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Air conditioners are pretty cool.

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*awkward pause*

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But there’s an increasingly
popular variety of them that figuratively

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and literally sucks.

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That would be...

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these bundles of joy.

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Portable air conditioners seem to be taking
the world by storm, or at least have taken

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the air conditioner isle of the hardware store
by storm.

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But are they any good?

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Do these cold-making machines have what it
takes to usurp the traditional window unit?

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No.

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Portable air conditioners are actually kinda…

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bad.

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Now it’s not like they don’t work!

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And some of them aren’t quite as bad as
most.

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Plus, they can really come in handy.

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This one here is serving duty precisely because
the window it’s venting through isn’t

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really suited to holding a window unit in
place with any sense of confidence.

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And I know because I tried.

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Yes, this here is the symbol of my shame.

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The air conditioner that was never meant to
be.

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But luckily for you I didn’t return it because
it’s gonna be a great visual aid!

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Now, in this video I’m going to argue that
if you need an air conditioner you should

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gravitate towards these simple window units
and away from those trendy portable units

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*if you can*.

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And to find out why, we need to learn a little
bit about air conditioning.

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Air conditioners are mechanical devices which
collect and concentrate heat energy in order

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to move it from one place to another.

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The cold air they create is in fact ordinary
air that’s had its heat energy sucked right

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out of it.

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And of course, we can’t just bottle that
energy up

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(though that would be super cool if we could figure that out)

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so instead we
move it somewhere else--usually to outside air.

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And inside every air conditioner you’ll
find three essential parts that make that happen.

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This is the basis of nearly every air conditioning
and refrigeration system in service today.

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The black cylinder contains a compressor which
squeezes a gas called a refrigerant into a

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small space, decreasing its volume and increasing
the pressure it’s under.

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The high pressure gas, which has now gotten
quite hot thanks to the fact that it just

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got compressed, travels through these pipes
into the second key component; the condenser.

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The condenser is a heat exchanger designed
to cool that hot gas down as quickly as possible.

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The densely spaced fins increase its surface
area to speed up the heat transfer, and a

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fan helps to speed it along even more by blowing
air across the fins.

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Since the refrigerant is now pressurized,
its boiling point has increased.

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And in fact, its boiling point has increased
so much that once we get it down to something

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like 130 or 150 degrees, it will condense
into a liquid.

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So, as the hot gas winds its way through all
these pipes and its heat energy gets transferred

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to the air, it slowly turns into a liquid,
releasing a ton of heat energy as it does so.

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Now here’s where the magic happens.

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That liquid is being held back by a metering
device such as a thermal expansion valve,

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to keep the pressure high in the condenser
and limit the amount of liquid refrigerant

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that can pass through.

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This basic air conditioner uses a capillary
tube, a long copper tube with a very small

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internal diameter, to restrict the refrigerant
and thus limit its flow.

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But once it makes it through to the other
side, it finds itself in a second heat exchanger,

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called the evaporator.

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This one is functionally identical to the
condenser, except the pressure inside here

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is much, much lower thanks to the suction
created by the intake side of the compressor.

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Once inside here, the refrigerant can relax,
and its boiling point suddenly shoots way

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way down, like into the well-below-zero territory.

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And that means it’s gonna spontaneously
boil --or evaporate-- because, well, it’s

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too hot for it to remain a liquid.

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But to change phases back into a gas, it needs
to get energy from somewhere.

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And luckily, the fins of the evaporator help
it absorb the energy in the room, and the

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effect is that the room gets colder.

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In effect the heat energy inside the room
is being used to warm up the refrigerant as

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it evaporates.

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Thinking about this can be kinda weird because
we like to think of the evaporator as getting cold,

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which it is, but it’s getting cold
because it’s pulling heat energy out of

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the air and into the refrigerant inside of
it.

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Coldness is really just less concentrated
heat energy, and since heat likes to go towards

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cold places to spread out, it naturally finds
its way (with the help of a fan).

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After the refrigerant has absorbed as much
energy as it can, it reenters the compressor

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where the cycle starts all over again.

