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So fall is almost officially here.  I know this site is usually focused on air conditioning, but given that we’re in heater season right now, I thought it would be appropriate to briefly talk about space heaters.  Living in Southern California, it rarely gets low 60 degrees even in the winter but that doesn’t mean we don’t turn up the thermostat. 

My home generally gets pretty chilly in the fall and winter, and I like using a portable space heater to stay warm in whatever bedroom I’m in. 

When used safely and as a supplemental heat source, an electric space heater lets me keep a small area toasty without having to make the rest of my house feel like a sauna.  Portable heaters come in a variety of sizes and fuel types, so choosing the right one generally boils down to the area you’re trying to heat and personal preference.  Here’s an overview of some of the most popular space heater types: 

Radiator Space Heaters

These are shaped like the traditional fixed kind and are filled with a type of oil that’s heated by electricity.  Because oil retains heat well, these heaters are pretty energy-efficient.  They actually give off warmth even after they’re switched off.  Radiator heaters usually cover a small area, so they’re best for small bedrooms and personal spaces.  I find that while they’re quiet and save energy, they don’t provide heat quick enough. 

Quartz / Infrared / Radiant Heaters

These heaters use electromagnetic energy to heat objects and people rather than the air.  They’re also pretty energy-efficient for this reason and because they don’t have fans, they’re relatively quiet.  A lot of people tend to like these heaters because they literally heat up in seconds, but the glowing elements are a little off-putting, to be honest. 

Fan Forced Space Heaters

These space heaters have built-in ventilators which blow air over heated metal coils.  Although these are kind of noisy, they provide instant gratification.  I have an inexpensive unit I purchased for less than $20 at Lowes and it’s still going strong.   Because I’m a light sleeper, I definitely wouldn’t use this at night.  The fan can get pretty annoying. 

There are a lot of pitfalls concerning consumers when they purchase their very first portable AC. Here are a few tips to consider before you plug that air conditioner in and suspect it’s not working or not working hard enough.

1. Getting the wrong kind. A lot of consumers purchase a swamp cooler believing that it’s the same as a portable AC, which is simply not true. There are various kinds of coolers such as portable air conditioners, swamp coolers, dehumidifiers, etc. Call your manufacturer and/or seller to make sure you are getting the right kind of machine to do what you need.

2. Miscalculating BTU and room size. Although the product may say it can cool up to 600 sq. ft., it also depends on the placement of the room you want to cool. The BTU also helps you determine the power of the unit. If you are considering a portable AC for a sunny or warm room, consider 10% more BTU.

3. Exhaust. All portable ACs need an exhaust, unless you’re using a window fan (which is not the same as a portable AC). You must consider window size if it has a window exhaust, or a wall, or a drop ceiling.

If you follow these simple tips, you can save yourself a few headaches in getting the wrong item. Remember to call the products’ manufacturer or seller to get all of your answers clarified. Portable ACs are heavy pieces of equipment that may cost dozens in shipping costs. Save yourself the time, money, and anxiety by doing a bit of quick research and inquiry, and enjoy your portable AC!

Portable air conditioning units are more versatile than central AC units. They can be extracted away from a home and easily installed in another. They’re great for homes with poor insulation and apartments where the central AC system is malfunctioning or simply not enough. Although they cannot cool the whole house at the same time like central ACs, portable ACs offer you an economic alternative.

So let’s assume that you  have a central air conditioning system in your current home. Why would you need to throw $300 at a portable AC? During the hotter days, cranking up your central AC to cool down your bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchen may seem like an unecessary thing, especially when you’re spending 8 hours in the living room! You are not only saving yourself a few dollars on your energy bill, but also saving the environment.

Electricity is mainly powered by unsustainable sources, like fossil fuel. Power plants can draw electricity from coal, petroleum, or oil. Recently there have been rennovations in the energy sphere, like wind-powered, hydro-powered, and solar-powered energy plants. However, 40% of the world’s energy still comes from fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels can take weeks to refine, but millions of years to make. The fuels are basically sludges of dead organisms that have been so thoroughly decomposed that there is nothing else that can be gained from it. Within a human lifetime, it is impossible to sustain the same amount of fossil fuel. We ultimately use more than we can produce.

Not to mention the air pollution these power plants emit. Due to our growing need for power without sustainable resources, the Earth is coughing up CO2. This is not even mentioning the amount of vehicles and other mechanisms that use oil, petroleum, or coal on a daily basis.

