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Whether you call it aircon, air con, portable cooling or portable air
conditioning then it all works in the same way. An air conditioning unit is very simple and in operation is similar to a
refrigerator.
The hot air from the room is
passed over a cold coil that makes it colder and removes some of the
moisture that makes the air feel sticky.
This cooler air is blown back into
the room to provide a fresh feeling.
Air from the room is blown over
the coil that is now hot to discharge this heat to the outside via the
flexible hose.
To make the air conditioning unit
work efficiently it is essential that the hose discharges the hot air to
the outside and not back within the room. To help the air
conditioning unit work as hard as possible keep the room well sealed
closing doors and windows wherever you can. Blinds will reduce the
amount of heat coming in through windows.
Split systems like the Amcor
HW-12EZ (winner of a Which Magazine Best Buy in March 2008)
have the advantage of not having to discharge air from the room to
outside as they can use air from outside to cool the coil via the
cassette on the outside of the building. This means that the air in the room is re-circulated through
the air conditioner and cools quicker.
We are often asked for an air conditioner without a hose to outside,
for something that can just stand on its own. All air
conditioners need to have some sort of connection to outside.
Either a hose through a window or a wall, an umbilical pipe (about
2" squashed diameter) through a window or wall or a straight
connection through the wall for a fixed unit. All of these
options are to make sure that the hot air is being exhausted outside.
The only units that do not have an exhaust to outside are the air
coolers. They use a water soaked pad to cool the air, but they
must stand in front of an open window with a door or window open on
the opposite side of the room. The fresh air coming in through
the window passes over the pad and picks up the moisture. Air
coolers are fine as long as the windows are open and the air is
dry. As soon as the air becomes humid (or sticky) their cooling
power is reduced because they cannot absorb as much moisture from the
pad. They are also not suitable for offices because the moisture
could condensate on the metal parts of computers overnight.
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