Air Conditioners Tips

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There I was, the hottest day of the summer and my central AC failed. Soonest repair was 2 days away, and outside temperature was approaching 105 degrees. I decided to buy a room AC unit and hole up in one room till I could get repaired. It would have been simple except that all my opening windows slide horizontally, so a standard window ac would not work. The only choice seemed to be a “portable” in-room unit that offered a vent that could be mounted vertically in a sliding window. I went on line to do research, although I knew I would have to buy locally that day. If you’re thinking about one of these in-room portables, keep the following in mind:

(1) you’ll pay more than twice as much per BTU compared to a window unit, and you’ll need almost twice the BTU’s to get the same cooling (so says Consumers Reports for single hose models)

(2) you’ll get lower operating efficiency than a window unit

(3) you’ll lose quite a bit of room space

(4) flexibility of mounting options varies widely: maximum vent panel lengths vary from 46″ to over 6′ (for mounting in a sliding door). And if your window edges are deep set so they have a lot of overlap, the standard mounting kits may not fit properly and may have to be shimmed.

(5) Most local stores stock only one model. Online there’s a huge variety, but these units are heavy and shipping is costly. Some on line sites have local pickup and/or return (e.g. Circuit City, Costco, Target).

While there’s a huge variety of models on line, the local stores in my area all seemed to offer only 10,000 btu single hose models all around $400.

Single or dual hose models

All units have at least one vent which blows the heat extracted from interior air to the outdoors. Single hose models draw exhaust air from the room. That air must be replaced by air entering the room elsewhere, so if you’re room is tightly sealed, you’re machine will strain to suck the air out and will lose efficiency. Of course, if you open a window to equalize the pressure and the incoming air is hot you’ve also ruined your cooling efficiency. So, dual hose units that have a separate second hose as an intake are becoming more popular as they claim greater efficiency. Also, some dual hose units have enough flow through to exhaust moisture so you don’t have to empty periodically a moisture collection reservoir.

Choices in my local market

For immediate purchase in my local market I found the following choices: all were 10,000 btu and single hose except where noted

(1) a Delonghi unit at Lowe’s for $400 (dual hose)

(2) an Everstar at Home Depot (12,000 btu )(sold out)

(3) an Amcor at Circuit City ($400 with $85 rebate)

(4) this Whirlpool ACP102PS at Best Buy

My local Target and WalMart offered no choices in stock, only online.

I first purchased the Delonghi at Lowe’s despite the carton showing some damage. Once home I could see the factory packaging was woefully inadequate for the weight of the unit, and I had noticed that all the units on the shelf showed failed packaging. But I wanted “dual hose efficiency” so I took the risk. Soon I found an essential part was missing so I returned the unit untried. I decided that any manufacturer who can’t bother with proper packaging (or more than a truly pathetic user manual) is too risky for me.

I then went to Home Depot for the higher capacity Everstar, but only a really beat up floor model was available. I was disappointed not to find any Soleus units which are on Home Depot’s website since their descriptions and specs looked very promising.

At Circuit City I bought an Amcor PCMB 10000EH and took it home and set it up in a bedroom, then also bought a Whirlpool at Best Buy for the larger family room. While this review is about the Whirlpool, the differences between the two units helped form some of my impressions about the Whirlpool.

Is low efficiency really a problem?

The Whirlpool’s efficiency rating (EER) is shamefully low: 7.4 when compared to window units that go as high as 12.0. Every increase of 0.1 means you use 1% less electricity, so the Everstar at 9.4 would use almost 20% less juice per BTU. Since the Whirlpool uses 700 watts for steady state cooling, at $0.30 per kilowatt hour (high California rate) , it would cost $5.04 to run for 24 hours. So other units might only cost $4 for the same use. If you use a unit only occasionally as I do, the difference doesn’t add up to much–maybe $20 or so per year. If you’re going to run a unit all summer, by all means get a more efficient window unit.

Even so, my Whirlpool cooled very well, especially compared to my Amcor with the same capacity rating. I’m happy to pay more for the additional comfort. For intense use, I would certainly cover the exhaust hose with insulation as it radiates a lot of heat into the room on its way out the window. I suspect this would increase cooling substantially.

As big as a stove

The Whirlpool has a long hose mounting bracket that forces the exhaust to travel vertically almost a foot before the hose can bend to be directed through the window bracket. As a result, the front of the machine is going to be between 4 and 5 feet out from the window. Reminds me of the positioning required for a wood stove. The Amcor’s hose can bend directly out of the back of the machine and so it can sit a foot closer to the wall.

Whirlpool’s strong points

Though it may have nothing to do with the machine. the Whirlpool’s sturdy packaging is impressive and inspires confidence that the manufacturer is serious about quality. The unit itself is solid especially compared to the Delonghi with the Amcor in the middle.

The Whirlpool moves a lot of air through a center top vent that distributes air evenly. You feel the cooling over a large area. By comparison, the Amcor’s airflow was feeble and directed left of center.

The Whirlpool owner manual is at least sufficient which is much more than you can take for granted with these imported machines.

The Whirlpool is loud but its noise is soft, like white noise, with little humming or buzzing. It would make listening to audio difficult but is otherwise comparatively soothing.

Above all, the Whirlpool cools well, and can be improved by insulating the exhaust hose.

Buying advice

If in your area you don’t find a wider selection of units than I did, consider ordering online from a site that offers return at a local store. These units are heavy and you will face hefty freight charges, but you may find more attractive designs–for example, some of the dual hose Soleus models at Home Depot’s website. If you want to buy immediately out of local stock, you’re quite likely to find this Whirlpool is your best choice.

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Tags: Amcor, DeLonghi, EMI, Pace, Soleus, Whirlpool

Filed under: Air Conditioner Reviews