There are two popular choices if you are looking for a cooling unit to complement your existing central air conditioning, that are window units and portable air conditioning units. But if you want to use one that can be moved much more practically (real portable device) and also can be installed or reinstalled easily then portable air conditioners are better selection. And based on their hose mechanism, they can be divided into two major types that are single hose and dual hose! The big question; what are the big differences between single hose and dual hose? And what are pros and cons of them?
Dual hose portable air conditioners!
As its name suggest, they are designed with two primer hoses. One is functioned to vent or exhaust the hot air taken from the inside of the room to outside (therefore it is called as the exhaust hose). The second hose is functioned to draw or direct in additional air or called as the intake hose. They are rather purposed to be used for larger size of the rooms. And therefore, they are designed with relatively higher sizes than single hose (around 12,000 -14,000 BTU or more to cool the rooms of 46 square meters (500 square feet) or more. With their not-shared intake hose, there is adequate space for the large of the amount of air cycled when the unit is running in a faster rate.
Pros:
1. There is no bad negative pressure resulted that can make the unit work more efficient.
2. They can cool down the temperature inside of the room more quickly than single hose models.
3. And better performance on controlling the performance of the compressor which can be cooled more quickly if the outside temperature (ambient temperature) is lower and will be better to produce & result colder front air output!
Cons:
1. The circulating system within the same room will lead to the depletion of O2 (Oxygen) in the room and on the other hand the amount of CO2 increases! Therefore, it is recommended to also use the O2 depletion sensor in order to know the amount of O2 level is enough or not in the room so that you can control the unit when it should be turned off temporarily!
2. The temperature of front air output will increase if the condition of the outside temperature is > 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity level is high enough (more than 80 percent), because this circumstance will make the compressor cannot be cooled quickly. In such cases, in order to keep the compressor far away from overheating problem, the second hose should not be used!
3. There are two internal fans that will require more energy for operating.
Single hose portable air conditioners!
As the name implies, they are designed with a single hose. It is installed from the back of the unit to the vent where the higher temperature of the air will be released to outside. They are typically purposed and used for smaller areas and therefore their size capacities that are available in the marketplace are not as big as dual hose models, which designed to cool the areas that are not bigger than 480 square feet. Since there is only a single hose then it is used for the exhaust hose and intake hose. This means, they will expel the air from the room via a single hose that can create negative pressure by potentially attracting & pulling hot air from neighboring rooms. This is the key why they are less effective than dual hose units.
Pros:
1. In terms of the energy usage, they consume less energy (without involving two internal fans and two hoses).
2. The fresh air is always exchanged within the inside of the room. So you don’t have to worry to the depletion of Oxygen in the room.
Cons:
1. Although they can keep working without needing two internal fans that can consume more energy, but they work less efficiently than dual hose models due to the bad negative condition of the negative air pressure.
2. They cannot cool down the room as fast as the dual hose models.
Image source: Amazon.Com
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Tags: dual hose, single hose