Portable AC Units and Dehumidifiers

Summer is in full swing allowing us to shed our layers and partake in some serious fun in the sun. But with the increase in dangerous heatwaves that now peak in August and often persist into the fall, it’s important to invest in an efficient cooling unit to keep us cool whether we are working up a sweat indoors or relaxing outside in our outdoor living space.
JMATEK North America is the exclusive authorized licensee of Honeywell’s line of Dehumidifiers, Indoor and Outdoor Evaporative Air Coolers and Portable Air Conditioners. Consistently ranked on Top 10 lists,  Honeywell's units are re-shaping the way we live and play. Honeywell's units are wallet-friendly, conveniently portable and stylishly designed, making them a "cool" companion to any indoor or outdoor activity.

I had a chance to interview JMATEK to learn more.

What advantages do portable AC units and coolers have over traditional units?

Please note that Portable ACs and Evaporative Coolers are 2 very different technologies and must not be mixed together.

Portable Air Conditioners vs Central AC: 

• Portable Air Conditioners allow you ton cool one room at a time to save energy from cooling an entire house via central air conditioning. This is particularly practical for bedrooms because you can switch OFF the central AC at night and only focus on cooling one room for the 8-10 hours that you are sleeping. Imagine all the energy you are saving from running central AC in the entire house, despite other rooms being unused!

• Portable ACs are also great for supplemental cooling in rooms that are not cooling well by central AC – like in an attic, den, or bedroom.
• Portable ACs are easy to set up and install. They can more easily move from one room to another if needed.
• Portable ACs are perfect for older homes with no central AC and they are easy to uninstall and pack away when the season is over.

Portable AC vs Window AC:

• Portable ACs are not as efficient in cooling than window ACs, this is a known fact, but it is still a preferred AC option for those who do not want the complications that come with lifting a heavy window AC and installing on a window – Window ACs are less mobile and require much more work to install and uninstall.
• Window ACs cover the entire window, whereas Portable AC window kits only cover a small portion – light from the window can still shine through majority of the window.
• Portable ACs are easy to maneuver, install and uninstall.

Evaporative Coolers vs Traditional Fans:

• The science behind evaporation is the key to the natural cooling effect of an evaporative cooler. Much like a breeze flowing across a lake or the refreshing cool air you feel near a waterfall, evaporative air coolers produce a comfortable, cool breeze with the natural process of water evaporation.  When warm air is drawn into a Honeywell Air Cooler, it passes through a wet Honeycomb Cooling Media. As it passes through it mixes with the water held in the Honeycomb, causing the water to evaporate and lose heat, resulting in cooler, moisturized air. A powerful fan then propels the cool air into the room (or outdoor area, fi outdoors). The result is a constant flow of fresh, moisturized, cool air while old and stale air is circulated out of the room.
• AN EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLER IS NOT “JUST A FAN”

Traditional Fans simply re-circulate warm air and has little effect in reducing the temperature of the air blowing through the fan. Evaporative Air coolers use the natural process of water evaporation to cool incoming hot air and use a powerful fan to expel the  newly, cooled air. The temperature of dry air can drop significantly when liquid water transforms to water vapor (through evaporation).

• AN EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLER IS NOT A MIST FAN

Mist fans are mainly for outdoor use, unless you want your fan to give you a surprise shower in your living room. It also has to be very hot and very dry for the water to evaporate completely without making a puddle on the ground around the mist fan base. Mist fans also need a constant water connection. There’s no tank, so you can only use them if you have a water connection nearby where you intend to use the fan.

• AN EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLER IS NOT AN AIR CONDITIONER
• Air conditioners are built with power-hungry compressors and require a chemical cooling refrigerant to absorb and condense hot air into cool air. The hot air must be released outside the room.  The more complex composition of Air Conditioners also make them more expensive to purchase and they consume significantly higher electricity during use. Evaporative coolers do not require any chemical refrigerant and consume almost the same amount of electricity as a traditional fan of equivalent size and thus, operating for long hours will not be nearly as expensive as running air conditioning.
• Evaporative Air Coolers are more environmentally friendly than air conditioners due to the lack of chemical refrigerant use and much less energy consumption required.

How effective can an outdoor cooling unit actually be?

The only outdoor cooling product we manufacture are OUTDOOR evaporative Coolers which use the power of evaporation to cool areas with warm, dry air. They are more effective than outdoor fans, and provide the same cooling effect as mist fans, without the wet mist landing on people, furniture and the floor. Depending on the humidity of the outside air, the air flow blasting out of the air cooler can be up to 15 degrees F lower than the surrounding air.

What are some ways to maximize the efficiency of an outdoor unit?

Talking specifically about Outdoor Evaporative Air Coolers, it is important that the unit be placed in a location where the air can flow directly where you want to cool. Unlike an air conditioner that uses compressor and chemical refrigerants to produce cool air, air coolers throw cool air through the natural process of evaporation and thus the coolest air comes from feeling the flow of air coming from the unit. It will not spread like cold air from an AC. The power of the Honeywell branded Evaporative coolers are an important feature to ensure longer or wider air flowing to the target areas. Another way to maximize cooling efficiency is to use them when average humidity is below 60% for the best evaporative cooling effect. You can also prepare re-freezable ice packs to place inside some of the Honeywell Outdoor air coolers, where an ice compartment exists. This helps bring down the temperature of the water flowing through the cooler and thus cooler air. You could freeze 2 to 3 packs so that you can exchange one when the other has melted.

Why is it important for homes to have a dehumidifier?

Dehumidifiers help reduce humidity that cause unwanted mold, mildew, odour and dust mites to thrive on furniture, walls, clothing and carpet. Etc. This is very valuable in basements, cellars and storage rooms where humidity can collect, as well as for the entire house in cities that have high humidity levels. 

People with allergies and asthma, skin irritations who live in humid environments will benefit from having a dehumidifier to reduce the growth of mold, mildew, dust mites and other living organisms that thrive on moist air.

A less humid home means clothing, carpets, walls will dry faster when they do get wet and even food such as bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables will remain fresh longer. Electrical equipment and appliances will also be less likely to corrode or rust due to humid air.

Dehumidifiers require little maintenance and often can be switched on all day long. Models with continuous drainage allow for long unattended maintenance. Running a dehumidifier and keeping air drier also makes cooling the home more efficient because it takes less energy to cool dry air than moist air.