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Once it’s under high pressure, it will be
able to condense into a liquid again, releasing

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the energy it just absorbed to the outside
air through the condenser.

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Now, I don’t want to get too far into the
physics of how this works, nor talk about

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what makes refrigerants special and why they
have been and continue to be a notoriously

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tricky set of chemicals to manage, so all
I really need you to know for this video is

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there’s a compressor, a hot side, and a
cold side.

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If we’re cooling a room, we want the hot
side outside and the cold side inside.

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Then we can move the heat energy from inside
the room to the outside air, cooling the room.

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So, let’s take a look at where these components
are when the window unit is in operation.

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When resting in a window, the bulk of the
machine is actually outside of the space it’s cooling.

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The compressor and condenser are both outside,
and thanks to the generous amount of styrofoam

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insulation, we get a pretty good thermal barrier.

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When cooling, none of the actual air in the
room is moved outside--only the refrigerant,

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and thus the heat energy it’s absorbed,
makes it out.

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This maximises efficiency.

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If you have a central air conditioning system,
you probably have what’s called a split system.

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Here, the compressor and condenser (along
with a cooling fan) are contained in a single

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unit which sits outside, and copper refrigerant
lines are run into the building to a separate

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evaporator located in an air handler or incorporated
in a furnace.

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See?

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It’s a split system, as the evaporator and
condenser are split apart.

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These systems are highly efficient, with the
entire hot side located outside and away from

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the living space, and only a tiny hole is
required in the home’s thermal barrier to

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move the refrigerant in and out.

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Alright, and now let’s take a look at a
portable air conditioner.

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You may notice that the entire machine is
inside.

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That means not only is the cold side inside,
the hot side is inside, too.

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Well.

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That’s not great.

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We want the energy being absorbed by the evaporator
and released into the condenser to make its

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way outside somehow.

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So, what to portable air conditioners do?

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They suck in indoor air through these vents,
blow it across the condenser to cool it off,

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and then push it outside through that hose.

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That last sentence is very important.

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They pull in air through these vents,

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air that they just cooled, mind you,

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and blow it outside.

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That sounds pretty friggin stupid, just on
its face.

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Now, it’s not like it doesn’t work.

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If these didn’t work they wouldn’t be
nearly as popular as they are.

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Also!

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Two-hose portable air conditioners, which
suck in *outside* air to cool the condenser

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and then blow it back out in two separate
hoses, are available, but they are an increasingly

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rare part of the portable air conditioner
universe and the vast majority on sale are

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single-hose units just like this one.

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So, if this machine relies on drawing air
in through these vent slots to cool the condenser,

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and then has to barf the now hot air outside,
that means not only is it sacrificing some

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of the cool air it just generated, it’s
also creating a low pressure environment in

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whatever space it’s in.

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Now the air pressure outside room is greater
than the inside.

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And that means that outside air is going to
make its way in through the walls to replenish

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the air that just left.

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You can’t just expel air from a room without
it getting replaced somehow

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(otherwise you’re in a vacuum chamber and I advise you leave as soon as possible).

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And what replaces it is ultimately the hot
outside air that you’re fighting against.

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Genius!

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And thus we’re at the core of this issue.

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Single-hose portable air conditioners will
always be significantly less efficient than

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a window unit because they’re not just pulling
the heat energy out of your room.

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They’re also pulling the air out, too.

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In fact, if you go to a hardware store and
take a look at a fresh assortment of portable units,

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you’ll often find that they have
two cooling capacities listed these days.

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Why?

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Well, because newer testing methods are accounting
for the losses brought about by this hose,

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so while the unit may technically be able
to move 8,000 BTUs per hour, thanks to the

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warm air it’s drawing back in (as well as
its own cold air it’s blowing back out)

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it’s effectively only moving 6,000 BTUs
per hour.

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So, basically it’s 25% less efficient.

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But it’s actually much worse than that!

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This little 5,000 BTU window unit consumes
455 watts.

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If we take a look at this 5,500 BTU portable
unit from LG, you’ll see that it uses over

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a kilowatt!

