Portable air conditioner vs air cooler: What’s the difference?

Portable air conditioners are becoming more common in the UK, since they’re cheaper than built-in air conditioners, and don’t require professional installation. The only trouble is that they still require a hefty upfront investment.

If you’ve been searching for a portable air conditioner, chances are you’ve noticed more affordable air coolers popping up in your search results. Air coolers look similar to air conditioners but are drastically different machines internally, and they have vastly different cooling power. If you’re wondering what the difference is between these two devices, you’re in the right place.

In this guide, I’ll take you through the ins and outs of portable air conditioners and air coolers to help you decide which is a better fit for your home. Don’t worry – I’ll be avoiding technical jargon at all costs to keep things as clear and concise as possible.

Jump to:

• How do portable air conditioners work?
• How do air coolers work?
• What are portable air conditioners best for?
• What are air coolers best for?
• Portable air conditioner vs air cooler: Which is best?

Portable air conditioner vs air cooler: At a glance

Portable Air ConditionersAir Coolers

How do portable air conditioners work

Portable air conditioners have five main components: an exhaust hose, fan, compressor, condenser coils and evaporator coil. Air conditioners follow the following steps to cool your room:

1. A refrigerant gas is compressed by the compressor. This process turns the gas into a pressurised vapour.
2. This vapour is then drawn over the condenser coils, which cools the vapour and turns it into a liquid.
3. Once the refrigerant gas has been turned into a cool liquid, the liquid passes through the evaporator coil.
4. At this point, warm air pulled from the room transfers its heat into the cool liquid, and the air gets cooler as it goes.
5. The fan then blows this newly-cooled air into the room.

That leaves the exhaust hose. This component is a chunky hose that must be ventilated out of a window so that hot air can be expelled from the room, allowing the room to gradually get cooler until it reaches your desired temperature.

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How do air coolers work

Unlike air conditioners, air coolers don’t contain a refrigerating element. Nor do they require an exhaust hose, and they’re cheaper to run. The only problem is that they don’t pack anywhere near as much of a punch.

These simpler devices have three components: a fan, a water tank and an absorbent sheet. They follow these steps to slightly cool the air in your room:

1. The water tank is manually filled with ice-cold water.
2. The absorbent sheet slowly soaks up the water from the tank.
3. The fan then pulls warm air from the room through the cool, damp sheet.
4. This causes the cool water to evaporate into the air, cooling it.
5. The fan then continues to blow the newly refreshed air out into the room.

While this can’t completely eradicate hot air from the room – the system needs hot air to help evaporate the cool water – it can temporarily reduce the temperature of the air coming out of the fan. That means, while it’s running and there’s cool water in the tank, the person sitting near the cooler can benefit from a cool breeze.

Technically, you can achieve a similar air-cooling effect by placing a bowl of ice water in front of a plain old fan. An air cooler just automates this system and makes it far easier to avoid accidental spillages.

What are portable air conditioners best for?

Despite their name, portable air conditioners aren’t as portable as air coolers, thanks to their exhaust hose having to be manoeuvred through a window. They’re called portable air conditioners simply because they aren’t fixed to the wall, or built into the home like traditional air conditioning systems.

That being said, it’s the best option for people who don’t want to splash the cash on installing full AC in their home. It offers similar cooling power, but is confined to one room. In fact, when we tested the best portable air conditioners, one option was able to cool a whole room from 25​​°C to 21°C in just over an hour. When left on for longer, and set to a lower temperature, our reviewer claimed that his flat felt “positively arctic”.

So, if you’re looking to get that fridge-like feeling at home, a portable air conditioner is a great option. You’ll just need to splash out between £300 and £1,000 for the privilege.

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What are air coolers best for?

If you have a lower budget ranging between £50 to £400, an air cooler could offer what you’re looking for. However, don’t expect these to hit you in the face with cold air when you walk in the room, like a portable air conditioner would.

Instead, air coolers can only cool a small area when pointed directly at it. That means an air cooler could be all you need to make working at a desk bearable on a sweltering day, or to offer light relief while you sleep.

Since they’re fan-powered and don’t involve complex refrigeration elements, air coolers are much quieter than portable air conditioners. Without considering their more limited cooling power, they’re also cheaper and more energy-efficient to run. And since you won’t be anchored to a window, these lightweight machines can be placed anywhere in your home.

Portable air conditioner vs air cooler: Which is best?

The answer to this question is, in our experience, a simple one. Sheer cooling power doesn’t come cheap. The only things that can actually remove heat from your home are portable air conditioners. So, if you actually want to significantly cool a room to get that fresh-out-the-fridge feeling, you need to bite the bullet and make the investment. You’ll also need to get used to their higher running costs and louder noise levels.

That being said, if you’re only keen to cool yourself a little bit while you work, and you don’t have convenient window access or have trouble sleeping with loud air conditioning units switched on, an air cooler might be the option for you.