Like larger air conditioners, portable air conditioners do their job using one of two methods: evaporation or refrigeration. Before you choose a spot cooler for your space, you will want to understand how each work to ensure that you get the right equipment for the job.



Evaporative Spot Coolers

An evaporative cooler blows the air through pads soaked in water causing some of the water to evaporate into the air stream. It requires a great deal of energy to cause water to change from liquid to vapor, and this energy is supplied by the heat of the incoming air. The result is a cool, moist outgoing stream of air.

The advantage of evaporative coolers is that they are less expensive to run than their refrigerated counterparts. However they are only effective in dry climates and some people do not like the muggy atmosphere they create as they operate. The humidity can cause equipment corrosion or mold growth over extended use. They go through a lot of water requiring either a hose connected to a water supply or frequent refilling.

Refrigerated Spot Coolers

The more popular type of portable air conditioners operates on the same principle as a refrigerator. A refrigerant is pumped through a cycle that causes it to change from liquid to gas, absorbing heat from the air, then back to a liquid, dumping the acquired heat into an exhaust chamber.

Refrigerated air conditioners operate more efficiently in particularly hot or humid environments. They dehumidify the air which can be an advantage (in moist climates) or disadvantage (in dry ones). This dehumidification means they produce water which is stored in tanks that need to be emptied periodically. Some units can either pump off or evaporate the water thus requiring less maintenance by the user.

Portable Solutions to Heat Problems

Spot coolers are mounted on wheels making it easy to transport them as needed to different parts of a building. They are designed with office environments in mind so are small enough to fit through standard doorways, relatively quiet, and easy to operate.

The exhaust needs to be ducted out of the room being cooled for the unit to work properly. Optimally the hot exhaust is fed outside however other options exist. It can be vented into drop ceilings where the building's cooling can deal with it, or even into another room that is already cool.

Most portable air conditioners run off standard 110-120 volt outlets although some larger units require 220-volt power. The smallest units are idea for a small office of around 150 square feet while the largest units can cool areas up to 2000 square feet. They provide businesses with options when dealing with varying cooling needs they might encounter as seasons or building occupancy changes.