Portable Air Conditioner No Vent

For those in search of a portable air conditioner, no vent required to connect to a window or wall opening, this article will expose the truth from the myth and explain what it is that this type of cooling device actually is.



It will of course reveal what this cooler is not, as well.

The first thing to be aware of is that all air conditioners that operate using a refrigeration process (that's actually all of them), also produce a lot of hot, moist air that must be evacuated out of the building by means of ducting or venting.

Portable AC units do this via a flexible vent hose, which connects the back of the unit to a window or wall opening to allow that hot air to be exhausted outside.

If a portable AC did not have that vent hose, the hot air would simply be pumped out of the back of the unit into the room being cooled, resulting in a net heating effect!

So with this very important fact in mind, the question of how an AC can work without a vent hose must arise. The short answer is that it cannot and will not work without its vent hose!

Let's take a look at what a ventless or vent-free air conditioner actually is, to get a fuller understanding of what we're dealing with here:

What is a Ventless Air Conditioner?

What, then is a portable, ventless air conditioner, if such a device even exists? And if so, what are the benefits (and disadvantages) of owning and using one?

Remember, there is no portable AC that doesn't need its hot air vented outside. If you want your room to cool, all AC's will produce hot air that must be exhausted to the outside.

It is important to realize that if you leave a portable AC running without connecting it to an external vent aperture or window, it will pump hot air into the space it is standing in as it attempts to cool it down.

This causes the room to actually heat up because air conditioners actually produce more hot air than cold air under normal conditions.

What we are talking about when referring to a vent-free portable air conditioner is actually an evaporative cooler (also known as a swamp cooler).

Evaporative Cooler

Most people have, by this point already figured out that I am referring to an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) and not an actual air conditioner.

It can be confusing because the two types of coolers are very similar, especially if you don't have much knowledge about them.

Many people buy swamp coolers thinking that they will have an AC unit that can run as well as their AC in the humid areas of the country. They then realize that the machine doesn't work, and send it back.

They didn't realize that swamp coolers don't work well in humid environments. They thought they were buying an air conditioner, but now they are getting a swamp cooler. The result is the same.

The manufacturer receives a refund and possibly a negative review from disgruntled customers who were simply unaware of what they were purchasing. It is best to educate people about swamp coolers and why they don’t work in humid environments.

An evaporative cooler, which DOES work in dry conditions, is the best cost-saving, ecologically friendly cooling option.

Making Cooler Air

You might argue that it isn't so lucky to live in very dry conditions, unless you are specifically talking about a swamp cooler.

If you live in an area that is very dry, it's best to consider yourself lucky. You will get the best performance out of your swamp cooler.

This isn't always true for everyone. You need to add humidity to the equation. You will want to find the best way to extract the coldest air possible from the device.

To maximize the performance of a swamp cooler, keep things as dry as possible by using dryer air outside. To circulate the indoor air, simply open a window or a door.

This has the effect that the cooler can carry the moistened air out of the building, in order to maintain an atmospheric status quo.

It is a great idea to place the cooler close to the window to increase this effect.

This advice may surprise some air conditioner owners. It is normal to close all windows and doors to keep outside heat out. For swamp coolers, this is not true.

In fact, the opposite is true. The room will not be heated by a slightly open window because the swamp cooler will immediately chill the hot dry air coming in.

Pros and Cons of Evaporative Coolers

There are a number of advantages as well as disadvantages that are attached to evaporative coolers that look like portable AC units but are, in terms of operation, quite different.

Let's take a look at these pros and cons to get a fuller view of this type of cooling appliance.

Pros

The main advantage is the low energy usage of swamp coolers compared to air conditioners of similar output.

Additionally, the fact that these coolers humidify the air rather than drying it out as AC does, creates another advantage in that dry air is harsh on the respiratory system, whereas humid air is much kinder to lungs, bronchial tubes and nasal passages.

Thinking Economy

The most cost-effective cooling device that can make a difference in temperature is the swamp cooler.

They work best when the air is dry. Dry means that it does not have any moisture from the atmosphere, which is what would happen in humid conditions.

Portable appliances make great compact coolers and are much more economical than true air conditioners.

A swamp cooler typically consumes between 100-200 watts and a comparable AC that uses around 2,000. This is a significant dollar saving, as you only need one tenth of the energy it takes to run.

Cons

As mentioned above, there is one major downside to swamp coolers and that is their inability to operate effectively in humid conditions.

If the humidity is only being produced inside as a result of continuous operation of the swamp cooler with all windows and doors closed, the solution is to actually open a window or two to create a cross-draft to carry away much of the moist air and replenish it with dry air from outside.

If, however, the outdoor climate is very humid (60% humidity or higher), this solution will not work and the cooler will be rendered ineffective.

This point should be noted by people living in areas that have a climate with high summer humidity, as this type or weather will mean there is little to no point in buying a swamp cooler as it will not produce much, if any cold air.

Conclusion

The economical advantages of operating a swamp cooler are highly sought after by people living in areas with a relatively dry climate, as this represents a low-cost way to stay cool during the heat of summer.

However, for those living in areas that have high humidity, this advantage is invalidated as the humid air will cause the device to fail to produce chilled air. In these cases, a regular air conditioner is the only effective solution to staying cool when the weather is hot and humid.

Below is a short video explaining the difference between an AC and an evaporative air cooler:

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