I don't think portable ACs are the best way to go. Those are the least efficient in every way. Also summer when it's already hot is probably not the best time to install an AC. I'd check some price diagrams which part of the year is when prices drop. I'd expect in the fall when you need to heat your house instead of cooling it or spring when it's not hot yet and people don't think ahead of the summer heat might be less demand and somewhat lower prices, but that's just a guess.

Also with the inflation we have now, sooner is better, so if you can, install it this fall instead of next summer.

I am thinking of getting One of these Noctua Floor Fans, Build a PC with lots of Noctua fans and paint scheme, Get a Window AC Conditioner Unit with Noctua Paint Scheme and Maybe an Room AC Conditioner unit with Noctua paint scheme.

Since I collect mostly notebooks and keep all of my collection inside a closet, my "computing area" is a clean desk. So I don't need any special AC solution.

I keep my room temperature at +24C (+76F) level and I use a central AC. I have also a portable AC but I use it only as a backup in case the main AC will fail. I do not recommend buying it because it is good only for a very small room, have a quite fragile hot air outtake tube and needs some adjustments that make its usage very inconvenient (you need to make a whole in a window and to put it on some level above floor surface since it produces plenty of water that needs to go somewhere). If you ask, which type of AC to buy, I'll say - split type AC. They are the best choice from all points of view.

I just have extremely weak central AC and an old Marvin remote-controlled fan with incredibly brittle plastic. I only saw that model of fan at Ace Hardware for one summer, and the website on the fan's box was already offline when the fan was new.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-09-03, 08:35:

I am thinking of getting One of these Noctua Floor Fans

That's just one of those horrible Lasko fans (the ones that make a ton of noise and don't move any air) painted brown. It's a LinusTechTips joke.

I have central AC in my house for the summer, and natural gas furnace for the winter. I usually keep the house at 72F year around.

I have central AC. I like it relatively cool, so I usually keep it set to 21-22C (70-72F) max in the summer, and the furnace set to 18C (64F) in the winter.

Thanks everyone!
@ThinkpadIL - I like the idea of being able to roll a portable air con from my office to the bedroom as needed. Are they really that bad, even the new ones? The split systems look very nice, but so expensive!

Does anyone here use the U-shape window ACs, like Midea?

65C02 wrote on 2022-09-04, 02:59:

Thanks everyone!
@ThinkpadIL - I like the idea of being able to roll a portable air con from my office to the bedroom as needed. Are they really that bad, even the new ones? The split systems look very nice, but so expensive!

Does anyone here use the U-shape window ACs, like Midea?

The better portable units use 2 hoses, those are both more effective and more efficient, but are not common anymore, AFAIU. This explains it succintly and is corroborated elsewhere https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/g … contentId=37271 . Also, wheeling a unit from room to room might be practical, but remember that you would need to either move the window attachment plate the exhaust hose attaches to, or source multiple such plates.

EDIT: I bought a brand new portable 8000 BTU single hose unit a few years back (less than 5 years ago) and sold it within a few weeks. It barely cooled a room. The 8000 BTU window mounted unit I bought after handles my entire apartment (but barely). I could not get a more powerful unit due to building rules about power usage. The more efficient u-shaped units will likely allow me more leeway next time . If you want more info about portable AC unit ratings, google "SACC" ratings.

Split units are nice and quiet, but the "mini" and easily portable versions of these that I have read reviews for appeared to not be all the durable. Things may have changed since then. Prices are high too, as you say.

I have read very good things about those Midea U-shipped units in terms of low noise and energy efficiency. The 8 bit guy has one and seems to like it, AFAICR. As you say, there are other companies with similar looking designs similar noise and efficiency claims. They are more expensive than old style window unit, but will probably among my considerations when changing my AC in the future.

65C02 wrote on 2022-09-04, 02:59:

Thanks everyone!
@ThinkpadIL - I like the idea of being able to roll a portable air con from my office to the bedroom as needed. Are they really that bad, even the new ones? The split systems look very nice, but so expensive!

Does anyone here use the U-shape window ACs, like Midea?

Those portable AC are good only in theory. In practice they are good only for a very small room, they are loud, heavy to move, need a hole in a window, can't keep a needed temperature, produce a lot of water that needs to go somewhere so they need a pedestal as a monument, have a fragile outtake tube and cost not too much less than a split ones. Believe me, if you'll buy a portable AC, soon you'll buy a split one cause they are so much better, and actually are not so expensive. Expensive ones are those central AC units.

darry wrote on 2022-09-04, 03:40:

Split units are nice and quiet, but the "mini" and easily portable versions of these that I have read reviews for appeared to not be all the durable. Things may have changed since then. Prices are high too, as you say.

