Electronic Portable Air Conditioner

can a portable air conditioner actually take the place of central air conditioning?

My electric bill is straight out of a horror movie whenever I use my central air conditioner. I have been thinking about investing in a portable air conditioner (not a window unit) because they don't use as much electricity. But I'm worried that it won't be enough and my apartment will still be hot. I realize that they are made to cool off just a single room but if its on in one room, would it cool things off enough to make the other rooms at least bearable to be in. My apartment is fairly small. Its a 2 bedroom that is just a little over 900 sq ft.

Public Comments

1. No, you could have to have one in every room.
2. A portable airconditioner can't even take the place of one window unit. You'd need a 10,000 BTU portable unit to cool the same space that a 5,000 BTU window unit can. This is because a window unit expels all it's heat outdoors. A portable unit expels heat through a hose but a lot still goes into the room. Plus, with a portable, you have to empty out the water resevoir every four or five hours. Get a window unit. Two window units are cheaper than one portable.
3. Yes it can. Efficiently... No. If you only want to cool off 1 room and leave the central ac off (keeping the door closed and leaving the other rooms wild), yes you could save some money. If you try to use a portable unit like that to cool too much you will actually end up spending more money on your electric bill. Your central ac unit might be from 1954 however... in which case you might end up saving money with 3 portable units...not really, but it sounds like you need to get your apt complex to either maintain the ac unit or get a new one or find a new place to live. I would get a portable unit and pick which room in the house i liked to spend my time in the best and live with it... but im not all that picky. Good luck. edit: when i say portable i would go with a window unit for the reasons mentioned above. another thing to check is weather stripping and gaps around windows and doors... those can have a huge impact on temp leaks in and out of your house. (for once billy maze is probably right ;)