It would be pretty handy if a portable air conditioner could fit right in your window and cool your home instantly, but the size of the room is the most important consideration in your search for a satisfactory air conditioner. You don’t want to put a smaller unit in front of a large, expansive room, hoping it will recover from the heat.
The size and energy capacity must be directly related to the size of your room. That sounds logical enough, but it is imperative that you purchase the right device so that you don’t break a sweat all summer or turn your living room into an ice box.
How to Find the Right Portable Air Conditioner
The basics are simple enough. You should measure your window, or if you are lucky enough to have a slot for an AC unit, measure this. The majority of the major retailers will have options, including Amazon, Home Depot, and Best Buy. Once you have the sizing, there are more important considerations to consider: How many BTUs you will need.
There are two different types of portable AC units: those that sit in your window and two-hose portable units that don’t sit in windows or slots in a wall. You will mostly see models with two hoses that cool larger spaces – like a library, for example – that don’t have central air conditioning. For our purposes we stick with the wall / window units as it is about cooling your apartment or house.
What are BTUs?
The metric for the energy consumption of portable air conditioners is the British Thermal Unit, or BTU. More precisely than the plumbing Website BHI Service writes, “A BTU refers to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a pound of water by 1 ° F.”
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All devices have a BTU rating, a number that explains the energy range and performance of the air conditioning system. Basically, the higher the BTU, the more energy the device consumes, but also the higher its capacity for cooling down a larger room. Or think of it this way: high BTUs are good for cooling large rooms, while lower BTUs should be enough for a smaller room.
They are Online tools to help you understand which BTU rating is correct for your square footage, but you can also calculate the numbers yourself. How Notes on consumer reports, “Air conditioning uses 20 BTU per square foot of living space.” Most AC units have ranges from 5,000 to 12,500 BTU, according to the release notes, so you can use those criteria to assess your needs.
How many BTUs do you need for your room?
Your living room or bedroom may not be the easiest place to cool off, especially if it has large windows directly under the sun or high ceilings that trap warm air.
Since certain details are likely to determine your purchasing needs, the AC manufacturer has Sylvane offers instructions:
- 7,500 BTUs cover 150 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 1,200 cubic feet
- 9,000 BTUs cover 200 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 1,600 cubic feet
- 10,000 BTUs cover 300 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 2,400 cubic feet
- 12,000 BTUs cover 400 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 3,200 cubic feet
- 13,000 BTUs cover 450 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 3,600 cubic feet
- 14,000 BTUs cover 500 square feet x 2.40 meters of ceiling = 4,000 cubic feet
When it comes to measuring your square footage, Consumer Reports says, “To measure your space, multiply length by width. Add the size of the rooms that are not separated by doors, as the air conditioning system has to cool both rooms. ”
Hopefully this will give you some thought about the right air conditioner to cool your supposedly humid home this summer.