If anything, you should use a portable AC to conserve more energy and to also live comfortably. Remember, humans have lived in all sorts of climates without air conditioning technology! You can be both frugal and Earth-friendly by purchasing appliances like a portable air conditioner to reduce your energy usage.

I realize that window air conditioners have not had as much spotlight as the portable air conditioners, but I believe it’s now time! I have not had as much of experience with window ACs, other than while I was living quietly in Tustin several years ago. The apartment complex didn’t have a central air conditioning unit, although it offered central heat.

Window ACs are typically more powerful than their portable AC units. They may seem quieter, also, but keep in mind that half of the unit is sticking outside the window! Although I prefer portable air conditioners, I also believe that window ACs has its strengths, as boasted on a Walmart product site.

The 22,000 BTU Frigidaire has an Energy Star rating, which means that it operates with at least 10% less energy than other window air conditioners. It also can cool rooms up to approximately 1,435 square feet, which is the size of some two-bedroom apartments. It includes a reusable, washable filter as well as an energy-saving option to keep it from running up your energy bill while you are away.

One of its reviewers, “HotToCold”, quoted, “With the energy saver it turns off and on as needed, so when we aren’t home, and the temperature stabilizes, in the home it saves me tons of money, which I have seen on my first electric bill already.” The Frigidaire window air conditioner’s performance and exceeded the reviewer’s expectations. It should also be noted that the unit has almost paid for itself in savings, so the hefty pricetag should not be a detterent.

It seems that Sunpentown portable ACs have been priced just right for consumers looking for an economic way to keep themselves cool…however as I go along looking for reviews on Sunpentown brands I find a common demoninator, you either love it or hate it.

Take the reviews on Target’s online store, for example. One reviewer raves about how a Sunpentown AC had lasted him 2 years and another is simply “not impressed“. Overall the Sunpentowns have several outstanding reviews and one with three stars or less. It must be either great or unsatisfactory, and one way to uncover the true quality of the brand is to simply research the company.

Sunpentown is an international company that specializes in home products, from portable ACs to infamous bidets. While Googling Sunpentown company information I stumbled across a website that gave more information about the company than its own webpage did! However, I was still left with several questions:

• Where is Sunpentown from?
• Do they have great quality in any product in particular? (Like how Mitsubishi makes electronics versus cars)
• Why is it cheaper than other brands?
• What makes them bad or great?

With a little more research I used the chat function on the above website and was pleasantly pleased that they wrote perfect English.

After that brief chat, as you can see, their products are from China. Not to down the Chinese, but the bidet and body massage mechanisms should’ve been enough to convince me! Most Sunpentowns are not advertised as “Made in China” due to the bad reputation Chinese-made appliances have accumulated over the years. However, this could definitely explain the love/hate reviews its products have been receiving. Most Chinese products are inconsistent in quality. On one hand, you’d get a great product that could last you years, but on the other hand some factories that manufacture its products may not abide with the strict regulations it needs to follow.

So there you have it, Sunpentown is made in China and imported to our shores. Consider how much you will use your portable AC and how much you are willing to invest in one!

When one thinks of Sharp, we often think of televisions, semi-conductors, and other electronics that implement the latest technologies. Recently I looked into the specs of their most current air purifiers, and found them listed on their website. The first thought that crossed my mind upon reading the descriptors was “What is this Plasmacluster business?”

The site offers video testimonials and plenty of information on their products. If you search up Sharp purifiers you may come across this comprehensive informational site. Unfortunately, my audio was not working and all I could look at were its informational pages. I learned a lot reading on Sharp air purifiers, and I part my knowledge here for the average consumer:

* Sharp air purifiers use a Library Quiet technology that is as low as 41 dB. In comparison, 41 dB is about the same noise level as a whisper quiet library, and normal conversations at 3’-5’ away are 60-70 dB.

* Sharp air purifiers monitor, cleans, and treats your air.

* Plasmacluster is actually a fancy name for an ionizer. I know, you might be thinking, “Oh but it’s really awful for the ozone!” But Sharp air purifiers also produce positive ions, not just negative!

* Uses true HEPA filtration, so all those nasty pet dander fluff is gone.

* “When the lights are green the air is clean” simple motto that helps you determine when your air’s clean. Let the system work for you!

