If you live in an apartment or rented home and need a new air conditioning system, of course you'll need something portable that you can take with you when your lease is up or you move again. While you may be aware of your choices for window units, units on wheels, and the like, you may not know all their pros and cons. Consider a few here so you can make the right choice for your air conditioning unit.
1. Window units
Believe it or not, window air conditioning units are very energy efficient since they aren't cooling anything more than a small space in front of them. This allows you to cool your bedroom, and only your bedroom, during summer nights, or cool just the living room in the evening without wasting energy cooling your home. One major disadvantage is that you need to find a unit that works with your window size and with how the window closes. As an example, many window air conditioners are meant to have the window itself sit on top of the unit to keep it in place, but windows that open at the side, in or out of the home, rather than sliding up and down, may not work with these models. If you move often, one unit might not work for every type of window in every new home.
2. Portable units
A portable unit sits on the floor so it doesn't block your view out the window, but note that it does have a back vent that needs to sit in a windowsill in order to vent warm air outside. This can be very unsightly and makes them the wrong choice for a basement or other room without an accessible window. Portable units are also not very energy efficient and are typically more expensive than a window unit. One advantage to these units is that some have an actual thermostat you can set so it runs automatically, unlike many basic window units which you must turn on and off manually.
3. Evaporative coolers
Evaporative coolers are like large fans that work to cool hot, dry air by adding humidity to the space while the fan works. These are often called swamp coolers because of adding this moisture. These can be very good for desert areas or anyplace where there is dry heat, but not the best choice for tropical environments. They are fully portable, just like regular floor fans, but need to be filled with water regularly in order to operate. They may tend to leak and be messier than other types of air conditioning alternatives.
