A mobile air conditioner is not the most ideal device for cooling a room. Nevertheless, there are plenty of situations in which it is extremely convenient to have such a device within reach. Why and when is this something for your client, what should you look for and which ones exist?
A mobile air conditioner can come in incredibly handy in a variety of scenarios. Regardless of whether your client currently already has cooling capabilities in their home or plans to have them installed. Such as a split air conditioner, a heat pump with cooling functionality, or a combination. For example, there may be a specific room that only needs (extra) cooling occasionally. For example, only on the very hottest days of the year, or a room that is not used continuously but irregularly or only occasionally.
Awkward spot
It may also be a space where it is just a little too radical and too expensive, for example, to run all kinds of air conditioning lines over a long distance and install an indoor unit. Let alone to install special floor heating or a fan coil unit to benefit from the cooling function of the heat pump. Think of a little attic hidden under a sloping roof, an addition, or even separate buildings.
Mobility
You can also use a mobile air conditioner to cool very locally, without "bothering" the rest of the home and thus other residents. Even stronger, in a somewhat larger room, you can also cool (extra) locally by conveniently placing the air conditioner and aiming it at a specific spot.
Another convenient feature of this device is its mobility. You can easily store a mobile air conditioner once the device is not needed for a while and, of course, you can very easily move it between different rooms or even take it to a completely different location.
These are heavy and often rather large devices that also produce more noise and have less cooling power than, say, a splitairco. So it's mainly something for "on the side." Also, the dehumidification function can be super handy for rooms where your customer wants to regulate humidity levels.
Cooling capacity and sealing
Mobile air conditioners come in many shapes and sizes. First, the right cooling capacity is crucial to actually getting the intended space cool. In addition to this being stated in BTU, you will usually find in the specifications the maximum space to be cooled (m3) and/or the maximum surface area (m2). It is generally better for a customer to get too much cooling power than too little. After all, you can always turn the air conditioner down a notch, but don't let it do more than the maximum possible.
Furthermore, the right sealant is needed to properly seal the opening where the drain hose, unfortunately unavoidable with a mobile air conditioner, must be routed outside. Consider a sliding window, pivot window, tilt-and-turn window, or perhaps even a door or balcony door. A variety of window sealing material is usually included.
Comfort
Even less essential options can provide great ease of use. Consider a timer to automatically turn the air conditioner on and also off again, As well as a remote control or control via an app on smartphone or tablet to comfortably control the air conditioner from the couch or from bed. Sometimes this can even be done via a voice assistant, such as those from Google or Amazon.
A dimmable display is ideal if the air conditioner is cooling the bedroom at night, and an extra quiet night mode is obviously handy in that location. Some air conditioners can also ventilate without cooling, heat a room, or have an on-board thermostat to indicate the desired indoor temperature directly. Dehumidifying is also usually possible, with mobile air conditioners having a removable condensate tank or requiring the condensate that collects in this tank to be drained via a tap.
Fifteen mobile air conditioners
Other important things are mainly the number of cooling modes and the minimum and maximum noise levels. The weight of the air conditioner is especially something to consider should it need to be moved frequently. The energy class is often A with sometimes an outlier to A+.
We list about fifteen mobile air conditioners below, distinguishing for convenience between air conditioners for small, medium and larger spaces.
For small rooms up to 24m2
Fuave ACB09B24A Black and White
€ 289,-
Eight different modes, dimmable screen, dehumidification function.
Maximum cooling capacity: 9000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
Fuave ACB09W22
€ 359,-
Dehumidification function, window sealant for tilt and turn windows, dimmable control panel.
Maximum cooling capacity: 9000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
De'Longhi PAC EM93 Silent
€ 749,-
Dehumidification function, thermostat, ventilation function for blowing only without cooling.
Maximum cooling capacity: 10800 BTU
Maximum noise level: 63 dB
Rowenta Turbo Eco Sense AU5610
€ 473,-
Three different modes, removable water tank, remote control.
Maximum cooling capacity: 11000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
For medium-sized rooms up to 40m2
Fuave ACB12W24A+
€ 499,-
Dehumidification function, timer that lets you turn it on or off automatically, energy class A+.
Maximum cooling capacity: 12000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
Fuave ACB12W24A
€ 429,-
Dehumidification function, timer that lets you turn it on or off automatically, dimmable screen.
Maximum cooling capacity: 12000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
Rowenta Turbo Eco Sense+ AU5620
€ 700,-
Three different modes, removable water tank, remote control.
Maximum cooling capacity: 13000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB
Fuave ACB14W24A
€ 549,-
Dehumidification function, timer that lets you turn the air conditioner on or off automatically, dimmable display.
Maximum cooling capacity: 14000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 64 dB
Duux North Smart 14K BTU/h Gray and White
€ 950,-
Controllable remotely with the Duux app or with Google and Amazon's voice assistance.
Maximum cooling capacity: 14000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 58 dB
For large rooms up to 51m2
Fuave ACB16W24A
€ 629,-
Eight different modes, dimmable screen, dehumidification function.
Maximum cooling capacity: 16000 BTU
Maximum noise level 65 dB
Fuave ACB18W24A
€ 899,-
Eight different modes, dimmable screen, dehumidification function.
Maximum cooling capacity: 18000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 64 dB
Duux North Smart 18K BTU/h Gray and White
€ 1309,-
Controllable remotely with the Duux app or with Google and Amazon's voice assistance.
Maximum cooling capacity: 18000 BTU
Maximum noise level: 65 dB