What You Don’t Realize about Portable Air cooler Efficiency

Portable air conditioners are a convenient method for providing primary or supplemental cooling in cases where the central air application is ineffective or perhaps a window air conditioner is impractical or maybe prohibited. Compared with a window air conditioner, the lightweight version provides built in mobility for flexible installation as well as easy off season storage.

But looking at the performance among portable air conditioners is challenging since they are not subject to Energy Star guidelines (much like small space heaters) and also the efficiency info offered by the maker or perhaps retailer is often incorrect.

1. Don’t bother searching for the Energy Star label on portable air conditioners.

The Department of Energy, click here (visit here) for unspecified reasons, states on the website of theirs they don’t offer Energy Star ratings on portable air conditioners at this moment.

2. Take advantage of the EER Instead – But Watch Out

Even though Energy Star ratings are unavailable for lightweight AC’s, the next greatest measure of energy efficiency is the power Efficiency Ratio (EER) which measures just how many BTU’s per hour are utilized for each watt of power up a specific product draws. An EER rating of ten or higher is considered above average.

The EER number can typically be found in the product description or specifications, but even when it’s available, it’s sometimes incorrect. The most likely reason behind this particular oversight is human blunder since the EER quantity is mistakenly under-stated as often as it’s over stated across a broad spectrum of brand names.

Nonetheless, you can quickly verify the EER of any portable ac unit by dividing the amount of BTUs by the power level within the product’s specs.