New portable air conditioners provide relief and can boost your central air

Jul 03, 2011 |

The mercury&#x92;s rising, and this time of year Mother Nature&#x92;s not exactly in the relief-providing business.</p><p>Thankfully, if you&#x92;re looking to beat the heat and your central air&#x92;s lacking (or you&#x92;re lacking central air), you have more choices than ever for keeping your home cool.</p><p>One option local merchants say has been gaining traction over the past couple of years: portable air conditioners. Sure, the traditional window unit is, technically, portable, but these particular numbers can be wheeled right into any room in need of cooling.</p><p>&#x93;It doesn&#x92;t match central air, but they&#x92;ll give you that extra cooling in a room where your central AC just has too far to travel,&#x94; said Larry Sumpter, department manager for seasonal items at Lowe&#x92;s south Kansas City store. &#x93;Most of the folks that get these put them on the second and third floor where it&#x92;s a lot warmer and the AC&#x92;s just not getting pushed up there.&#x94;</p><p>The portables will run off almost any household electrical outlet. They come in a variety of sizes &#x97; from 8,000-10,000 Btu for a 250-square-foot room to 14,000 Btu for larger spaces. Most units are 30-34 inches tall. </p><p>Some models have built-in dehumidifiers. Others offer heat pumps so that the units can double as space heaters . </p><p>Models are available from manufacturers including Haier, Soleus, Sharp and DeLonghi. </p><p>Be aware, the units need to be within reasonable range of a window. The units require outside venting &#x97; usually accomplished via a hose linked to a blower that you&#x92;ll stick out your window.</p><p>&#x93;Some customers think that the unit can sit in the middle of the room &#x97; like a space heater can &#x97; and magically create cold air,&#x94; said Tom Kelly, general manager of home comfort for Haier. &#x93;The unit is simply moving the heat from the room to the outside, the same as any other AC does.&#x94;</p><p>The portables also run more quietly than window units, Sumpter said.</p><p>But keep in mind that the portable units typically weigh 70-85 pounds. So portable or not, moving them up and down stairs can still pose a challenge.</p><p>And Consumer Reports says the positive features of portable units come with a not- insignificant trade-off.</p><p>&#x93;We&#x92;ve tested them, and we&#x92;ve found that they really don&#x92;t work as well as comparable window units,&#x94; said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, deputy home editor for Consumer Reports. &#x93;They don&#x92;t produce the same level of cooling.</p><p>&#x93;We tend to tell people to only use them if there&#x92;s no other choice.&#x94;</p><p>The portables are also often more expensive than window units. Local sellers stock portables ranging from $299 to $499 &#x97; in some cases easily three times the cost of a window unit.</p><p>Manufacturers maintain, though, that there is definitely a market that can benefit from the portable units. </p><p>They can be an option if your apartment complex or neighborhood association doesn&#x92;t allow window units. Sumpter, from Lowe&#x92;s, said he&#x92;s heard of contractors using the portables to control the climates in wine cellars, too.</p><p>Haier&#x92;s Kelly said that customers like that the portables are easier to install, especially in sliding windows vs. double-hung windows.</p><p>Maintenance-wise, both portables and window-mounted air conditioners require only one real upkeep task: cleaning the filter. Most air conditioners have a permanent filter that can be washed out in a kitchen sink.</p><p>Another positive: all of these air-conditioning units are getting more energy-efficient. Many current window units are at least 25 percent more efficient than comparable options you could buy just five or six years ago, Lehrman said, and the portables are increasingly efficient as well.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">A DIFFERENT COOL </span></strong><br /> Want to eschew air conditioners altogether? Go for a pedestal fan.</p><p>Manufacturers have several new options on the market, including modern looks such as the bladeless Dyson models as well as artful throwbacks.</p><p>Consider the ball-shaped Fargo from Fanimation.</p><p>&#x93;When you look at it, you don&#x92;t even know it&#x92;s a fan,&#x94; said Bobby Wilson with Wilson Lighting in Overland Park.</p><p>Wilson said there&#x92;s no shortage of fans that can add to your home&#x92;s d&#xE9;cor. </p><p>Think fans with faux leather, wood bases, brushed brass and satin nickel.</p><p>&#x93;Casablanca makes one called the Zephair that looks like it would be sitting on the desk of some detective in an old movie,&#x94; Wilson said. &#x93;These fans are trying to capture a period in time.&#x94;</p><p>Shana Cowart, with Bed Bath & Beyond in Overland Park, says that many fans are trying to become as unobtrusive as possible.</p><p>&#x93;A lot of the units today are tower fans, so you can stick them in the corner. They&#x92;re a little friendlier that way,&#x94; she said.</p><p>As with ACs, there&#x92;s also been a march toward higher energy efficiency with fans, she added.</p><p>As for upkeep, both Wilson and Cowart said, keep the blades clean (if they have them), and they&#x92;re basically maintenance-free.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">RESOURCES </span></strong><br /> &#x95;<strong>Haier:</strong><a href="http://www.haieramerica.com/en">www.haieramerica.com/en</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Sharp: </strong><a href="http://www.sharpusa.com/ForHome/HomeEnvironment/AirConditioners.aspx">www.sharpusa.com/ForHome/HomeEnvironment/AirConditioners.aspx</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Soleus: </strong><a href="http://www.soleusair.com/soleusair/consumer.html">www.soleusair.com/soleusair/consumer.html</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>DeLonghi: </strong><a href="http://www.delonghi.com">www.delonghi.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Dyson: </strong><a href="http://www.dyson.com/fans">www.dyson.com/fans</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Fanimation: </strong><a href="http://www.fanimation.com">www.fanimation.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Casablanca: </strong><a href="http://www.casablancafanco.com">www.casablancafanco.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<strong>Wilson Lighting: </strong>10530 Marty St., Overland Park, <a href="http://www.wilsonlighting.com">www.wilsonlighting.com</a>, 913-642-1500

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