Portable air conditioners are a handy means for providing primary or supplemental cooling of situations where the central air application is ineffective or a window ac unit is impractical or prohibited. Compared with a window air conditioner, the portable version offers built in mobility for adaptable set up as well as easy off-season storage.
But looking at the performance among portable air conditioners can be challenging since they’re not subject to Energy Star guidelines (much love tiny room heaters) as well as the efficiency info provided by the manufacturer or maybe retailer is sometimes incorrect.
1. Don’t bother searching for the Energy Star label on portable air conditioners.
The Department of Energy, for unspecified reasons, states on the website of theirs they don’t provide Energy Star reviews on portable air conditioners at this time.
2. Take advantage of the EER Instead – But Watch Out
Although Energy Star ratings are unavailable for lightweight AC’s, the next greatest measure of energy efficiency is the power Efficiency Ratio (EER) that measures just how many BTU’s per hour are utilized for each watt of power up a specific unit draws. An EER rating of 10 or even higher is considered above average.
The EER number can typically be found in the merchandise description or specifications, but even when it’s available, it is occasionally incorrect. The most probable reason for this oversight is human blunder since the EER number is mistakenly under-stated as frequently as it’s over stated across a large spectrum of brand blast auxiliary ultra names.
But, you can effortlessly verify the EER of any portable air conditioner by dividing the amount of BTUs by the power level found in the product’s specs.
