Summer means a rise in temperature and humidity. With more people working from home and spending longer indoors, keeping cool can be a problem. Getting a good night’s sleep also becomes difficult when the weather turns hot and sticky. An air conditioner is one solution and Chris Michael, MD at Meaco, gives his top tips when it comes to choosing one, and for getting the best results.
MeacoCool MC Series Pro 7000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner compatible with the Meaco App, Google and Alexa
How to choose the best portable air conditioner for you?
The best advice on buying an air conditioner is to start by thinking about what you’re aiming to achieve.
- Are you looking to get a good night’s sleep on those hot uncomfortable summer nights?
- Is the room being used for heat generating exercise (for example, home exercising )?
We recommend ignoring the gimmicks and opt for a larger capacity air conditioner unit. Most people underestimate the size they need and are then disappointed. A bigger unit not only gives more cool air in a larger space but will be quieter too. Calculating the correct size is dependent on a number of factors:
- The floor area of the room
- The size and position of windows, and whether they have blinds or shades
- Is it going into a conservatory?
- The number of room occupants (if any)
- The heat generated by equipment
- The heat generated by lighting
Other factors influencing how long it takes to cool a room are:
- Is the room south facing?
- Is the room shaded from the sun by trees?
- Does the room have thermal blinds (and are they being used)?
- Is the room upstairs and drawing in heat from the floor below (especially relevant if you live in a block of flats)?
- How well insulated are the walls?
- Do you have a window or door to put a duct through and get rid of the hot air? Our air conditioners are supplied with 1.8m flexible ducts and window kits to suit most UK homes.
- Is there any furniture blocking a duct from reaching the window or door?
- How well insulated is the attic?
- Or even, is it not in the house at all! Are you looking to cool down an outbuilding or office?
Keeping everyone cool with a MeacoCool MC Pro Series Portable Air Conditioner
Our top tips for keeping cool with a portable air conditioner:
- Keep your curtains closed during the day, especially at sunny, south facing windows. Only open windows when the outside temperature is lower than inside, and turn off electrical appliances when they are not being used.
- Turn your air conditioner on in advance of when you actually need it. If getting a good night’s sleep is the main purpose of the air conditioner, then pre-cool your bedroom and turn the air conditioner on in the mid-afternoon, with the blinds and curtains drawn, and the door closed. At bedtime you can then turn the air conditioner off, or just run it in fan mode. An ideal bedroom temperature is around 16-18°C (60-65°F). Temperatures over 24°C (71°F) are likely to cause restlessness, while a cold room of about 12°C (53°F) will make it difficult to fall asleep.
- Make sure the unit and the exhaust duct are set up properly. The aim of the portable air conditioner is to generate cold air in the room and expel the remaining hot air outside. The exhaust duct will push out the hot air from the room and generated from the unit, out of the room. If it’s not set up properly, if there are kinks in the hose or gaps in the window or door, you’re reducing the unit’s efficiency – or causing damage altogether! The duct should be fixed tight to the unit, leading straight to the window or door and fitted with a sealed window kit.
- Keep your air conditioner clean and clear of dust. By cleaning your filter regularly throughout the season, a quick hoover on both filters every other week, you’ll help the air conditioner run efficiently, better cooling your room. Equally, if you have things obstructing the air outlet, you’re restricting the cooler air entering the room and posing a risk to the health of the unit.
At Meaco, we have a large range of portable air conditioners, the MeacoCool MC Pro Series, with eleven models to choose from, providing localised cooling in rooms from 12M² to 40m². In the low fan speed setting, the sound pressure level of just 51dB(A) makes this an easy portable air conditioner to live with, for example, when pre-cooling your bedroom. With useful timer functions, you can set both an on and off timer from anytime between one and 24 hours. An easy-to-use remote control provides full control of the air conditioner, enabling the user to adjust the temperature and engage a sleep mode to ensure a restful night’s sleep.
Plus, new for 2024, the MeacoCool MC Pro Series are also app-enabled! You can now use your smartphone to switch on your portable air conditioner unit on the way home from work so you know it’ll be ready for you when you get in. Alternatively, change the modes from your phone from the kitchen to save you going upstairs.
Products featured: Meaco MC Pro Series air conditioners
22 responses
We have recently bought the 10000 air con unit and when we turn on the machine the louvres at the front do not move. Can you confirm that they should move and what steps we need to take to resolve this issue
Anthony,
Thank you for your recent purchase.
The louvres on the 7,000-10,000 air con unit do not move automatically because they are designed for manual adjustment. We’ve updated our manual to clarify this and help you with the correct way to adjust them.
Hope that helps,
Omar@Meaco