An Intro to Portable Air Conditioner Installation

Portable Air Conditioners — By Jonathan on February 23, 2010 at 6:54 am

Installing an air conditioner, a portable unit at least, does not require the services of a professional. You can easily install your own portable air conditioning unit, following a few helpful tips. First however, it may be important to understand the reasons that you should opt for a portable air conditioner.

Benefits of Portable Air Conditioning Units

There is minimal installation effort required. This is the main advantage of using portable air conditioning. You do not have to have a professional to install the unit. Additionally, if you need the unit in another room, it can easily be moved throughout your home.
Portable air conditioners are, well – portable. Many include rollers that help you to easily transfer them from one room to another so you always have cool air in the room where you need it most.
Increased Functionality. Although the main reason people purchase portable air conditioning units is for the cooling effect, they do have other functions as well. They provide dehumidification throughout the room in which they are installed. Newer units may even have heaters and air purifiers built in.
Affordability and Energy Efficiency. Portable air conditioners are much more affordable than larger, more complicated units. In addition, since these units are smaller they are much more economical and can help you to save energy as opposed to having a larger unit installed.

Installing a Portable Air Conditioning Unit

Installing your portable air conditioner will not be difficult, but there are a few crucial steps that you should keep in mind. First, it is vital that you check the size of your window before you begin installation to ensure that it is neither too large nor too small for your air conditioning unit. Most portable air conditioners today work well with virtually all window sizes, but be sure to do a quick measurement just in case.

If the window where your air conditioner will be installed has a lip on the frame, find a small strip of wood to lip under the air conditioner. This will help to ensure the stability of your unit.

You will need to position the air conditioner in your window so that the unit lip reaches the very edge of the window. You can then close your window as far as possible to ensure that the unit and window edge are fitting tightly together.

To properly position the portable air conditioner, you can open the panels on the side of the unit so that they are touching the side of each wall. You may have to position the unit again to ensure that you have it centered. When you have the unit completely centered you can attach the side panels to your window frame with the screws that were include with the unit. Once you have it connected to your walls, be sure that you insert a foam strip into those areas that are showing light. You want to be certain that you are not allowing outside air in through cracks between your window frame and your air conditioner.

Once you have your unit completely secured, screwed into your wall and have placed foam strips around where needed, you can then plug in the unit to the nearest wall outlet. Be certain that the air conditioner is turned off before you insert the power plug into the outlet to minimize the risk of damage to the unit as well as injury to yourself.