Should I buy a portable air conditioner? Things you need to know before buying

What is a portable air conditioner?

Portable air conditioners, also known as mini mobile air conditioners, are as compact in size as an evaporative cooling fan and are equipped with convenient moving wheels, allowing you to move them to any location anywhere. that you want is extremely convenient.

The difference between this product line compared to regular air conditioners is that the hot and cold units are mounted on the body of the machine and combined into one unit, providing convenience when used.

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Structure of mobile air conditioner

The structure of a portable air conditioner includes 5 main parts:

Cold outlet

Has the effect of releasing cold air to the outside environment, cooling the room space. In addition, the cold exhaust door is also equipped with a wind vane to help reverse the wind direction and protect the internal wind blades and the iron cage to prevent foreign objects from damaging the blades.

In particular, the wind vane is responsible for helping to reverse the wind direction, protecting the internal wind blades from being damaged by foreign objects.

Control circuit board

This is an extremely important part, likened to the human brain, because it is responsible for issuing commands to control all operations of the machine from things such as increasing/decreasing the temperature, turning on/off the machine for to change the device mode,…

Cooler

The condenser is the main part of the cold unit, this is considered the aluminum foil (or copper foil) that absorbs heat in the room so that the refrigerant can be carried outside.

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After passing through the expansion valve, the gas will have low pressure and temperature. At this time, the fan in the cold outlet sucks hot air into the room and pushes it through the air conditioner’s condenser to cool it, and then sends it back to the room.

Compressor

The compressor is an intermediate device located between the evaporator and the evaporator. This is the part that helps convert low-pressure coolant from the evaporator into hot, high-pressure refrigerant gas when moving into the evaporator.

This is considered the heart of the air conditioner’s cooling system, ensuring the cooling process of the entire system operates stably and effectively.

Outdoor

The effect of the condenser is to cool the gas medium in the copper pipe, more simply, it helps the machine discharge heat into the environment.

Thanks to the fan and aluminum foil radiator in the outdoor unit, it cools the high-temperature, high-pressure gas, so the gas medium will have a lower temperature when passing through the outdoor unit.

Advantages and disadvantages of portable air conditioners

Advantage

• Fully equipped with features: Cooling mode, shutdown timer, temperature increase/decrease, wind reversal,… allowing you to choose the mode that suits your needs. At the same time, the product is also equipped with a convenient remote control, saving time and effort.
• No installation required: You just need to plug it in and turn on the start button to use it easily, no need for cumbersome installation.
• Easy to move: Sturdy wheels are equipped on each portable air conditioner, helping to move the machine anywhere you want such as the bedroom, living room, and kitchen,… easily and conveniently. use.
• Compact size: Portable air conditioners weigh about 25 – 30kg and measure about 50 – 70cm, extremely compact and lightweight, allowing you to arrange them in any space without the device taking up too much space.
• Convenient for small spaces: Because of its compact design, there is no need to install an outdoor unit like a conventional air conditioner, so portable air conditioners are very suitable for use in small spaces such as rented houses, rented rooms, and small apartments. .

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Defect

• Relatively high price: Depending on each operating capacity, portable air conditioners will have different prices ranging from 5 – over 10 million VND (updated April 2023, may change over time).
• The cooling range is limited: The device can only cool in place or in a narrow space around the air conditioner, suitable for an area of less than 15m2.
• Small capacity: Average from 400 – 500W/h, some models only reach 230W/h. Therefore, the machine must operate continuously for many hours without stopping to ensure the cooling ability you desire.
• Consumes a lot of electricity: Because the small capacity of air conditioners forces them to operate continuously, portable air conditioners often consume more electricity than wall-mounted air conditioners.
• Relatively high noise level: Because both the hot and cold units are mounted on the machine body and placed in the room when operating this air conditioner will make quite a loud noise.
• The exhaust pipe is still limited: The maximum length is about 5m and the hot exhaust pipe system is a soft pipe so it is easily damaged when moving. Because the exhaust pipe is short, it causes many difficulties in releasing hot air into the environment.