Suppliers of portable air conditioners stress ease of set up. It's just a matter of rolling the unit in and flipping a switch. While it is nearly that easy, there are a few tips to make your portable air conditioning run more efficiently.

Routing the Hoses

Contrary to popular belief, there isn't any way to "create" cold. Cold is merely an absence of heat. Anything that cools, from your kitchen refrigerator to spot coolers, is just removing heat energy and putting it somewhere else.

Portable air conditioners vent heat through a hose very much like the one on a clothes dryer. If the hot air blows into the same room you are just burning electricity for no reason. You need some place to exhaust the hot air, preferably outside. One choice is into a drop ceiling where your building's main HVAC system can deal with it. Another option is to run the exhaust out a window.

Air is nothing, right? You wave your hand through it and there's no resistance. This makes people think air can flow anywhere so they don't need to worry about how the hose is placed. In fact, air does have mass and it does build up friction in a tight turn. Portable air conditioners have to move a tremendous amount of air so a small amount of resistance severely reduces their efficiency. Keep hoses straight so the air can flow freely.

Electrical Concerns

Portable air conditioners used to require 220 volt connections but those are rare today. Even high capacity spot coolers run on standard 120 volt power. However they are pulling a significant amount of power so it is important to consider where to plug them in.

Like any high-wattage appliance, they shouldn't share a circuit with other powerful electrical devices. Too much drain on one circuit will pop the circuit breaker or even cause a fire. Spread out your high-wattage devices among several sockets served by different breakers.

Don't use an extension cord, even one rated for the power the cooler needs. Proximity to power sockets is an important feature of the right installation location.

Ongoing Maintenance

Today's portable air conditioners are pretty trouble free but they still require a little attention. A few minutes of your time extends the life of a unit for years.

The most common maintenance task is emptying the water tanks. As air cools, water condenses out and has to be dealt with. Some units can vent the water vapor out with the hot air or otherwise deal with it. Most have plastic water tanks that fill up over time. If they are allowed to get full, the unit will shut down until they are emptied. Empty them regularly.

The only other regular maintenance is occasional air filter inspection. As dust builds up, clean or replace the filters to maintain maximum operating efficiency. This means less strain on the motor and better airflow.