Remain cool over Summer with the best portable air conditioners
Portable air conditioners aren't great for your electricity bill, but they will help keep you cool in Summer. Here are your best options.
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Summer can be brutal in Australia. The unrelenting heat makes air conditioning essential, but installing expensive split or ducted systems isn’t always possible for everyone.
Fortunately, there are portable air conditioners that can provide sweet relief.
Whether you’re a renter unable to install a split system or just looking to cool down your back room, the best portable air conditioners can help.
How to choose the best portable air conditioner
Portable air conditioners allow you to cool specific rooms or areas of your home, office or campervan at a fraction of the cost of a ducted or split system.
Whether you are looking for one of the models listed below or something different, the important things to consider when choosing the best portable air conditioner for your needs is the same.
Room size and placement
Like with an air purifier, the biggest consideration when choosing a portable air conditioner is the room (or rooms) it will be used in.
To find the best model for your needs, you’ll need the air conditioner to be powerful enough to cool the largest room you plan on using it in. Here’s an approximate guide for air conditioner size requirements to room sizes:
| Room size | Air conditioner capacity (approx) |
|---|---|
| Up to 15m² | 2.0kW – 2.5kW |
| 15m² to 25m² | 2.5kW – 3.5kW |
| 25m² to 30m² | 3.5kW – 5.0kW |
It’s important to choose up to the largest room. You can always use lower settings if you do move it to a smaller room.
The other key consideration is where you will place the unit in the room.
Because all portable air conditioners need to be vented, you need to have a location that is within distance of a convenient window and a power point.
You may also need to drain out the water catchment, so it can’t be placed somewhere difficult to reach.
Reverse Cycle
Do you need your portable air conditioner to only cool in the warmer months? Or do you want a machine that can also heat when it’s cold?
You can buy reverse cycle models, which will allow you to stay comfortable all year around.
Dehumidifying function
The truth is that all portable air conditioners function as dehumidifiers as well. What you need to consider is how well they do it.
If you live in a humid part of the country, a portable air conditioner that can remove a higher amount of moisture from the air is going to make your life much more comfortable.
If you’re after a dehumidifier without the cooling function, look at our guide to the best dehumidifiers in Australia.
Water disposal
Portable air conditioners work by taking the warm air in your room and cooling it down. Cooler air is blown back out into the room, while hot air generated by the cooling process is pumped outdoors through the vent.
But during that cooling phase, moisture from the air is condensed and the water will need to be disposed of.
Some models have a drip tray that will need to be manually emptied periodically. Others will pump the moisture out with a hose.
More premium models feature a self-evaporation feature which will pump the moisture out of the vent with the warm air.
While self-evaporation is obviously the easiest method, remember that if your unit does have a drip tray, keeping it clean is important for hygiene.
Energy efficiency
Portable air conditioners can be expensive to run. With the cost of electricity skyrocketing, it’s important to consider the costs of running a portable air conditioner.
New portable air conditioners need to display a zoned energy rating label for air conditioners. However, most portable air conditioners typically don’t have any star ratings on these labels because they are actually not very energy efficient.
Volume
Portable air conditioners can be loud, particularly at the highest cooling setting.
While split and ducted aircon systems keep the noisy parts outside, portable units are all indoors, which can make them distracting.
Look at the noise output specs and try and find models with lower volume outputs.
Remote control and timer function
As we’ve already noted, portable air conditioners can be quite expensive to run due to the fact they aren’t overly energy efficient.
To try and manage this, ensure your unit has good control features like timers to turn off automatically.
Also look for something with a remote control so you can easily turn off the unit when it has done its job.
Wi-Fi and smart features
Some newer portable aircons feature integrated Wi-Fi and support for digital assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.
These features aren’t necessary for the running of the machine, but can be nice to have. This is especially true if you’re looking to better integrate your portable air conditioner into an exist smart home system.
Price
Portable air conditioners are an attractive option as they are typically more affordable that ducted and split systems.
But that doesn’t mean they are cheap. Low energy efficiency and higher running costs mean that the money you save up front could cost you a lot more in the long run.
That said, if a portable machine is your only option, expect prices to vary from a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand, depending on features and quality.