All in all, it seems like Sharp has done extensive research and development in their air purifiers. I am thoroughly impressed with its presentation, but I’d like to throw out a question the consumers out there to the e-world, “Have you guys tried a Sharp air purifier?” and “Is it really as good as they present it?”

Costco is one of the most popular places to buy appliances, home goods, and food. Portable ACs is popular with young couples and students, as well as older folks in homes that may not have the latest state-of-the-art air conditioning installed. Some apartment homes have old AC units or none at all, which creates a need for alternative, cheap cooling.

Costco offers an array of different units. Haier is a brand of portable ACs that is familiar to AC reviewers and those in the AC business. Their units are typically solid but the quality of build has been an issue to some customers. Costco offers the Haier CPN10XC9 at under $300. Many reviewers, including myself, share the view that this unit may not be user friendly. My friend purchased this Haier a few days ago, and this is what he essentially wrote to me:

“Really noisy, and installation can be bothersome. Had to call Haier customer service and they weren’t as helpful as I hoped. Couldn’t sleep with the unit on so we suffered a few nights before we just got used to the heat. Good price for the unit though, but I really think I could’ve saved more elsewhere. It didn’t seem to cool the room much, though.”

After researching their problems I realized that they did not properly exhaust the unit outside the window. In truth, for some reason they totally forgot about it! If you are not sure of how to properly vent their portable AC, you can watch a video on YouTube here.

Once my friend properly ventilated his unit, he was much more pleased at its performance. It was still noisy according to his tastes, but he was now able to sleep a but more soundly. I would recommend the CPN10XC9 as a “quick buy”, but there are many more resources other than customer reviews that can help you decide which AC to purchase. Buying a $300 appliance takes a lot of research and contemplation, as your comfort is often the most important thing during hot days!

I went to an old friend’s baby shower for a few minutes to drop off my girlfriend. As I looked about their newly settled nursery I saw a peculiar figurine, which I thought was a toy of some sort, sitting by the baby’s changing station. I asked my friend what it was, and consequently she answered, “Oh, it’s an air purifier!”

The purifier was in the whimsical form of a penguin. Their baby boy’s room was decorated with the theme of an arctic scene. My girlfriend bought a stuffed polar bear to match the decor. She told me she had gotten it from Walmart and that so far, it seems to have been doing okay.

I wouldn’t know if the purifier was working efficiently because it was not mine. How would you know the purity of air by simply breathing it in? It certainly didn’t smell like a baby…he was about a month away. I read the box and several of the features popped out to me. It was not only a true HEPA filter, but also had UV light and an active carbon filter to eliminate odors.

I asked her several questions and she responded pretty enthusiastically that she had checked on the filter…which showed signs of debris after two weeks of consistent, constant use. So, according to my friend, perhaps the penguin air purifier, the Crane Penguin Air Cleaner, is worth a try at its economic price.

Energy costs are rising, especially in my native CA where it can get quite dry and sunny. When I was in college, I had to come up with rather creative ideas to stay cool while spending as little money as possible. Many homes are investing in portable ACs for the simple fact that they do not cool the whole home, but cool where you need it most. Here are several factors why portable ACs are useful:

1. Spot cooling: If you spend most of your day in the living room, then chances are that you don’t need other areas (let’s say…like the kitchen) cooled off at your expense.

2. Minimal installation: Portable ACs are not permanently installed, so if you need to move the unit to another room at the end of the day, you can.

3. Energy-saving: Again…why cool the whole house when you only need your bedroom cooled at night? Also, many portable AC units come with thermostats or timers to cool when you need it, when you want it. You can save plenty of money with this summer strategy.

4. Price: Installing a permanent AC system can run hundreds. A good portable AC is often under $400, and some are even less than $200. Plus, if you live in an apartment lifestyle (as many young adults do), portable ACs can come with you.

So consider these facts when purchasing your own portable AC. Of course, it’s not for everyone but it can be a great choice for those looking to save a little cash, stay cool this summer, and keep their lifestyle a bit more eco-friendly.

Find the best air conditioner for your needs here! 

AC-Reviews.com provides you with air conditioner reviews and ratings from top brands such as NewAir, Soleus, Amcor, Haier, Royal Sovereign, and more. 

You’ll find lots of easy-to-follow information about portable air conditioners, window air conditioners, split air conditioners, and other air coolers here.