How
Portable Air Conditioners Work
Air conditioners employ the same operating
principles and basic components as your home refrigerator. An air conditioner
cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the evaporator. The condenser, a
hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat outside. The evaporator and
condenser coils are serpentine tubing surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing
is usually made of copper. A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer
fluid (or refrigerant) between the evaporator and the condenser. The pump forces
the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the coils. The liquid
refrigerant evaporates in the indoor evaporator coil, pulling heat out of indoor
air and thereby cooling the home. The hot refrigerant gas is pumped outdoors
into the condenser where it reverts back to a liquid giving up its heat to the
air flowing over the condenser's metal tubing and fins.
Sizing
Air Conditioners
Air conditioners are rated by the number
of British Thermal Units (Btu) of heat they can remove per hour. Another common
rating term for air conditioning size is the "ton," which is 12,000
Btu per hour.
How big should your air conditioner be?
The size of an air conditioner depends many factors such as how much shade you
receive, how much insulation is in your home's ceiling and walls and size of the
room to be cooled.
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Air
Conditioner Efficiency
Each air conditioner has an
energy-efficiency rating that lists how many Btu per hour are removed for each
watt of power it draws. For room air conditioners, this efficiency rating is the
Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER. For central air conditioners, it is the
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER. These ratings are posted on an Energy
Guide Label, which must be conspicuously attached to all new air conditioners.
Many air conditioner manufacturers are participants in the voluntary EnergyStar®
labeling program (see Source List in this publication). EnergyStar-labeled
appliances mean that they have high EER and SEER ratings.
In general, new air conditioners with
higher EER or SEERs sport higher price tags. However, the higher initial cost
of an energy-efficient model will be repaid to you several times during its life
span. Your utility company may encourage the purchase of a more efficient air
conditioner by rebating some or all of the price difference. Buy the most
efficient air conditioner you can afford, especially if you use (or think you
will use) an air conditioner frequently and/or if your electricity rates are
high.
Room
Air Conditioners—EER
Room air conditioners generally range from
5,500 Btu per hour to 14,000 Btu per hour. National appliance standards require
room air conditioners built after January 1, 1990, to have an EER of 8.0 or
greater. Select a room air conditioner with an EER of at least 9.0 if you live
in a mild climate. If you live in a hot climate, select one with an EER over 10.
The Association of Home Appliance
Manufacturers reports that the average EER of room air conditioners rose 47%
from 1972 to 1991. If you own a 1970s-vintage room air conditioner with an EER
of 5 and you replace it with a new one with an EER of 10, you will cut your air
conditioning energy costs in half.
For Additional Information on Portable Air Conditioners:
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