Question:
I see that there's an increasing number of free-standing portable room air
conditioners on the market, averaging oh about $550 for a 7500 BTU unit,
depending on the level of functionality you choose.
If it worked, one of these would suit our needs rather well because we have
old-style aluminum windows in which a regular air conditioner doesn't fit
(the AC would have to be rather long in the x axis; I think they do make
these, or they used to, but I can't seem to find them anywhere).
Anyone have experience with the portable AC's? Do you have to keep emptying
a water tray ever day or so? Where the heck does all the heat go--back into
the room?
Answer:
These are air conditioners, not dehumidifiers, and they still have to be
vented to the outside. The portable units use a thin hose to connect the
room cooler to a small unit that should fit in your window to expell hot
air and water.
You can still find air conditioners for casement windows like you
described, though the portable models may be better for your use.
finally convinced my husband to take it back. Then we bought two
smaller window air conditioners, one for each end of the house. My
husband was reluctant to buy window air conditioners because our
windows are 64 inches wide and difficult to block up the unused space
not taken up by the air conditioners. We solved the problem by using
plexiglass cut to fit around the air conditioners. The window air
conditioners (from Sears), have those Energy Star ratings. If we
wanted to, we could cool the house down enough so you could see your
breath. The two air conditioners together cost the same amount of
money as the portable unit. I was surprised to find that running two
air conditioners during the heat of the summer (we live in Wisconsin;
last year we had temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees with about 100
percent humidity) wasn't anymore expensive than running two fans.
