ac units

[chinnychinchinchilla]

before i get a chinchilla im making sure i have everything i need. ive been looking around and i cant find any affordable portable ac units. my parents have a very good one in their room that has a hose they hook to the window and cools their room very fast but i cant find it. they said they got it for free but i dont know where. its a maytag. what are the average prices of portable ac's? which ones would you reconment? thanks a bunch.

 

[RDZCRanch]

portable a/c units run $300 and up for brand new ones. You can find some on craigslist for cheaper prices, usually $150 or less.

Window a/c units are cheaper and can also be found for good prices on craigslist.

 

[StevieP]

Home improvement stores sell them, I think Walmart and Target has them too,
I have one from Home Deopt that is $300 and has a single hose that blows hot air out of the window. I have had this for 2 summers now. It keeps my room at 68 during the day and 64 at night. It can only do this when the central ac is set to 73.
This summer I got one from Lowe's that was $400 for the chins playroom and it is a 'dual hose' unit. This baby can cool the room from 75 to 61 degrees in an hour.

The dual hose units are much more energy efficient and cool better because they use outside air to cool the unit instead of using inside air. Single hose models take air from the room that is being cooled and blows it out the window after is uses it to cool off the coils and compressor. This creates a vacuum in the room and warmer air from the house is pulled into the room under the door. If you just want to cool the room by 5 degrees and don't care about your electric bill the single hose ones are fine.

In all honesty, if you don't mind the look of window units they are 1/2 the price and are usually more energy efficient. I had to get the portable ones because someone thinks window units are ugly..

 

[caiti]

I wanted a portable AC unit for my room as well when I got my chin. I immediately discovered how expensive they are and that they don't always work as well as window units (as in the amount they can cool a room for cheaper ones). I have a frigidaire window unit I bought for $100 at Lowes, 5000 BTU. I live in a large room, as it was the living room the the apartment I'm in. It cools it down well, I almost always have it running, though.

If you have the money, though, go for it. I hate that I only have one window to look out of now and if I didn't have two windows I'd feel like I was boxed in my room and go a little nutty.

 

[Kula]

Well, I made a really long post, but the stupid forum decided I wasn't logged in, causing my post to disappear. Yay. :|

Basically - Portable AC units are way too expensive ($300+). Check your energy provider's website for Energy Star compliant appliance rebates. They should have rebates for window units. The rebate is applied to your energy bill after you submit proof of purchase and the rebate form. I bought a Frigidaire window unit from Lowes for ~$140 and got a $50 rebate, so I only paid $90 for it. It uses less energy per month compared to my old window unit that wasn't Energy Star compliant - so I'm still saving money. Don't buy a used window unit - they are full of dust/debris and will not cool properly.

 

[starleomach]

I got a great one for 200 at walmart