Air Conditioning Boosters and Alternatives
We are all familiar with fans. They move air, which in turn help bring in fresh air and improve our own human cooling system through sweat. My favorite fans are from Dyson, with the desktop AM06 being my favorite all-purpose general fan. It has every feature you’d want in a desktop fan, and I have not found a better general all purpose desktop fan. Dyson makes a bunch of other fans too, they are all just variations with some additional features, but often times adding significantly to the cost.
When I’m sitting in front of my laptop, my favorite USB fan is this one by OPolar. Its quiet, efficient, and runs off of USB power, with decent features. No oscillation though, and its really only good for personal use.
Window Fans for When Its Cooler Outside the House
Window fans are great ways to circulate air inside and outside. Fresh, cool air from outside is the most cost efficient way to cool down after sunset. The best one I’ve ever used, and that is still in production is the Bionaire Twin Window fan featured below. The best price I’ve seen for this is from Costco from time to time, but failing that, Amazon often sells for a reasonable $60.
Get at least two for best effect. Place one to suck in air, and ideally another on the other side of the house / room (where you want to cool) blowing it right out.
Air Coolers, the Next Best Thing
Air coolers take in air, adds some moisture and then blow it out. This is also known as direct evaporative cooling: “Direct evaporative cooling (open circuit) is used to lower the temperature and increase the humidity of air by using latent heat of evaporation, changing liquid water to water vapor. In this process, the energy in the air does not change. Warm dry air is changed to cool moist air. The heat of the outside air is used to evaporate water. The RH increases to 70 to 90% which reduces the cooling effect of human perspiration. The moist air has to be continually released to outside or else the air becomes saturated and evaporation stops.” – wiki
Moist, cool breeze can cool you down & be used as humidification during winter months. NOT an Air Conditioner & NOT just a Fan – Environmentally friendly Evaporative Cooler reduces temperature through water evaporation.
A More Powerful Room Air Cooler
I had a favorite one that I used for many, many years. When I left town, I gave it to my parents to use and now I can’t find anyone selling it anymore. So I tried out the Honeywell Air Cooler featured below, and can recommend it. It is relatively loud, as most powerful air coolers are. But wow does it have a powerful fan and cooling capability.
Your best results are always going to be in a dry environment. So pairing this with an Air Conditioner unit (which has a side effect of drying the air), and maybe a window fan to circulate in dry air, will increase its cooling capability.
Room Air Conditioners
One major thing you need to know, is that most portable air-conditioners are not as efficient as the window ones, or the split duct air conditioners. They will consume more electricity, and give you less cooling power than the equivalent window version.
If I had to choose a new air conditioner today for individual room use, the Midea U Inverter Window AC unit would be at the top of my short list of AC units.
The Newest Technology in Window Air Conditioners is the Midea U
- More than 35% Energy Savings: With the advanced DC Inverter technology, Midea U achieves over 35% energy savings compared to other traditional units, and it’s the first window AC to obtain the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2020 Certification. You may also get exclusive benefits from your local energy distributor. It has a 15EER!
- Extreme Quiet: 9 times quieter than some traditional units. The U-shape blocks the noise from the cooling system using your window. This design allows for extremely quiet operation as low as 42 dBA – almost as quiet as a library – so you can get a restful night’s sleep or binge your favorite shows undisturbed
- Flexible window open: Midea U-shaped design allows your window to open, bringing fresh air into your home anytime allowing you to maintain more of your view
- Smart Control: The Midea U is Wi-Fi- enabled, it can be controlled from anywhere through the cloud using the MideaAir app on iOS or Android. You can also use voice commands with Alexa or Google Assistant if you prefer
- Robust Installation: Support bracket is included for a more robust installation that supports the unit with the window open or closed.Available for single-hung or double hung window with size: 22 – 36 inches, minimal height at 13.75 inches.
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The Best Portable Air Conditioner
If you absolutely have to get a ‘portable’ air conditioner, know that they are really not portable. Basically its an air conditioner all housed in one unit, and typically on wheels with a hose or two which you have to feed outside for the best results.
Get one with two ducts (one for air in, and one for air out). The top rated unit is the Whynter Elite.
Whynter Elite 12K BTU Dual Hose Air Conditioner
Top rated Portable Air Conditioner. * AWARD WINNING : 1. Good Housekeeping's "Best Portable Air Conditioners to Buy in 2019" 2. The New York Times Wirecutter named "the most efficient and fastest cooling portable AC