I had one many years ago. It was almost the same price as a regular split one and it wasn't portable at all, even not luggable. It had an outside unit (quite heave one) that needed to be attached somehow outside, it had a not so much flexible tube of fixed length and a big inside unit, though with a remote control. The weak side of them, besides not being portable at all, is that they were rare even when they were still new, and consequently their spare parts were rare too. So if something fails, it will be almost impossible to fix it.

From my experience it is much better to buy two regular split ones instead of buying a portable noisy headache.

The original 1978 section of our house is cooled by a 3.5 ton Daikin heat pump. The newer 2001 section has a 1.5 ton cooling-only Trane. Both units are hooked into gas furnaces.

We keep the 1978 section cooled to 21.5 C all day and night. On a really hot day, the heat pump will generally run at 60-80% compressor speed for around 16 hours a day (these usage stats can be tracked by the thermostat). In the newer section, the little Trane only runs ~6 hours per day to maintain the same temperature. However, it's a smaller area to cool, the single-speed compressor runs at full speed whenever it's on, and, since we don't sleep there, I usually turn the thermostat up to 27 at night.

With these usage patterns, a hot July typically costs an additional $200 CAD worth of electricity (compared to December-February, when the heat pump doesn't run at all & the gas furnaces do all of the heavy lifting).

65C02 wrote on 2022-09-04, 02:59:

I like the idea of being able to roll a portable air con from my office to the bedroom as needed. Are they really that bad, even the new ones? The split systems look very nice, but so expensive!

If your two rooms are in close proximity to each other, you might want to look into a dual-head mini split. A single outdoor condenser hooks up to two blower "heads" inside; one for each room. Pricey, probably, but as others have noted, it would be a far more efficient & comfortable solution than trying to get a portable to do double duty.

Solar powered heat pump

Again, thank you all for the helpful information. I'm convinced now that I should stay away from the portable ACs.
I will order a U-shaped window AC for my bedroom this summer. If it does a good job, I will buy a second one for my office next year. The split system and dual head sounds really nice, but just too expensive for me right now.

Insignia and Danby make much cheaper U-shaped ACs. I wonder if they contain the same parts as Midea? They all have the same control panel!! 🤣

65C02 wrote on 2022-09-05, 06:35:

Insignia and Danby make much cheaper U-shaped ACs. I wonder if they contain the same parts as Midea? They all have the same control panel!! 🤣

That is possible, but they may just be based on a common platform while still having differing performance characteristics.

I would compare specs, especially power usage (efficiency), noise level and moisture extraction ability in addition to BTU . Warranty length might also be a consideration.

I bought the Insignia U shaped AC because it's half the price of a Midea one. The guy at Best Buy said that it's made by Midea, but is cheaper because it doesn't have wifi.
I installed it today. It has been on for about 1 hour. My bedroom is at 77F now (82 before) so, this is very good. I hope my next hydro bill isn't $200! 🤣

Grab some panels and a grid tie inverter to offset the load 😀

65C02 wrote on 2022-09-07, 01:05:

I bought the Insignia U shaped AC because it's half the price of a Midea one. The guy at Best Buy said that it's made by Midea, but is cheaper because it doesn't have wifi.
I installed it today. It has been on for about 1 hour. My bedroom is at 77F now (82 before) so, this is very good. I hope my next hydro bill isn't $200! 🤣

For 20 to 30-ish CAN$ you can get a power meter and measure actual power consumption when unit is running at full load (compressor and fan(s) ). That should let you calculate what the worst case scenario for added cost might be. Or you could trust the spec sheet for the unit's power draw.

For reference, when I measured the consumption of my 8000 BTU window unit, the official specs matched very closely (actual draw was ever so slightly lower, probably within reasonable margin of error).

If you do get a power meter, make sure it takes into account power factor ( AFAIK, even the cheap ones do), this is important to measure actual power draw rather than apparent (calculating V*I is only meaningful on purely resistive or power factor corrected loads like moderns PC PSUs with PFC).

This is based on my understanding and experience, anyone please feel free to correct me if needed.

With humidity 8-20% swamp (evaporative) cooler is the best option in the Summer.

CwF wrote on 2022-09-07, 15:56:

With humidity 8-20% swamp (evaporative) cooler is the best option in the Summer.

I wish that applied to where I live . Unfortunately, it gets quite humid in addition to being rather hot here. What is even more unfortunate is that local stores here carry swamp coolers. And what is most unfortunate is that online scamvertizers try to targetedly push cheaply built swamp coolers to locals (along the lines of "This air conditioner alternative is taking $city.where.you.live by storm...") at inflated prices and pushy sales tactics . I know someone who fell for one of these .

It is fascinating to realize how long ago (millennia ago) swamp coolers started being used .