Along with America's refusal to adopt popular international products like soccer and diesel engines in cars, portable air conditioners, as great as they are, never sell well in the United States.
Our loss. And your gain. There is excellent coverage in explaining to folks how cool portable coolers are.
Portable air conditioners are mounted on rolling platforms, like portable heaters. They use either traditional compressors or evaporative cooling to create cool air. They require only an exhaust tube for waste hot air and condensed vapor: no expensive through walls need to be cut; no pricey internal hard wiring needs to be done and no expensive visits from air conditioning "professionals" who live to over-charge during the summer heat.
Portable units are not perfect. They are noisy: really noisy. And they won't win you any friends at the Sierra Club or at the local utility. Portable units are not efficient and are plagued by problems with coolant and other waste issues. Plus, they're not cheap to run. Be sure to stress the near certain nasty hit to the power bill. But on average, portable coolers — especially when it is 117 degrees in your house (isn't it incredible what a mess we are making of this lovely earth), portable air conditioners makes sense.
