Room Air Conditioners and Heaters, a Brief Guide

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CLICK TO SHOP AIR CONDITIONERS BY BRAND:                                                BY BTU RATING:

      AMANA   AMICO   DANBY   EDGESTAR                                                 5-8,000     9-10,500     11-12,000

KOLDFRONT  SHARP   SOLEUS   SUNPENTOWN                                             13-14,000     OVER 14,000

Not sure which way to go?  PortableHomeAir can help!  There are a lot of air conditioners and heaters out there.  Choosing the best for your needs will require a little bit of homework, but we can help simplify it.  We want you to be happy with your choice, so please check out the following guide to help you choose among the air conditioners and heaters we offer:

Cooling, Heating, or Both?  Is your room always too hot in the summer, and too cold in the winter?  PortableHomeAir offers several window and portable air conditioners that heat as well as cool.  But, if the room gets very cold (below 50 degrees F or so, like a garage), electric heaters are best, since portable air conditioners with heat are not designed to warm a room that much.  If your room only gets too hot, window or portable air conditioners without heat are a more economical way to solve your problem.  If your room only gets too cold, electric heaters can be marvelous to keep you warm and cozy!  Please note that the ac units we offer are designed to condition the air in a single room.

Room Size:   Measure your room in feet.  Multiply the length times the width for the square footage of your room.  Add in any additional spaces, like window recesses.  For irregular rooms, measure in sections and add them up for the total.  The product descriptions for most of our air conditioners show how many square feet the unit is designed to serve.  The charts below give a general overview of unit btu rating and how many square feet air conditioners of that rating should be able to cool efficiently.  PortableHomeAir generally recommends choosing from air conditioners designed to serve a bit more than your measured room.  Upsizing is not mandatory but offers some benefits, especially if the room size is near the upper limit for a given power rating.  It often allows the unit to maintain temperature while on a medium setting, and gives you the flexibility to use it in a larger room if needed.  Also, especially with single hose portable air conditioners, independent testing has shown that many may not cool adequately at the upper range of their recommended room size. Upsizing may diminish dehumidification since the unit won't run as long.  For additional consideration on BTU requirements, please see our article, Portable Air Conditioners: What's a BTU and Why do I Care? 

Approximate Cooling and Heating Coverage for Portable Air Conditioners: 

Approximate Cooling coverage for Window Air Conditioners: 

Electric heaters have a maximum heat output of 1500 Watts, and many are capable of that.  As a general rule, small electric heaters are excellent for use in smaller rooms like small offices.  Larger tower heaters, oscillating heaters, panel heaters, or oil-filled heaters do better in larger rooms like bedrooms.  Ceramic electric heaters warm the air by convection, and integrated fans blow warmed air into the room, increasing coverage.  Mica Panel electric heaters are silent and emit radiant heat as well as warming the air by convection. Radiant heat is felt quickly, and the convection heat provides steady warmth.  Oil-filled electric heaters heat by convection, providing steady warmth.  They also operate silently but take longer to warm.  Most modern electric heaters employ thermostats, so they automatically shut off when the target temperature is reached.  This makes them more energy efficient than space heaters without thermostats.  Many also have several integrated safety features, greatly reducing risk of burns and fires.  For a more complete discussion of electric heaters, please see our articles page.

Windows:  All true air conditioners require someplace to send exhaust.  Portable air conditioners typically exhaust through a window using an adjustable window kit and exhaust hose included with the unit.  The window must slide open (vertically or horizontally) for the window kit (the exception is some Haier models, which have a kit that will also fit in casement windows).  Kits are easy to install and remove. Some units use two hoses: one to draw air, and one for exhaust.  If no window is available, portable ac units can be vented through the ceiling or a wall.  A more complete discussion of portable air conditioner venting can be found on our articles page.   Electric heaters can be placed in any part of a room, but be careful to follow manufacturer recommendations on placement too near anything flammable.

