There seems to be considered a lots of confusion out there about portable airconditioners and swamp coolers. They aren't interchangeable. An air conditioner cools, or conditions, mid-air by removing heat energy. Consequently air has less heat energy, therefore the entire space is cooled. Cash employing a heat pump. Heat pumps are located in all types of air conditioners, as well as refrigerators.
Inside a heat pump, a liquid with special properties, termed as a refrigerant, is expanded slowly through a valve into a low pressure tubing known as the evaporator, or expansion coil. Since it expands, heat energy inside refrigerant becomes much less concentrated, plus it becomes abnormally cold. This is actually the cooling side, where heat in the air passing over it now is readily absorbed from the cold copper tubing, which in turn warms the refrigerant at the same time.
In the event the refrigerant circulates on the compression coil, or condenser, it really is pumped right into a small, questionable tubing. All the heat energy being brought in the evaporator coil has become squeezed in a smaller volume, along with the refrigerant becomes extremely hot. This can be a hot side. The coil gets hot and readily releases the excess heat towards the air blowing over this side. Inside a portable air conditioner, this air is blown out through exhaust duct.
Portable airconditioners use the electric system, and they are designed as room air conditioners. In some, the circulation of refrigerant may be reversed, which ends up inside the heater function present in those models.
As opposed, evaporative air coolers, or swamp coolers, don't remove heat energy in the air, and are also not ac units. The phrase 'super-fan' could possibly be applied here. Swamp coolers cool air by blowing it more than a wet wick. Moisture in the wick evaporates, cooling air blown with the fan. So that it feels cool in front of the unit, but nowhere else. No heat is removed in the air, but moisture is added, hence the room itself offers the same amount of heat energy and is not cooled. Swamp coolers aren't able to warm air.
An added moisture from the swamp cooler can make the area uncomfortably humid, especially where ambient humidity is high. They may be ideal for dry climates, used as spot coolers. Swamp coolers look a little like portable air conditioning units, but don't have exhaust ducts. Advertisement photos of portable ac's often abandon the exhaust ducts, probably contributing to the confusion.
Preparing the confusion is the term 'evaporative portable air conditioner', used by some manufacturers. The title advertises a function these units have, that being the evaporation of the water which condensates during the electric cycle. The evaporated condensate will then be removed while using exhaust air. The point is usually to get rid of the necessity of emptying the drain pan that was such a hassle in older models without this function.
One more confusing term could be the 'ductless portable air conditioner' one might see advertised. This is really a name given to a type of mini split ac that utilizes a mobile inside unit to deal with the expansion coil, rather than the usual wall mounted console. It is a fact they just don't have ducts, but they must still get in touch to the outside using a small hole inside the wall, so the electric tubing and wires can connect the mobile portion to the outside fan, the location where the condenser can be found.
I really hope these tips have identified the source of some of the confusion about portable air conditioners and swamp coolers, and helped the reader see the difference. While both are useful, their uses can be different.
Author Resource:
Mark Vaccaro researches and writes extensively on the best practices in online marketing. Some articles that I recommend reading can be found on the topics of aerobic kickboxing and infrared dry saunas .