Anyone know where to buy a Dual Hose portable air conditioner?

winteriscoming

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So it's been pretty hot in the flat and I was thinking of buying a portable air conditioner, but when I did my research, all the portable models I could see only have one hose to expel hot air. Now the problem with that is physics, when air is expelled outside, new air comes in from somewhere else, unless you live in a vaccuum chamber.. so the air that is drawn is, is warm air from the rest of the flat.

I know portable units are far more inefficient than window or split units through the wall, but I rent. Having an unit with 2 hoses, one expelling hot air outside and one drawing in cool air from outside as opposed to the rest of the flat would increase efficiency greatly. Yet I cannot find any such models to buy in the UK?

Anyone have any experience or suggestions? Thanks
 
Unless the window you have the hose hanging out of is sealed won't the air just come in through that window?
 
Unless the window you have the hose hanging out of is sealed won't the air just come in through that window?
there are windows sealers you can buy on amazon that fits dual hoses. so I would put the hot exhaust on top and the cold intake on the bottom. I just can't find an actual dual hose unit.
 
The idea of an air conditioner is that it lowers your room temperature by recycling the cooled air Until it gets It down to a cool level, try thinking of your car a/c. You will work the air conditioner hard if you keep bringing ambient air into the system. The outside air could also be quite warm.
 
Any chance you could manage a split system?
i’m blown away by our new smart Panasonic
 
I could type out how ac works as I fitted and serviced various systems for 20 years but it’s easier to post a link.
 
I could type out how ac works as I fitted and serviced various systems for 20 years but it’s easier to post a link.
This will help the OP. I think you were over thinking it.
 
You will work the air conditioner hard if you keep bringing ambient air into the system. The outside air could also be quite warm.

An air conditioner that's away from the wall dumps heat into air and then pushes that air outside through a hose.

But you can't push air in a vacuum and you need replacement air from somewhere.

You can either draw in and expel room air that you've spent loads of energy just cooling down - which will also cause hot air to leak in to replace it through the walls.

Or you can draw air from outside, heat that up further, and expel it again - keeping all your nice cooled air inside the room.
 
I could type out how ac works as I fitted and serviced various systems for 20 years but it’s easier to post a link.
ooh, if you fitted ACs then maybe you could help me with something.

I'm confused as to the difference between the cooling power and the running power consumption, both of which are given as KW or kw/h.

So an example 12000 BTU portable AC has a "cooling power of 3.5kw" but a running power consumption of 1.3kw/h

The problem is that a single socket plug in the UK is rated as 13 amps, so at 220-240 v, it gives approximate 3kw of power. So a single portable AC that draws 3.5kw will instantly kill the socket? I'm looking to put the AC in my home office where I have a top of the line water cooled computer with triple 32"+ monitors and printer / speakers which all noticeably warm the room up if I close the door to focus on work, and I need the double socket for those appliances, which is far from the window anyway.


How do people plug ACs in without their fuses / breakers all blowing?
 
It draws 1.35kW electric power so will be fine on a 13A fuse. The 3.5kW output is not of electric power.
 
It draws 1.35kW electric power so will be fine on a 13A fuse. The 3.5kW output is not of electric power.
I see, then quoting a 3.5kw in the item description seems very confusing to me! especially when it also says 4.95A or 5.1A further on with lower kw/h figures.
 
It draws 1.35kW electric power so will be fine on a 13A fuse. The 3.5kW output is not of electric power.
would that 1.35kw also be the max power draw and not the average? I'm thinking in speakers/subwoofers you have RMS and Peak power in watts,
 
Having done some research a couple of years ago, certainly, at that time, the overwhelming advice was don't buy a portable air conditioner.

Noisy, expensive, and not that good. Nowhere near the ability of a proper split system.
 
I've been using portable units for 20 years now.
First one was a 9000btu unit.
Was a faff as there was a container that collected the water produced and would need emptying after half a day.
Also 9000btu got the room cooler but struggled to get it to 21°c when it was over 30°c outside.

Got 2 12000btu units from Wickes 10 years ago when the old one broke.

These can get a large bedroom down to 19-20°c even when it's over 30°c outside.

There's no water to empty as it is evaporated into the exhaust air.

I don't even seal the window.
Pipe has a narrow end attachment that goes out the window.
I draw the curtains to make it more efficient in the bedroom.
But at work there's no curtains, just a window open enough to allow the exhaust pipe and it's icy cold.

The noise becomes "white noise" that your brain soon ignores.
Sleeping is fine.
Working is fine.
I'd not part with my portable AC units.
 
It draws 1.35kW electric power so will be fine on a 13A fuse. The 3.5kW output is not of electric power.

exactly this.

Think of AC as 'separating' energy. it has an energy transfer / separation rate of 3.5Kw and the hose going to the outside is effectively 3.5Kw heater (not a heater in the traditional sense but energy separating). Turn the AC unit back to front with the cold bit going outside and the warm hose inside and you have yourself a crude 'air source heat pump'.

The hose is only there to expel the heat from the condenser, not to feed air into the room, second hose isn't really necessary in the same way you don't need one for a tumble drier
 
So an example 12000 BTU portable AC has a "cooling power of 3.5kw" but a running power consumption of 1.3kw/h

Electricity and heat are both forms of energy so they're measured in the same units. Joules would be the base unit, with a BTU being 1055 joules and a watt-hour being 3600 joules.

I'd imagine 'cooling power' refers to amount of heat the unit can move. If this is also advertised as 12000 BTU then we can check that by converting. 3.5kWh is equal to 11943 BTU.
 
Just to let you guys know that I failed to find a suitable dual hose and I didn't want to import, pay taxes and buy a voltage transformer, I went with a single hose unit.

unfortunately all the sale units in the UK went over the weekend, so I was forced to source one from Germany, a 12000 BTU model for around ÂŁ250 inc delivery @


hopefully, it's a gamble that's going to pay off, the seller has good reviews, they sold 100 units in 24 hours (so other people trust them), apparently gold lined antibaterial coating and a slinger fan system that wicks moisture onto condenser coils so no emptying water needed. All sounds quite good for the price, maybe it's a German thing...
 
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