + low humidity or just moderate heat and humidity are conditions for a dual hose unit to outperform a single hose.

I have never liked portable ac units because they typically cause one room to be cool, but the rest are sweltering because of the air infiltration. These folks have solved that problem with their dual hose design!

This thing was redneck artistry. But I saw it on craigslist or Facebook marketplace. He basically used an old school TV/VCR cart. Middle shelf a window unit AC. Bottom shelf had a basin that caught the drip of the above AC. No idea how often you had to empty it.

But are blasting just as much hot air out of the back as you are cold out of the front?

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But are blasting just as much hot air out of the back as you are cold out of the front?

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Yes, it’s fairly basic physics. Hvacs don’t cool the air, they remove heat and displace it outside. So you have to have the ability to place the heat outside.

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I have had two over the years. I find window units much more effective.

Great info. Thanks fellas

The portable unit i had was the same btu size as the window unit i had, and it was quite obvious the window unit was a lot better at cooling than the portable unit.

TO be honest, i didn't notice the portable unit even doing anything to the room other than blowing some cold air if you were near it. I started using it outside as a cold fan, which was nice in the summer.


As an indoor a/c it's rather worthless compared to a window unit.