Stay Cool With a Portable Air Conditioner

I work from home in a tiny office up on the second floor. Since I'm the kind of person who can't be productive unless I'm physically comfortable, I need to have the room heated or cooled to a tolerable temperature throughout the day. But it seemed like such a waste to turn the central heating and cooling system on when I was the only one at home. After all, I just occupy a 10x12 room and don't need the entire house to be comfortable. So I decided to buy a portable air conditioner for the summer months to go along with the space heater I use in winter.

A portable air conditioner is much easier and more convenient to use than a window unit, which is why I decided to buy it in the first place. The most obvious advantage is the unit's portability. It easily rolls from room to room, so I can bring it downstairs when I watch TV or put it by the kitchen when I'm cooking. And of course a portable air conditioner doesn't need to be mounted into a window, meaning there's no installation to worry about. I just bought the thing, brought it home, and had it running within minutes.

Another reason I like my portable air conditioner so much is that it's energy efficient. As I mentioned before, this type of unit gives me far more control over things than a traditional centralized system, and will dramatically lower my cooling bills during the long, hot summers. The portable air conditioner I chose has a cooling capacity of 8,000 BTU, which is enough power to get my small office space feeling fresh and cool very quickly. The unit also has a couple of different settings, so once the room reaches a decent temperature, I can make adjustments to lower the output and reduce energy use even further.

One issue that I read a lot about prior to buying a portable air conditioner was noise. Some people complained that their units were a bit noisier than they expected, and were almost as loud as window-mounted models. So while I shopped for mine, I made sure to check the noise rating and read consumer reviews before making a purchase. I ended up getting a model that's fairly good in this respect. I wouldn't exactly call it quiet, but the noise isn't so loud as to be disturbing or distracting in any way.

On the whole, I have to say that I love my portable air conditioner! It keeps me cool all day long, reduces my energy bills, and makes it possible for me to work comfortably from home even on the hottest summer days. If your situation is anything like mine, where only one or two people stay home and you feel that cooling the entire house would be a waste, then I recommend checking out these units.