Which Type of Air Conditioner is Right for You?

With summer weather finally putting in an appearance, you may find that your home or business is starting to get a bit stuffy in these warmer months. If you don’t have any cooling system within your premises it might be worth opting for air conditioner hire.

There’s nothing worse than working in an over-heated environment, let alone trying to relax in one. So if you are finding the summer heat unbearable, arranging for a temporary air conditioner could help out.

In a work environment temperature is very important. Being too hot or too cold can affect your productivity levels. It’s important to keep your work environment at a temperature that’s between 21.7 and 25 degrees centigrade. If you don’t have air conditioning, hiring a unit can improve your work environment.

Air conditioning can also be a good option for at home, especially if you don’t have an outdoor space to cool off in. Regulating the heat in your home can make days and nights more comfortable, especially if you have little ones who are getting hot and bothered.

Air con requirements

Before you hire or buy portable air conditioning, it will help if you understand how to find the perfect match for your needs.

Here at HSS we offer different types of air conditioners to hire. Each environment requiring portable air conditioning is different and therefore careful consideration needs to be made prior to choosing the best air conditioning solution.

The basic choice can be made from one of the following:

1. Evaporative coolers (swamp coolers)
2. Portable Exhaust tube Air Conditioning
3. Portable Split type Air Conditioning units (refrigerant)
4. Portable Split type Air Conditioning units (water cooled)

What should I consider before choosing a portable air conditioner?

The most important factor to consider is the amount of cooling duty that is required for the area to be properly cooled. The amount of cooling duty required (measured in BTU or kW) will be impacted by several issues. i.e. size of area, number of people populating the area, number of items that generate heat e.g. PCs, photocopiers, fax machines etc. Also the number of windows and the direction of the sun, i.e. buildings with south facing windows will require more cooling duty. Calculating the correct level of air conditioning duty required is important as the correct decision can save hire costs and deliver the perfect cooling solution. To help you calculate the correct air conditioning duty for your environment you can use the below as a guide.

For a very quick guide the following can be used to calculate the cooling duty:

7,500 BTU (2.2kW) – 150 square feet

9,000 BTU (2.6kW) – 250 square feet

10,000 BTU (2.9kW) – 300 square feet

12,000 BTU (3.5kW) – 400 square feet

13,000 BTU (3.8kW) – 450 square feet

14,000 BTU (4.1kW) – 500 square feet

What can impact the effectiveness of air conditioning?

Different factors can reduce the effectiveness of portable air conditioners. Here are a few solutions that might increase or decrease BTU’s if you suspect the effectiveness of your portable air conditioner is going to be altered by an outside factor:

1. Reduce your required capacity by 10% if your room is heavily shaded.
2. Increase your capacity by 10% if your room is very sunny.
3. Add 600 BTU to your capacity for each additional person (beyond two people) that regularly occupies the same room.
4. Add 4,000 BTU if the room is a hotter than normal environment i.e. similar to a kitchen.

After deciding on the BTU/kW rating you need, the next issue to sort out is what type of Portable Air Conditioner to choose.