Have been thinking of getting a single room unit just to take like 5c off the living room. But I also want efficiency with a proper unit, maybe the midea portasplit. Bit pricey. Could run it as a dehumidifier in winter too though which is useful. It’s also a backup heat pump if our main heat pump was to fail. Though both use electricity.
I have bought one this spring when it was still available (before the first heat waves). Best survival investment of the year.
It really cools down the room, and is directly comparable to a real AC vs regular portable units that just heat up everything except what’s directly in front of them and create a powerful depression that sucks hot outside air from every opening.
It managed to get a 33C room in full sunlight (shades down, 42C outside) down to a chill 24C.
It used around 10kWh per day (about 2-3€) at the heart of the heatwave, running from late morning to mid-evening. I have no idea if it’s good or bad.
Heat pumps are really effective these days and additionally provide efficient warming even in extreme cold. They’re ubiquitous in Scandinavia.
Just throw the central on recirculate if you have the option or use a fan
Edit: see comment below
Heat exchangers? Got any more info on that, sounds interesting.
Whoops, typo. I meant heat pump.
Though there is also a type of heat exchanger sometimes called heat recovery or something like that for cold climates.
Sorry for the articles, i know it better in a different language 🤷 you should be able to find the wiki and shop from that info
Heres an example: https://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/products/heat-pumps
Ahh, yeah the midea portasplit (or similar models) are heat pump designs. I do have a heat pump but it’s air to water. So it does my hot water and central heating. As it’s in the UK it does make sense for that as a main one, AC is far less important here and a single room unit is probably reasonable.
AC for comfort in summer, heating to survive winter.
I’ve got a Portasplit. Got it just before every single AC unit and fan sold out.
Can’t fit one in our living room currently because of the type of windows. But we do want to replace our windows at some point. Probably going to be a next summer thing at this point. Hopefully we have passed the worst heat wave already.
Plus when I get it I can always use it as a dehumidifier still, pretty useful when hanging clothes inside to dry.
We’re in SW Germany, the next heatwave starts next week.
South coast UK here, I think the last heatwave was more extreme than the next one?
Maybe I should get an ice bath and stick it in the garden under a parasol. That could cool me down nicely after cycling home from work in the heat. Perhaps I should check how water resistant my bluetooth controllers are…
At the very least, hospitals should have them.
