How to make your portable aircon more efficient

Anula Wiwatowska
Jan 15, 2025
Icon Time To Read3 min read
// Aircon not working? That's not cool

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Just got a portable air conditioner and you’re struggling to get it put together? Maybe you’ve had one for a while and it's stopped working as well as it used to. Never fear! We’ve got answers for you.

Aircon blowing hot air fixes

If your trust aircon has suddenly started blowing hot air, or not cooling as efficiently as before there could be a few simple troubleshooting steps to improve it.

Check the water tank: If the water tank in your aircon unit is full then it may refuse to turn on, or be performing well under its potential. Look at the back for screw tops that are usually marked with a water drop. By removing these you can tip your unit to remove the built up water, which should get your aircon pumping again.

Fan blockages: The integrated fan in your portable aircon may be blocked. Take a look inside the unit and see if anything is wedged in there that shouldn't be. If you’re confident (or deluded), you can take the chassis off your portable aircon and remove anything you see causing the obstruction. Otherwise, call a professional.

Dirty filters and coils: Units can easily accumulate dust on the internal filters and coils, especially if its been sitting in storage for a while. This can drastically affect how efficiently the aircon can cool the air, and cause an array of health issues. If it has been a while between cleans, it is worth cleaning your aircon.

Exhaust hose isn’t venting properly: If the exhaust hose isn’t connected properly, or is kinked up and blocked then the warm air won’t be able to escape the room and the portable aircon won’t be able to cool it either.

Be patient: Portable aircons usually take a couple of minutes to really get revved up and start blowing cool air. This is totally normal. Let the device run for a little bit before panicking.

Quick fixes to improve your portable air conditioner’s efficiency

Air conditioning is one of the best ways to cool down your house, but there are a handful of ways to push it to work even better.

Create a tight seal: Since you need to vent an air conditioner out the window, you’ll need to have it open at least a little bit. Try to minimise the amount of gaps around the window vent to prevent cool air from escaping and the hot air from coming back in.

Straighten and maintain the vent hose: The quickest way between point A and point B is a straight line, hence the quickest way to get the hot air out of your room is to straighten out the vent hose. The shorter the distance that hot air needs to travel, the faster it will be out of your room. While you’re at it, check the vent for leaks and patch them up if you find them.

Use window coverings: Glass is a poor insulator, so it is always worth keeping your blinds down on hot days to prevent more heat from entering the room.

How to install a portable air conditioner

Installing a portable air conditioner looks tricky at first, but it isn’t difficult once you’ve got the hang of it.

Every unit comes with a window block, which is usually a rectangular piece of metal or plastic with a hole cut out of it for the exhaust vent. Install this by sliding your window open, placing the window block on the edge, and closing the window back on to it. Sometimes these will extend and retract so you can get a better fit for the length of your window, but if it doesn’t thats ok, you can always cover the gap with an insulative material such as foil lined bubble wrap. If you don’t plan on moving your air conditioner much, this is a good time to patch up any gaps using removable window seals.

Once this part is snuggly in the window you can attach the vent hose to the window block, and to the air conditioning unit. Check to make sure there are no leaks, and the hose is as short and straight as possible, and then you’re good to go.

What if I have a push window?

If you have a sliding window, portable air conditioner installation is easy but it becomes more difficult if you have a push or vent window. However you can buy window kit adapters for these kinds of windows for prices starting from around $50.

Can I vent a portable air conditioner without a window?

Unfortunately you can’t vent a portable air conditioner without a window as the hot air needs somewhere to escape. There are however, some ductless portable air conditioners on the market that quite frankly defy the laws of thermodynamics.

We saw one at IFA last year which uses an additional compressor to minimise how much hot air needs to be pumped back into the space. This kind of technology is still in its infancy however, but there are options. Alternatively, you may be better off looking at a high powered fan.

Can I fix a noisy portable air conditioner?

Generally portable air conditioners are quite loud, and there isn’t much you can do about it. Running it on a lower fan setting, or looking for a device with a ‘sleep’ mode can help minimise noise, but if you need the high power then you’re out of luck.

On the other hand if your aircon has just started making weird sounds, or got louder overnight it would be worth running through our basic troubleshooting from above. Elements within the machine may be jammed, or gotten loose, so take a close look for anything that looks out of place.

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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