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The best air conditioners are those that meet your needs. Sometimes a small-sized portable air conditioner that can move around from room to room is the best fit. Of course, you don’t want to ruin your air conditioner by misusing it. That said, a portable air conditioner can run for about 8 to 12 hours a day, but it’s important not to use them for too long to keep them working well.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
In short, you can run a portable AC for as long as you’d like. How long it takes to cool a room with a portable AC depends on the unit’s capabilities, so you’ll want to ensure you choose a model capable of cooling your particular space for the best results. If you want to know more about cooling with portable units, it’s worth looking into how a tower AC works. Additionally, you can read about how portable air coolers work, if you are curious.
Insider Tip
Portable air conditioner vents need to be cleaned regularly to avoid debris collection.
Although there’s no limit to how long you can run a portable AC, there are a few caveats to keep in mind if you want to get the most out of it.
Continuously running your AC will mean you must regularly empty the condensate water tank. Failure to do so can result in mold growth, or wondering why is my portable air conditioner leaking water.
A clean air filter is necessary to maintain high indoor air quality. Every type of AC, whether a window air conditioner or a portable unit, will require a filter change on occasion. The general rule of thumb is to clean or replace your filter once a month.
If you’re running your portable AC all day, every day, you’ll need to clean or replace it far more frequently to avoid clogged filters and reduced efficiency. You may need to do this as often as once a week to ensure the best indoor air quality.
Warning
Make sure you empty the condensate tank regularly, or you might end up with mold inside your AC unit.
Whether it’s the condenser fan or exhaust hose, all parts of your AC will experience significant wear and tear with continuous usage. Because of this, you might have to replace your portable air conditioning unit far more quickly than if you used it at regular, short intervals.
When the time comes to purchase a new unit, learning how a dual-hose air conditioner works might be helpful. If you want to understand more about the technical aspects of air conditioning units, check out how to install a slide-out chassis air conditioner.
STAT: It is projected that the revenue of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply in the United Kingdom will amount to approximately $115.95 billion U.S. by 2025. (source)
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