How It Started
Something surprisingly cool happened this week . . . The hardware store had a portable air conditioner in stock! I didn’t have any way to buy when when I saw it, and it wasn’t cheap, $750. But I knew I had to have it, even though it was a steep price point for the company to pay since this wasn’t a very profitable month. I decided no matter what I had to do, it would be mine. So I grabbed my own cash, which tends to shrink more than it grows and headed out the next day.
I was so thankful when I got there because no one else had purchased it. Just grabbed the thing and slid it across the store to checkout. After dropping several hundred dollar bills I was the proud owner of a new Comfort Aire PS-121 by Mars. I crammed that thing in my car and drove home as fast as I could, which wasn’t very fast considering all the new speed bumps they’ve installed. Turns out the unit is a bit underpowered for the space. Not a whole lot I can do about that though. It’s REALLY close, though I don’t know exactly how much square footage the main living area is.
Setting Up
Setup was a breeze. There really wasn’t a whole lot to do. I did read the instructions though. . . don’t wanna do anything to jeopardize my comfort. There was only one window (well, technically two, but the second is no good) small enough for the window slider to fill. Just had to fit the slider into the window, attach the exhaust hose, then power it up. There’s more I will eventually do, like installing the insulating foam, and prepping a window in my room for the unit. But as soon as I had this done I had to turn it on.
Cooling Down
It was like magic. Probably partially psychosomatic too. But the place actually cooled off a couple degrees right away. I’m sure the combination of cold air and lowered humidity were why. Don’t get me wrong, the place is definitely not cold (or ever cool) yet. Even though the unit may be underpowered, it’s still powerful enough to make a difference. I just think it may take a bit longer to properly cool the room.
Cool Features
The Comfort Aire PS-121 is a 12,000 BTU unit. Powerful enough to cool a 550 sq. ft. area. This thing is feature rich too! Comes with a remote control (and batteries!) so you don’t have to actually move to adjust it. It’s got your usual things, power, temperature, fan speed, etc. Even has a swing setting, so the cold air spreads better. There’s a “Follow Me” option, which seems a bit misleading. This option checks the temperature at the remote (instead of the unit) and adjusts itself automatically based on that.
There’s also your usual timer and sleep options, which are great for power saving. There are other modes too. Besides the normal Cool mode, there’s a simple fan mode, just for moving air, and a dry mode, which is meant to suck the water out of the air. But, the most useless mode for me is heating. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that it exists, but I have no use for it. Oh, and can’t forget, it has wheels! Makes transportation that much easier.
Conclusion
Even though I paid about $300 more than I would have in the States, it was money well-spent. No need to go through any of the hassle of installing a permanent A/C unit when I can pay half the price for a portable unit. I can move it into my bedroom at night and into the living room in the day. I get the best of both worlds without all the installation hassle and added cost.
