A Most Effective Portable Vent Free Air Conditioner

When looking for a good quality air conditioner that is both portable and ventless, the most effective model is the one to choose to keep you cool in summer. The only problem many people have is in deciding on which is the best type of cooling solution for their home or office.

While many simply go for a conventional air conditioner on wheels and put up with having to site it near a window or other opening on an outside wall to feed the exhaust vent through, some have discovered the vent free alternative. The swamp cooler is a great choice when the space you need to cool is in a low humidity climate zone.

Which Genre of Portable Aircon Unit is Best for You?

You have do to some homework before choosing the most suitable air conditioner for your needs. There will be some determining factors that your final choice will be based upon, so make sure you know what you're getting before you commit to buying a model.

If your budget is large and you are not limited by price tag and similarly not bothered about the environmental aspects of your choice, then a conventional vented aircon unit is probably your best choice if there are no restrictions on where you can site the unit. While they cost more than swamp coolers, the air chilling factor is generally greater and especially so in areas of higher humidity.

But if your budget is more limited and you do care about the environment, as long as the humidity levels in your area are below around 50%, then a swamp cooler can be a very economical and highly portable vent free air cooling solution. There is no need to vent to the outside and power consumption is a fraction of a conventional room air conditioning unit, meaning running costs are kept very low.

Making Your Decision of Air Conditioner Based on Common Sense

Most will simply go for the easy option of a conventional refrigerant based air con unit and not give a second thought to costs and environmental factors. However, the sensible choice is for the unit that will not only save you the most money in purchase cost and running costs, but is kind to the environment in a number of ways.

First of all, the recycling of refrigerant based unit is more complicated because of the ozone-unfriendly gasses contained in the unit, not to mention many other materials that are not easy to recycle. Then there is the high power consumption which has a secondary negative effect on the environment due to the need to burn more fossil fuels to produce the extra electricity to power your device and thousands more like it.

However, with a low cost swamp cooler that is ventless, highly recyclable and uses far less power, you would be doing your bit for the ecological health of your locality while saving yourself money and still enjoying a cooled room and the portability that can only truly come from a model that does not need to be vented to the outside!

What is the Best Ventless Air Conditioner on Sale?

People looking for the best ventless portable air conditioner that's on sale today can read this and discover a secret that will surprise and amaze you! I'm not talking about a revolutionary new kind of portable air cooler, because it hasn't been invented yet (at least not that I or anyone else knows about in this area).

What I am talking about is the best value, highest specification portable model that you can buy for the lowest price in its class and still provide unparalleled comfort on those hot days of summer without eating up a huge chunk of your power supply!

A Portable Air Conditioner that's Vent Free?

First of all, you have to remember that we're talking about a non-vented air conditioning unit here. That narrows it down a lot, because most portable aircon units have to be vented to the outside.

So we're actually talking about a "Swamp Cooler" or to give it the correct name, an evaporative air cooler. This kind of cooling device does not need to be vented to the outside because it doesn't produce any hot exhaust air (as you can read more about this kind of cooler in our article that covers "what is a swamp cooler")

For those of you who live in areas with high summer air humidity, look away now because these coolers are not for you!

Top Rated Portable Vent Free Air Conditioner Facts

Let's look at the evidence to suggest that one particular model is superior to others in its class. What exactly do you expect from a top rated, high spec swamp cooler? Let's take some examples:

1. Superior air cooling capability
2. Ability to cool a room quickly
3. Ability to provide on demand cold air
4. Lightweight, easy to move portability
5. Small footprint for easy placement
6. Low power consumption
7. Good value for money

I think that just about covers the main points that interest folks looking to get a good value unit for their money without spending too much. So which are the contenders and what do we rate as the best unit for the money?

Affordable Swamp Coolers

The following coolers can be bought for less than you might think when you shop online at Amazon. Prices can vary without notice so please check out the following reviews on this site by clicking the title of the model that you are interested in below:

• Sunpentown SF-609 Portable Evaporative Air Cooler
• Sunpentown SF-608R Portable Evaporative Air Cooler
• KuulAire PACKA43 Portable Evaporative Cooling Unit

These are our top three value for money items for the lowest price and best specs. If you want higher specs and greater cooling capability, you need to spend more to get higher grade units. Some of the best of these are below:

Swamp Coolers Under $300

The following units can be bought for between $200 and $300 when you shop online at Amazon. Again, prices can fluctuate, so click the title to read the review before heading over to the sales page to get the most up to the minute price.