Drainage:  Portable air conditioners pull moisture from the air, and some can be used as dehumidifiers.  The water removed must go somewhere.  In older models, it goes into a pan which must be periodically emptied, usually every day or two.  Most modern units re-evaporate the condensate and send it out with the exhaust air, and some allow drainage out the window or recirculate all or most of the moisture, meaning the pan rarely if ever needs emptying.    Look for these features under individual product descriptions.  Window units of course drain out the window.  Electric heaters require no drainage.

Portability:   One great benefit of portable air conditioners and electric heaters, is that they are easy to move.  Portable air conditioners are a bit heavy but come with wheels, and the window kits are simple to remove.  When you don't need the unit, you can roll it to storage.  Or if you need it in a different room, that's easy too!  Most electric heaters are light enough for anyone to carry.  Window units occupy no floor space, but are a bit more difficult to move.

Cost:  At PortableHomeAir, we try to offer the best products at the best prices.  But we want to emphasize to our customers that when it comes to our products, higher price doesn't necessarily mean better quality!  Product reviews and consumer ratings are a better guide to quality and reliability than cost.  A little homework on different brands and models often results in savings if those ratings are similar or better for lower priced units, as is often the case. One more warning while shopping:  beware the low price hook with high shipping charges!  Shipping quotes vary tremendously, so when looking for the best price on a comparison shopping site, be sure to click on 'total cost' for the real price.  PortableHomeAir wants to keep things simple.  That's why we offer free shipping on all of our products: you always know up front exactly what you'll pay!  And our every day prices will generally equal or beat even sale prices of many other retailers. Any electrical device has ongoing power requirements and therefore cost.  When used properly,  portable air conditioners, window air conditioners, and space heaters may result in overall savings because they offset inadequacies in central supply, meaning the central units don't have to work as hard.  If a dryer or ceiling vent is installed to vent a portable ac, additional costs will be incurred.   Replacement filters add infrequent and minor ongoing costs for air conditioners.                                                                                                   

Definitions

Some of the terms you may see while evaluating products can be confusing, so here are a few plain English definitions:

BTU: stands for British Thermal Unit, a measurement of heat energy. For air conditioners, it means the amount of heat energy the unit can remove in a given period of time. The higher the number, the more heat the unit can remove and thus the more air it can cool, i.e. the larger the room it can cool.

"ductless portable air conditioner":  is really a misnomer, because it is not a true portable ac. These units have an outside component, much like a mini-split, and an inside component which looks much like a portable ac. The inside and outside components are connected by tubing and electrical wires, meaning that the "portability" of the inside portion is limited by the extent to which those connections allow it to be moved. A hole in the wall is required for the wiring and tubing to connect the two components.

Heat pump: When used regarding air conditioners, usually refers to the capability of a model to reverse the normal cooling cycle, thus blowing warm air into the room to heat the room.  A more efficient method of heating than heat strips provide.

Heat strip:  some window and through wall models have a heating strip which warms air blown over it to heat the room.  Less efficient  than a heat pump but still effective.

Mini-split air conditioners have inside and outside components, and function like a small central ac. The inside unit has the controls and thermostat, is mounted on the wall, and connects to the outside component through a hole in the wall. They require professional installation and are considered a permanent room air conditioner.

portable air conditioner:  an air conditioner which has all compenents inside the room being conditioned, with an exhaust vent moving warmed air out of the room.  They are portable because they have casters and can be easily disconnected from the ventilation portal and wall outlet.  Virtually all residential models use standard 115v plugs.

PTAC: stands for packaged terminal air conditioner.  These are basically the types of air conditioners you find in many hotels, often situated under the window against an outside wall.  They are permanent room air conditioners.

Room air conditioner: any type of air conditioner designed to condition a single room.  Includes portable, window, through-wall, PTAC, and mini-splits.

Through wall air conditioners: require a hole in the wall large enough to accept a sleeve, which the air conditioner slides into.  The inside face sits flush against the wall with a trim border, so they have a "finished" look inside, but the sleeve does extend a ways through the outside wall. They are not interchangeable with window units.  Most require 230v. They can be plugged into an outlet, but are often hard wired inside the wall, and represent a more permanent installation than portable or window units. Because the unit can be easily removed from the sleeve, they are easier to replace than PTAC's or mini-splits.