Cookie

Now I have bought my Dyson, it's time to think about portable air conditioners before the hot weather arrives and they are gone off the shelves. This is my 3rd Nova Scotia summer and it gets very humid and very hot inside our house.

We have 2700 sq/ft and already have a good sized dehumidifier in the basement. It has a 55 pint tank and needs emptying around 3 or 4 times a day (use the water for my outdoor plants and hanging baskets).

Last year we used a couple of fans in our livingroom/dining room/kitchen (semi open plan) but the only way to get some decent cool air was to go the mall

We don't have windows in our livingroom/dining area but have 2 large patio doors onto the deck (north facing) so I will have to vent the hoses out there and use a plexi-panel to seal off gap.

I am looking for a portable unit around 1200 BTU but most importantly will have to be fairly quiet because of where it will be situated. How loud is 50 dBa? Is it okay in a living space or will it irritate the heck out of me?

We have an air exchanger. Can these be converted during the hot months to pump cool air into the house (I emailed the company and so far no reply)?

Any recommendations most welcome?

Tangram

I don't think the air exchanger can be used in that way but I might be wrong. I thought they merely exchanged damp and drier air.

Piff Poff

Good question.

I thought a air exchanger exchanged the cool air from dowstairs with the hot air form upstairs????

Now these air conditioners - do they all have to have a hose out the window?

scrubbedexpat091

If you get a window unit there wont be a hose going out the window, but then you have the a/c in the window and need to secure the window off to keep the cold air in, and unwelcome visitors out.

The protable type almost always have the window hose as the hot air needs to escape outside.

Stick with a well known brand and you should be okay as to quality.

Souvenir

Through-the-window AC units are horribly noisy. It's like sleeping on an airport runway. Portable units are not much better and the hoses are a pain in the arse. We've used both.

Our house does not have forced air (ie no internal ductwork). We went for a proper AC unit. There is a single unit outside, about the size of a suitcase, and a single unit inside, at the top of the stairs. It's not big, it's pretty quiet and it does the whole house. This is, of course, not the cheapest option.

Worth the money, if you have it, though.

Piff Poff

We were going to go with a 'proper' unit when we had our heating replaced. I tend to wear a jumper in the car as hubby had the air con on too low, I was worried it would be the same in the house, so that's why we're thinking a portable one but our windows are the wind out type, so not sure how the hosey thing would work.

I guess we could always sleep downstairs on the really hot nights like last year.

Souvenir

Badly. Been there.

Piff Poff

Thanks! We'll not bother just yet then. Windows are due to be replaced, we'll just suffer for now - mind you the flipping snow has got to go 1st