Lifestyle

The Types and Benefits of Portable Air Coolers

While a lot of people enjoy the hot summer days, it can still get stuffy when you’re at home, especially at night. If you’re wondering how to stay cool at night, a good solution to this is a portable air cooler. They don’t take up a lot of space and come with a whole set of advantages.

Here, you can find out about the different types of installation-free coolers and what benefits they bring.

Why Choose an Installation-Free Cooler

  • They are portable. This makes it easy to carry them between rooms inside and also take them outdoors to picnics, tours, and camping.
  • Don’t require installation. Imagine if you had to call a technician to install an air cooler for you. Or even if you had to drill holes or screws in your wall to install it. That would mean more expenses and time. Hand-held or standalone equipment cuts that cost.
  • Cheaper than traditional AC. The price of a good, long-lasting portable cooler ranges from $100-$200. This is an affordable price by most standards. On the other hand, traditional AC ranges from $3,000-$10,000 including installation.
  • Cost-efficient. Some people may have big houses of which only a few rooms are in use. Others may have a small house just for 1 or 2 people. For others, summer is short-lived. In all these scenarios, you don’t need an expensive AC unit.
  • Because of strict landlords. Most landlords might not want their tenants to temper with their walls. Since a lot of people are renting and are under a contract, their options are limited to portable air coolers.
  • Portable coolers are eco friendly. Since most portable coolers use less energy, they pause minimal danger to the environment.

One of the best portable air coolers is an evaporator, but there are also portable air conditioners and electric fans.

Strong Points of Electric Fans

They are small in size. The smallest are desktop and hand-held fans. Box fans are middle-sized but there are slimmer options, which makes them smaller in depth, for instance, 20.75x20x4.5 inches.

Good prices. If you are the fancy-loving type, you might need to pay a little extra. But if you want a basic electric fan, then you’ll find one for cheap. Also, extra features like ionizer or timer, big-brand name, and materials used can alter the price.

Can be hacked with tricks. For instance, if you need your electric fan to actually blow cool air, put a container of chilled down water or ice-cubes before it. However, extra care is needed when handling water near electric appliances.

Strong Points Portable AC Units

They effectively cool a room. A portable AC should effectively cool a room measuring 12 to 50m2. Given the refrigerant, it is able to cool the room according to the temperature you set.

They are quite mobile. Portable ACs usually weigh approximately 60 pounds with an average size of 17x31x16 inches. Additionally, they have wheels which makes it possible to move it around, if not carry.

Effective in high humidity places. They exhaust hot air and moisture from an indoor space. Therefore, if you live in very hot and humid areas, AC on wheels is a good fit.

Easy to clean and maintain. Compared to wall-mounted ACs, portable ones are easy to clean as filters are more accessible in such units. You need to clean the filter with soap and warm water. The filter collects dirt and other earth particles that affect the produced cool air. It is advisable to clean the filter at least twice a month.

Strong Sides of Evaporative Coolers

Energy-efficient. Evaporative coolers don’t waste energy and consume, on average, just a tenth of the energy needed for traditional or wall-mounted air conditioners. It needs just enough energy to move the fan which evaporates moisture from wet pads. Therefore, swamp coolers are a great way to save on energy bills.

Are effective at cooling air temperature. Unlike electric fans which don’t actually cool air, swamp coolers do. Wind from the spinning fan evaporates water from wet pads hence causing a comfortable drop in temperature. It’s a simple physical process that doesn’t force you to sit in front of an artificial wind or wrap into wet sheets all day.

They are safe. Swamp coolers are safe for humans and the environment. They don’t use any dangerous substances to cool the temperature.

Easy to clean. Mostly, you’ll have to clean the water reservoir and pads. As for filters, you will also need to clean and replace them often. You need to use water, soap and a brush to clean extra filters and pads. However, endeavor to follow the manufacturer’s advice regarding how often you should clean and replace the filters and pads.

They humidify the air. A swamp cooler helps keep the room humidity within normal ranges of 30% to 50%. If the air in a room is dry, it leads to dehydration symptoms. They are itchy eyes, constant feeling of thirst, and dry skin, among others. Also, severe dehydration leads to heatstroke and respiratory diseases. A swamp cooler will help humidify room air and lower the risk of dehydration.

Can be placed anywhere. If you have a swamp cooler with an in-built battery,  then it can work anywhere. It means you are not limited by a power supply or window. While portable AC units need to be placed near a window to allow in the fresh air, swamp coolers don’t need that. You can even move with them to anywhere you are going, say outdoors.

You don’t need to use tricks. You don’t need to apply any tricks to improve its effectiveness. Unlike electric fans where you use ice cubes and cold water placed in front of it to receive a cold breeze, swamp coolers don’t need that.

Final Word

Portable air coolers are a great solution for the modern lifestyle where we value mobility. They consume less power and are easy to just get out of the box, plugin, and start using. Also, if you are on a budget, you can still find one that fits in your small budget.

There is no reason you should lose sleep at night due to heat. And you know what’s more? Even picnics and any outdoor activity can also receive a cool breeze with an evaporative cooler.

About the author

Editorial Staff

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment