A portable air conditioner is a self-contained unit that sits on the floor of the space that needs to be cooled. It provides cooling similar to a window air conditioner.

Setting up a portable air conditioner is simple. All portable air conditioners exhaust hot air during the process of cooling. Hot air is pushed out of the space being cooled through an air discharge hose. The hose is vented out to an adjoining room or out of a window.

During the process of cooling, portable air conditioners remove water from the air. This condensed water needs disposal. There are different models of portable air conditioners which dispose of water in different ways. In the case of simple units, water is allowed to collect in a bucket which needs to be emptied once in 8 hours or even once in 3 days depending upon the use and the surrounding environment.

Portable air conditioners with more advanced designs evaporate the majority of the water into their hot air discharge itself. No condensed water or a very little amount of it is therefore required to be discharged. Condensate pumps are also available to drain water through a hose that can be directed to a drain point.
Portable air conditioners operate on household 115 volt power and require no special wiring or outlets.

ortable air conditioners don’t use more energy, but care should be taken not to overload the single circuit with devices like refrigerators or dehumidifiers. Energy consumption varies depending on the capacity rating of portable air conditioner and environmental conditions of the surroundings.