Is There A Portable Air Conditioner That Doesnt Need A Window?
Is There A Portable Air Conditioner That Doesnt Need A Window?
Yes. Evaporative coolers or swamp coolers are the only true ventless cooling devices. All other methods of portable cooling require a window, a wall, or an open door to vent heat and moisture outside.
If you don’t have that option, these are the only type of portable AC units that will work for you. The reason for this is simple – every home has a little gap around all of the doors and windows. Even if your air conditioner is placed in just the right spot to hide it from view, chances are it still has room to breathe.
Evaporative air coolers use water evaporation to blow cool air into the room. In essence, evaporative coolers are a fan blowing across cold water in a tray or pad kept close to the window or unit itself.
Swamp coolers work a little differently – they use outside air to cool the unit, but instead of blowing through water, they blow across cold swamp water. These are only two of the most common types of evaporative cooling systems.
Others include Kool-Aid coolers and the units used in some electric hot water heaters. In each case, there’s open space on the outside that can be filled with cold fresh air with which to exchange heat and moisture.
If you want to buy an evaporative cooler or swamp cooler, you will have to do a little research on your own. The vent connecting your portable air conditioner to a window will be smaller than it would be without the air conditioner.
This is because the outside of a window that is opened is much warmer than its insides. A portable air conditioner will help solve this problem but remember that it is not the solution to the problem by itself. Most manufacturers recommend opening the window 3/4 way in order to get the best performance from your unit.
Can You Put An Air Conditioner In A Sliding Window?
Yes. You can fit an air conditioner in a sliding window. Many people have inexpensive air conditioners designed to fit into double-hung (vertically sliding sash) windows that they want to use in horizontally sliding windows.
They install what they consider to be a regular window air conditioner behind the window as shown here. Others simply leave a space in the sliding door itself that they fill with ice and water, but this approach creates more air leakage than using an air conditioner inside the window.
In addition, the heat generated by the window unit and the ice cubes create a cool breeze that can work against your cooling efforts – it’s best to use an air conditioner that operates independently of the window.
If you want to buy an air conditioner for this purpose, we suggest you use a window unit from one of the manufacturers that specialize in sliding window models. There are two types of portable air conditioners for sliders – horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal units have a box with no handles on either side so they fit in either direction. Vertical units have handles on each side so they only work in one direction. The only exception would be a window air conditioner that is described as “sliding-window ready,” but you’ll find very few of these since the majority of units are not made to be used in this manner.
There are two things you need to consider about fitting an air conditioner in a sliding window:
1) It needs to be long enough to fill the entire width of the window and allow for room to open and close it
2) It needs to be installed on or outside of the sliding window track so that you can open and close it as usual.
Most air conditioning systems will fall into one category or another.
What Do You Put Around A Window Air Conditioner?
Duck Brand Insulating Air Conditioner Seal wraps around a window air conditioning unit to keep climate-controlled air in and drafts, dust, and insects out. It is simple to set up. Simply place this seal on top of the unit and lower the window to compress it for maximum insulation.
Once the window is in place, the seal provides a tight fit to minimize airflow and maximize efficiency. Evaporative coolers are an option for those without the standard window or wall air conditioner. These units sit on top of a flat surface that is exposed to circulating air from a central fan.
These units are placed on top of counters, waterbed frames, or bookcases and can easily be removed when not in use. Another benefit, especially for those who sleep above their basement or lowest floor in their house, is that these units can be placed directly beneath where you sleep for even cooling throughout your entire house.
Ducks are not refrigerators… they do compress, keeping the cold air inside your home. Refrigerators zip right out of your kitchen, down the hall, or into another room. They are big, bulky, and impossible to install without help.
What is important when filling the gap on your window air conditioner, however, is what you use on all four sides of the unit. For example, if you fill the bottom of your AC with rocks and dirt, but leave an open space between the air conditioner unit and rocks that are above ground level – rain could seep inside of your air conditioner.
If this happens too often it could cause mold growth and other problems that are difficult to repair once they have started.