• NewAir AF-330 Evaporative HEPA Swamp Cooler

Swamp Coolers Over $300

A Step up in price gets you even higher specs. We have included these units for their high power cooling capabilities and other desirable features.

• KuulAire PACKA53 500 CFM
• Port-A-Cool PAC2KCYC01 Cyclone 3000

The last unit is expensive, priced at over $700. I included it as a high end contender for fastest cooling ability and sheer power for its relatively small size and power consumption.

The choice is yours at the end of the day. If this type of air cooling solution fits with what you're looking for, then go ahead and read our reviews. They will give you a better idea of what is available so you can see for yourself whether the price and features fit your budget and needs.

Ductless Multi Zone Air Conditioners Explained

People who have an interest in vent free air cooling solutions can read this and learn all about ductless multi zone air conditioners and how they function. On the surface, they may appear to be similar in functionality to regular ventless units that have been explained at length in previous articles on this site but dig a little deeper and you will discover some fascinating differences.

Whole House Air Cooling Solution

The first thing that you will notice about these setups is that they incorporate several units placed at strategic points around the home, qualifying them with the "multi-zone" label. They are computer controlled to insure the correct level of cooling in each room according to occupation.

That means the system will not waste energy cooling unoccupied spaces in your home, thus reducing power consumption dramatically. This is an important consideration in this day and age when fuel costs continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Not Portable

The next thing that you'll notice is that these systems are not made up of portable units as with individual evaporative cooling units described in previous articles here. In fact, these systems are comprised of true, two part air conditioning units that expel hot air to the outside via fanned condenser units mounted outside.

They use non-ozone depleting refrigerant gas in their system, making them kinder to the environment while still being able to provide highly efficient cooling in all climates including high humidity (where swamp coolers fall down).

Not Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers

While swamp coolers are excellent for cooling spaces in areas of low humidity and extremely cheap to run in comparison with true air conditioning systems, these multi zone systems offer a viable alternative for those living in humid climates. Costs are higher than evaporative solutions, but lower than conventional ducted aircon systems (HVAC).

These ductless split air conditioners and heat pumps offer a heating solution in winter as well as a cooling one in summer, making them highly versatile. However, heating by electricity is still an expensive method and one that should be considered before deciding on one of these systems.

Installation Considerations

Installing a system like this can be far less invasive than conventional HVAC, although it still requires creating exit vents to the outside for the inner and outer units to be connected through exterior walls. There is no unsightly ducting (or extensive remodelling to disguise ducting inside ceiling space or boxed into walls) making these units far more aesthetically suitable in a home.

Vent holes are created behind the internal unit, making it invisible to an occupant. Similarly, the exterior unit is placed over the exit vent making it invisible from the outside. Units run much more quietly than older systems, which is another important consideration.

Dehumidification

Another important aspect of this kind of setup is its ability to dehumidify the indoors air in areas of high humidity. This can become an important consideration where long periods of very high humidity can create problems in the home.

These problems include damp forming in walls and ceilings, mold growing in closets and cupboards and an uncomfortable living atmosphere. By effectively extracting the humidity and expelling to the outside, this type of system becomes so much more than simply an effective cooling and heating solution.

Conclusion

While a ductless multi-zone air cooling (and heating) system will cost considerably more to install and run than a comparable evaporative system, it has several benefits especially for people who live in climates with high humidity where evaporative units are not so effective. This is a consideration that must be explored in this case as costs will still be lower than with a conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation.

While truly ventless air coolers are effective, cheap to run and highly versatile in dry climates, not everyone can enjoy their benefits. That makes a true aircon system that can run at a much lower cost than conventional ducted systems a viable alternative where humidity is a problem. The choice, in the end, is up to the buyer as always.