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That’s more than double the input power
required to generate only 10% more cooling.

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A window unit that consumes that much power
can produce roughly double the cooling capacity.

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So yeah.

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Eek.

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Now I’m not here to say that these are terrible
devices and you’re a fool if you own one.

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‘Cause I’d be calling myself a fool twice
if that were the case.

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But I will say that in general, these should
be your last resort.

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If you have the option to use a traditional
window unit, take it.

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It’s much more energy efficient and it will
cost less to run.

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And yeah, I get it.

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They’re ugly.

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They block your view from the window.

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They’re not exactly attractive from the
outside either.

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But it’s not just energy efficiency that
they’re better at.

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Air conditioners are noisy.

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They’re noisy because they’re mechanical
devices, with a buzzy compressor and two droning

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fans moving air around.

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With a traditional window unit, the compressor
and one of the two fans are outside.

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Thanks to that thermal insulation, you get
a lot of sound insulation, too.

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You’ll certainly notice a difference when
the compressor is on versus when it’s not,

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but it’s often pretty subtle.

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Especially because, as is the case for many
windows units, the same motor drives the indoor

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blower fan and the condenser fan, so the only
part that cycles on and off is the compressor.

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[sound of fan running]

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[sound level increases slightly as compressor kicks in]

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And of course, split systems are even quieter

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because the loud parts are nowhere near the
living space.

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[compressor and fan switch on]

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Compare that to this thing.

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Not only is the compressor now inside the
room you’re trying to work or sleep in,

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but so is the condenser fan.

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The result is that it’s not that noisy when
it’s only running the circulator fan.

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But when its thermostat calls for cooling,
it gets way, way louder!

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Suddenly, the compressor kicks in (which again,
is inside the room) and a second fan turns

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on to expel the heat from the condenser.

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It’s a good thing the condenser fan shuts
off when it’s not actively cooling, as otherwise

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it would suck even more air out the room.

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But it means there’s a stark difference
in noise levels between not cooling.

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[a moderately quiet fan noise]

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And cooling.

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[compressor kicks in, and a second, much louder
fan spins up at the same time]

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[it's really quite dreadful]

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And if you’re trying to sleep in the same
room as one of these, you’ll have to put

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up with it going from pretty quiet to loud
as hell and back over and over again.

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This is a cheap in-house brand unit from that
place where you save big money so I wasn’t

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expecting it to be whisper quiet, but I’ve
also got a more proper unit from LG that,

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while a little more elegant in the way it
handles the transition from cooling to not

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cooling and vice versa, is still much much
louder when it’s cooling.

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[fan noise]

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[a second fan spins up]

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[compressor kicks in]

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I’m a pretty heavy sleeper, and even for

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me it can be a challenge to ignore the thing
and fall asleep.

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And another thing to consider is that while
window units steal a bigger chunk of your

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windows, they don’t steal your floor space.

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Portable units aren’t small and they can’t
sit flush against the wall thanks to the hose,

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so be prepared to re-arrange a little furniture.

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And by the way.

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That hose?

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It gets hot!

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That heat energy it just concentrated isn’t
gonna go away without a fight, and since this

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hose isn’t insulated at all, some if it
is coming right back into the room.

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Fantastic.

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But, I’ll admit.

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Portable A/C units are handy.

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Really handy.

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They don’t need proper installation like
a window unit does

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(which is quite a pain, I might add).

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They can easily be moved from room to room
thanks to the wheels they’re on

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(that’s why the call them portable).

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And they fit window types that might otherwise
be unable to accommodate an air conditioner,

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such as vertical windows or even patio doors.

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You could even run them through a small dedicated vent, if you choose.

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But sadly, their single-hose design makes
them, honestly, a terrible device when it

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comes to efficiency.

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I’d like to see more double-hose units available
for sale.

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They’re still gonna have the noise and floorspace
disadvantages, but they at least regain much

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of their efficiency back.

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Last year I tried a portable mini-split system,
with a separate outdoor compressor and condenser

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unit, and an indoor evaporator unit connected
via a flexible refrigerant hose.

