Portable air conditioners are another cooling choice, possibly offering an auto evaporation function.
Portable Air-Conditioner Features
A portable air conditioner resembles a small space heater. These air conditioners function the same way as the larger window types. Surrounding hot air enters the air conditioner. The machine's components effectively remove humidity, or moisture, from the air and cool the air for release into the room. Hot air is exhausted through a vent, typically positioned near a window.
Auto Evaporation
Auto evaporation is also referred to as self-evaporation. Portable air conditioners with this feature effectively recycle the air's residual moisture, negating the need to remove the moisture through the use of a bucket or a drainage hose. Moisture taken from the air moves across the air conditioner's internal coils, ultimately cooling them. Any leftover moisture vents through the exhaust for evaporation.
Benefits
Removing the moisture through the auto evaporation feature increases the air conditioner's efficiency. As a result, the air conditioner uses less energy since the coils are being mainly cooled by the recycled moisture. A room will also cool faster using this feature because of the extra cooling help from the moisture.
Disadvantages
A major drawback to the auto evaporation function is using the machine in extreme humidity. The air conditioner cannot evaporate all the air's moisture if the humidity is high. As a result, the air-conditioner's water tank will store the excess moisture that remains after the auto evaporation feature terminates its operation. The air conditioner's sensors will shut down the machine once the moisture fills the tank to capacity. A user must empty this water tank for the portable air conditioner to function again.
Sizing
Portable air conditioners come in a variety of sizes for cooling different sized rooms. Larger portable air conditioners will have bigger coil assemblies. As a result, the air conditioner will be able to recycle more air moisture than a smaller, portable air conditioner. According to Consumer Search, portable air conditioners do not cool the room as effectively as a comparable window machine. Purchasing a larger portable air conditioner for a small room will help cool the area better than a smaller unit.
Purchasing
Before purchasing a portable air conditioner, verify that the unit has an auto evaporation function, along with a storage water tank. Many units do not have this feature or provide a backup storage tank for high humidity. Every manufacturer produces a different air-conditioning design, compelling the consumer to confirm all the needed features before purchasing.