What to look for in a portable air conditioner

Anula Wiwatowska
Jan 28, 2025
Icon Time To Read3 min read
// Cool for the summer

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Buying a portable air conditioner can be life changing, but if you choose poorly you may end up both hot and bothered.

Like any piece of tech there are a handful of key specs to assess before taking the plunge. For portable aircons you'll want to take a look at the cooling capacity, input power, coverage, and whether it has a dehumidifier included.

There is no one size fits all approach for specs however, so make sure you have your room size, and temperate zone handy to get the best info.

Cooling capacity

Ultimately the most crucial spec in a portable air conditioner is its cooling capacity. Measured in kW or sometimes watts, this refers to how powerful the device's ability to cool is, and how large of a space it can cover. The higher the number, the more air the aircon can cycle.

While it may be tempting to just go for the biggest number here, there are a few home-specific considerations to take into account.

  • Room size: The size of the room you're looking to cool will determine how many kWs of cooling capacity you need. At its most basic, you'll want to account for 125 watts of cooling capacity, for every square metre in the space
  • Climate: Here's where the math starts to change. The same kilo wattage will go further in different Australian states. In Hobart, 60 watts per square metre will do the same job as 126 watts per square metre in Perth. Generally, the cooler the climate the lower the cooling capacity you require, while the inverse is true for heaters.
  • Insulation: There are plenty of building considerations when it comes to picking an aircon unit. Similar to keeping hot air in, having a well insulated home can also keep it out. Size and placement of windows, and window coverings play a big part, along with the floor and roofing type. For every leaky door, or giant sunny window you'll need extra power on the aircon to get the best result.

Picking the right size aircon is a Goldilocks kind of game. You want to pick a device that has just enough cooling capacity to cover your space, but not so much that you're paying too much for both the install and its running costs.

Input power

Input power is also measured in kWs or watts, but it doesn't have anything to do with how well the aircon can cool your home. It does have to do with how much it will cost you to run it however.

The input power is how much electricity the aircon needs to run. The lower this number, the cheaper it is per hour to run the aircon. Ideally you want a device that has a low input wattage, and a high cooling capacity - this is measured as 'cooling efficiency'. Cooling efficiency refers to the how many watts of power is required to create one cooling unit. The greater that efficiency percentage, the better.

While it can be tempting to just look at the Energy Rating sticker, we would recommend against it. Most Australian consumer electronics are given a score between one, and six stars, although more recently these have gone up to ten! The more stars, the less energy that particular model will use.

Keep in mind however that these energy ratings are based on "how most people use their appliance" so there is no hard, and fast way of knowing if the kWh per year number is accurate for you. They're also comparitive between devices of similar size and features, so five stars on a 2.4Kw portable aircon isn't akin to five stars on a 7kW.

Dehumidifying

While not every portable aircon has a dehumidifer included, many do, and these can be especially helpful up north. These onboard dehumidifers draw moisture out of the air and collect it in a tank within the device.

For areas like Queensland these can be particularly helpful is not only bringing the 'feels like' temperature down, but also inhibiting mould development. This feature is measured in litres per hour, or L/h. Once again, the bigger the number the more liquid can be removed.

Keep in mind that the tank within the device does need to be emptied. If it is too full the dehumidifer simply won't work, or it can cause your whole device to shoot an error message.

Window compatibility

Although there are some that refuse to play ball, most portable air conditioners obey the laws of thermodynamics so the hot air has to go somewhere. Usually this is out a window, or a door.

Portable aircon units come with a window mount but these are exclusively made for sliding windows. Those with push/pull, or vent windows will need to look for other solutions. It may be as simple as finding a compatible kit online, but it is still something to be aware of.

Anula Wiwatowska
Written by
Anula is the Home and Lifestyle Tech Editor within the Reviews.org extended universe. Working in the tech space since 2020, she covers phone and internet plans, gadgets, smart devices, and the intersection of technology and culture. Anula was a finalist for Best Feature Writer at the 2022 Consensus Awards, and an eight time finalist across categories at the IT Journalism Awards. Her work contributed to WhistleOut's Best Consumer Coverage win in 2023.

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