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Sadly, my unit had a refrigerant leak and
stopped working after a few weeks.

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It looks like that’s a common problem, but
let me tell you it was blissful while it worked.

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Quiet, efficient, and effective.

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I’d like to see this product get more development,
but I also understand that it’s got way

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more limitations than even a window unit.

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Unless you want to get creative with some
sort of exterior wall bracketing, this is

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limited to a ground-floor room or a room with
a balcony or something similar.

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But anyway.

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If we’re gonna keep using these things,
can we please get more dual-hose units?

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I get that they’re less flexible, particularly
with vertical or narrow windows, and so are

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probably less desirable, but hopefully with
more people aware of the energy losses caused

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by continuously pushing the air out of your
home, we’ll see increased demand.

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Still, if you’re looking for an air conditioner
in a situation where a window unit could work--you’re

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seriously better off going with the window
unit.

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Contrary to what you might think, portable
units are certainly not an upgrade.

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Other than their portableness.

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That’s, that’s pretty cool.

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Thanks for watching, and I hope you found
this video to be as cool as a correctly charged

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air conditioning system.

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I do want to explore air conditioning a little
more because I find it fascinating.

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The way that we exploit the physical properties
of certain gasses to make heat energy move

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where we want it to go is kinda mind-blowing.

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Oh, and by the way, not all refrigerants are
crazy complex chemicals.

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Some small refrigerators and air conditioners
are starting to be charged with propane.

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Propane, also known as R290, is becoming an
increasingly common refrigerant thanks to

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its abundance and relative environmental harmlessness.

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Unfortunately it’s also flammable which
makes servicing these a little tricky, and

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makes it unsuitable for larger units which
need a lot of refrigerant.

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But especially for small, cheap units like
these things that are likely to simply be

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disposed of when they die rather than actually
serviced,

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it’s a great opportunity to use it.

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This machine, though, while it is charged
with a flammable refrigerant, uses difluoromethane,

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or R32.

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00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,810
Of course, thanks to everyone who supports
the channel on Patreon, with a special thanks

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00:15:04,810 --> 00:15:07,509
to the fine folks you see scrolling up your
screen.

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00:15:07,509 --> 00:15:11,630
If you’d like to join these people in supporting
the channel, there’s now a new perk!

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00:15:11,630 --> 00:15:16,089
All patrons have access to the patreon-only
Technology Connections Discord server.

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00:15:16,089 --> 00:15:20,189
So, if Discord’s your jam, you can join
these other folks by linking your Discord

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00:15:20,189 --> 00:15:22,269
account to your Patreon account.

266
00:15:22,269 --> 00:15:27,410
And as always, early video access, occasional
(very occasional) behind-the-scenes videos,

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00:15:27,410 --> 00:15:31,029
and other patreon-only stuff is available
to you as well.

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00:15:31,029 --> 00:15:33,420
Thanks for your consideration, and I’ll
see you next time!

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00:15:34,420 --> 00:15:36,620
♫ icy smooth jazz ♫

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00:15:38,580 --> 00:15:41,680
...the cold air they create is in fact ordinary
air, eh.

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00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,680
Eugh, eugh blaugh ugh.

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00:15:44,300 --> 00:15:46,980
I’m--this tone is all wrong.

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OK…

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00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,280
maybe move at like a pace that makes
sense.

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00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:57,380
Yeah, that’s written wrong.

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00:15:58,040 --> 00:15:59,440
Well, that’s fine.

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00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,200
And now I will record that line as written!

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00:16:02,660 --> 00:16:06,400
Or at least have taken the hardware isle of
the air condition… the hardware!

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00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:08,840
Arghh… nope.

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00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:10,300
Air conditioners are nois…

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00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,520
I should move this again.

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00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,360
Coldness is really just less concentrated
heat energy, and sint he…

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00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:19,000
Augh!

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00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:19,500
Sint.

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00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:20,000
Since heat!

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00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:20,500
SINCE heat!

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00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:21,180
It’s a wo...the Since!

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00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:21,940
Since is the word.

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00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:22,740
Since.