Cool? The cooling performance achieved by these portable air conditioners is quite limited. Only consider buying one if a built-in type isn't an option for you. (Portable air conditioners).(Product/Service Evaluation)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Australian Consumers' Association

IN A NUTSHELL

* A built-in air conditioner with similar capacity is likely to cool your room better.

* If built-in isn't an option, the top three models in our test will give you noticeable relief from heat and humidity.

* The bottom two in our table (page 36) are only suitable as a personal cooler, not to cool a whole room.

Portable air conditioners may look similar to evaporative coolers, but they use the same heat-exchange principle as built-in air conditioners. So they can cool and dehumidify air.

As they're not built-in, you can move them from room to room--for example, use them in your living room during the day, and in your bedroom at night. However, setting them up isn't all that easy, and neither is moving them around, especially up and down stairs.

The tested models plug into a normal power point. They're claimed to have around 2.5 kW of cooling capacity, which should be enough for a bedroom or small living room, but our tests show you can't compare their cooling capacity with that of built-in air conditioners.

The reason? Single-unit models such as those tested have all the bits and pieces in one box, similar to air conditioners you fix to a wall or in a window. However, the big difference is that with portable models the heat exchange occurs inside the unit, and therefore inside your room. Hot air needs to be vented to the outside via a relatively large flexible duct guided through a partly open window, and is replaced by air from the outside and/or adjacent rooms.

This isn't very efficient (in fact, the BLUEWAY and DIMPLEX aren't marketed to cool a whole room, but as a personal or spot cooler), and--together with the relatively bulky units--doesn't look very pretty.

The coolers' design also means all the noisy bits are indoors, which is great for your neighbours but not so good for you. All the tested models are likely to affect conversation or normal TV sound, even when running on low fan speed. And if it's hot outside, our tests show they're likely to run constantly.

Some of the humidity removed from the air condenses inside the portable air conditioner, and (in most models; see note 6, page 37) is collected in a tank you need to empty regularly. Otherwise the cooler will switch off to prevent water...

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