Are Ventless Air Conditioners Any Good?
A common question that gets asked is, ″Are ventless air conditioners any good?″ The answer may surprise you, depending upon where you live and what your climate is.
In short: These evaporative air coolers work exceptionally well providing plentiful chilled air to cool you down on the hot days of summer. However, this is true only if the atmosphere is relatively dry.
If you live in a humid climate, these coolers will not perform very well or even not at all. I'll explain below:
Ventless AC units are a great option if you're tired of sleeping in uncomfortable temperatures during summer, but only if the air is dry.
Coping with Humid Heat
In dry atmospheric conditions, an evaporative cooler will produce plenty of chilled, moist air to keep you cool.
This is because the way these cooler work is to create a cooling effect by evaporating moisture and blasting the resulting cold air out into the room with a powerful fan. It is a similar process to the way your skin keeps you cool when you perspire.
How Cooling By Evaporation Works
The breeze hits your damp skin and evaporates the perspiration, reducing the temperature of your skin as it does so. This works because the heat in your skin gets transferred to the moisture, which is then blown away by the breeze, effectively cooling your skin.
The air absorbs the moisture, increasing its humidity while the transferred heat remains locked up in the moisture.
However, when the air is very humid, the extra moisture cannot be absorbed so easily into the air. And so the heat that is transferred to the moisture can't go anywhere, resulting in little to no cooling effect.
That's why you never seem to be able to feel cool when you're experiencing that hot, draining feeling in humid heat with a fan blowing on you, despite your perspiring excessively.
This is what happens when you run a swamp cooler in a humid climate. The water in the unit's tank is soaked up by the media and the fan blows through it, but the resulting water vapor can't absorb the heat because the air is already saturated with moisture.
Benefits of Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers
These portable cooling units are smaller than conventional AC units and can be moved around easily. These coolers also emit very little sound.
The greatest benefit, however is the fact that swamp coolers are much more energy efficient than comparable air conditioners.
These units do not require a vent hose, as they do not produce any hot air like AC units that would need to be exhausted out a window. Swamp coolers are made to improve comfort and will not require you to fill in holes in walls after installation.
These coolers come in a range of sizes and airflow outputs and can be used in spaces ranging from as little as 120 sq ft up to over 1,000 sq ft for the big coolers.
Ventless Air Conditioners For Small Spaces
Although the tiny desktop sized coolers are not ideal for large living rooms, they will be sufficient to cover most bedrooms.
They also make great spot coolers for placing on the desk in your office to provide a cooling breeze where you need it.
These compact coolers are best for small spaces. There are many ventless air conditioner models that are available that can be used in small spaces.
Ventless Air Conditioners for Large Spaces
A larger, more robust ventless portable air conditioner is a better choice for those who need one for large rooms, such as living rooms and master bedrooms.
These air coolers can be used in spaces of up to 500 sq ft or more. They also offer a 1300 CRM airflow, even though they use 85W power.
They come with no hoses or need of window access, although they do require a window to be left open a little to create some cross flow of air.
Multi-purpose Ventless Air Conditioners
A ventless air conditioner can work well and be the best option in certain cases. It can also serve a large and small space. There are many options. They can be used in the driest conditions to cool a room by up to 68° F (20° C).
An outdoor evaporative cooler is ideal for outdoor use. This type of cooler comes equipped with a humidifier, fan, and a fan. This allows it to operate at a very high efficiency.
A swamp cooler can be used indoors in a room of medium size or other spaces. An effective evaporative cooler of good quality provides versatile cooling and as long as you open a window to create air circulation, they can be kept running all day and all night long.
Many units have an iced compartment with humidity control that allows you to regulate the moisture level. A swamp cooler is the perfect air cooler for outdoor activities such as backyard barbecues and pool parties.
All you have to do is fill the tank and plug it into a power socket.
Conclusion
As to whether a ventless air cooler is any good or not really depends on your geographical location and the average humidity typical for your climate.
If that climate has relatively dry air, a swamp cooler can be the perfect choice of cooler especially for its economical running and power saving feature.
If your climate is humid, your only real choice for effective cooling in summer is a true refrigerant-based air conditioning system.
A swamp cooler doesn't dry out or recycle the air as conventional air coolers. In fact it adds up to 5% moisture to the air through evaporated water.
This allows it to keep the air fresh and comfortable. This cooler is a good option if you want clean, fresh air in your home.
This device has a variable fan speed that can be set to low, medium and high. The air cooler can be carried anywhere you want it to, as long as there is a power source.
Posted: March 13, 2022
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