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Your Guide to Portable ACs

Portable ACs are a great way to give one room cold air during the summer months. Here is a helpful guide to portable cooling units. At Barber Heating & Air, we are dedicated to maintaining and installing the perfect heating and/or cooling system for your home. If you’re interested in how we can meet the energy needs for your Burlington or Chapel Hill, NC home, request a quote or call us at (336) 226-6959.

There are four main things to consider when buying a portable AC.

Size

Portable air conditioners are rated in British Thermal Units (BTUs) per hour. Models with higher BTU ratings offer more cooling power and can cover larger rooms. It’s important to buy a portable AC that’s appropriate for your space to make sure you don’t waste energy or waste your money on one that can’t adequately cool your room.

In a standard room with 8-foot ceilings, use these estimations:

  • 8,000 BTUs will cover 200 sq. ft. (1,600 cubic feet)
  • 10,000 BTUs will cover 300 sq. ft. (2,400 cubic feet)
  • 12,000 BTUs will cover 400 sq. ft. (3,200 cubic feet)
  • 13,000 BTUs will cover 450 sq. ft. (3,600 cubic feet)
  • 14,000 BTUs will cover 500 sq. ft. (4,000 cubic feet)

Placement

During the cooling process, portable ACs produce hot air that must be exhausted out of their hose (or hoses). All the models we sell come with an included window kit to expel the warm air outside. This means most portable ACs need to plugged in within a few feet of a window. Placing them next to a window in the easiest and quickest way to install them, but you do have other options.

Draining/Maintenance

The only maintenance you really have to worry about is draining collected moisture. All portable ACs pull moisture out of the air as the cool; it’s just part of the process. There are multiple ways to get rid of this moisture: Manually remove the pan and empty it as needed, attach a hose for gravity draining to a different location, or use a pump to push water up and out of the AC and into another location.

Noise

Portable ACs do create noise in your space. They’re working to cool your space, and unlike window ACs, their entire bodies are housed inside your room. Any machine that generates airflow is going to produce some level of noise.

As you can tell, there are many types. At Barber Heating & Air, we can help you figure all this out and install ACs quickly and easily without costing you thousands. So escape the heat (or in the winter, the cold!) in your personal space with a new AC today. Request a quote or call us today at (336) 226-6959, or visit us at https://www.barberheatingandair.com/ today! 

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