In order to optimize the operation of the portable-type of air conditioner, some basic things need to be checked and understood. One thing that the homemaker should take note is the power rating in this device. The portable air conditioner that can be ordered in the market is often rated in BTUs or called the British Thermal Units. The BTU is the amount of heat that can effectively raise the temperature of a pound of water to one more degree higher in terms of Fahrenheit.



To put this concept in proper perspective and in layman's term, then the concept of BTU is simply the measure of the heat the air conditioner can take out from the air of the room in a specific period of time. Now it should be remembered that the higher BTU do not necessarily mean that the portable air conditioner will be better than the rest. It is imperative that the proper BTU rating of the device should be used in order to get the best services. The cooling device that does not have enough cooling capability will find it hard to cool the whole area of the room. And in order to get the best results, it is often suggested that a proper research should be made when choosing the device.

Others will suggest that in order to gain the best benefits from the device, it is imperative that you get the portable air conditioner that can get a little more cooling capability than the home requires. This is a tried and tested suggestion; to get the best it is always better to have the device that offers cooling that is more than enough. It is safety net in order to gain better convenience at home. There are a number of guidelines as well that need to be considered in order to get the best cooling device for your home. Here is one trick that you can adopt inside your home; you can reduce the required capacity by 10 percent inside the room if the room is heavily shaded. The opposite will happen if the weather is on the sunny side; you can reduce the capacity of the device by as much as 10 percent. Also do take note that you can add another 600 BTU to the capacity of the cooling device for every additional person that occupies the same room. This is beyond the two people that the cooling device can support. If you need to put the portable air conditioner in the kitchen, then it is suggested that you add another 4,000 BTU.

Room size is an important factor when you want to get the best cooling experience from this cooling device. Strike the proper balance between room size and the cooling capability of the device. If the portable air conditioner is rated in kW, it is suggested that 0.080 kW is needed for every square meter of the regular sized room. If it will be used on the regular-sized living room then 0.125 kW will be used for every square meter area in the living room area.