Insulated ducting is a worthwhile investment, especially if your ductwork relates to a temperature-sensitive, air-movement application. Portable air-conditioning is a prime example of one such application. Portable ACs exhaust hot air and this temperature needs to be maintained. Why does this demand an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose? If your portable-air-conditioner hose is not insulated, what happens? If ducts are not insulated, they heat up along with the high temperatures of air they contain. While this may seem trivial at first, it has drastic consequences that you should not ignore. This is especially true when it comes to portable AC-units. In order to cool your room, portable ACs must replace the air that is currently in your room with cooler air. Portable ACs do this by—first—drawing in the air in your room. This air is passed over coolants contained within the unit. These chemical compounds lower the temperature of the air with which they come into contact. But remember, energy can neither be created nor destroyed: it can only be transferred. The heat that was in the air that the AC just took in must now be rehoused into a new medium—new air. This newly-hot air must have somewhere to go; otherwise, it will simply cycle back into your room, quickly returning the temperature of your room to what it was before. Understanding this issue is key to understanding why portable ACs rely on exhaust hoses and why it is necessary for you to have an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose. A hose for AC-unit applications transports hot air to areas beyond the confines of your room, replacing it with cooler air and—thereby—lowering the net temperature of your space. Nonetheless, you may still be wondering: How does this relate to insulated ductwork? And is it worth insulating ductwork?
“Tornado Flex Insulated AD”
“Wind Handler Insulated TU”
What Happens if Ducts Are Not Insulated?
If ducts are not insulated, they leak heat. Without insulation, the heat from the hose’s interior travels to the hose’s exterior, making the duct hot and, thus, heating the space surrounding the ductwork. Think about it this way. You use a portable air-conditioner because you want to cool your room. If the ductwork connecting your portable AC-unit to your room’s window is hot, some of the heat that should be otherwise exiting your room will instead re-enter your room, counteracting your intentions. This is why it is especially important to have an insulated hose for portable-air-conditioner applications. If heat leaks from the air-conditioner exhaust-pipe, your unit will cool your room at a much lower rate than it should. This is a waste of energy and, therefore, a waste of money. When it comes to portable air-conditioners, what happens if ducts are not insulated? They operate extremely inefficiently, spending a ton of energy which ultimately does not go toward cooling your room. You may be one of many portable-AC users who do not yet have an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose. In that case, can you insulate a portable-air-conditioner hose? And if so, how do you insulate an air-conditioner tube? You can certainly insulate your portable-air-conditioner tubing. Let us take a look at your options.
Can You Insulate a Portable-Air-Conditioner Hose?
Absolutely. You can insulate a portable-air-conditioner hose using a few means. You can purchase a new, high-quality, insulated portable-air-conditioner hose that truly maximizes the energy efficiency of your AC unit. Alternatively, you can use an insulated hose-cover for portable air-conditioners. When it comes to a portable air-conditioner, insulated hose-cover solutions are inadvisable. We will address this issue in the proceeding section. For now, let us take a look at your main option: a portable-air-conditioner-hose replacement. A new portable-air-conditioner insulated-exhaust-hose is meant to replace your portable AC’s current duct. The default ductwork that comes with most portable ACs is often poorly-made, breaking down quickly after being installed. Plus, these ducts often perform their jobs poorly. These offer inefficient airflow and do not insulate high-temperature air well. As we have mentioned, poor insulation leads to a lot of wasted energy, which—as a consequence—inflates your energy bill to a level that might have you questioning why you decided to purchase a portable AC in the first place. This sort of problem is common. And the main way that portable-AC users surmount this issue is by acquiring a portable-AC-unit hose with built-in insulation. An insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose can achieve its impressive degree of insulation through a multitude of methods. The common methods, though, are through the use of either cotton or PET-film.
Both cotton and PET-film are like base layers that keep people warm while they are outside during snowy weather. While waterproof jackets keep snow and water from reaching your body, base layers are made of insulating materials they do most of the work to actually keep you warm. This analogy applies to our thinking about an insulated portable-AC-hose. Hoses such as our HVAC Ventilation-Flex Ducting feature a layer of PET-film that is sandwiched between a highly-durable exterior layer and an insulation-enhancing interior layer. The interior of this hose is made of aluminum.
Aluminum is a metal that naturally reflects heat. For this reason, aluminum is often employed in industrial and construction applications that require some degree of insulation. In some places, homeowners even use it on their walls to reduce the rate at which heat leaves their home! When it comes to a hose like our HVAC Ventilation-Flex Ducting, aluminum functions in a similar manner, significantly mitigating the ability for heat to travel from the hose’s interior to its exterior. In conjunction with this inner layer, the hose features a PET-film mid-layer. This layer is what does the bulk of the insulative hose’s insulative work. PET-film is relatively thin, yet highly efficient at insulating. Keep in mind that PET film is not the only material you will see embedded into an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose’s walls. Cotton and other materials, such as fiberglass, are often used—reaching similar degrees of insulation. Finally, the HVAC Ventilation-Flex Ducting features an outer wall made of polyvinyl-chloride, or PVC. PVC is a type of plastic known for its exceedingly-high degrees of resistance to tears and abrasions. This makes it the perfect material for the outer wall of an air-conditioner exhaust-hose-replacement since it maximizes the level of durability that the hose exhibits. While it may seem like overkill to prioritize durability for a portable-AC-unit exhaust-hose—in the long run—durability is what will keep your ductwork functioning for years to come. One misstep or accident can totally ruin a poorly-made hose, costing you much more than what it would have costed you if you had simply opted for a higher-quality hose at the start.
Another feature that enhances the HVAC Ventilation-Flex Ducting’s durability is the implementation of a steel-wire helix that runs throughout the hose’s body. This steel spiral acts as a flexible frame that helps reinforce the hose’s ability to withstand crushes—maintaining its shape even while under intense pressure. While these traits and features come together to make for a highly-effective, insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose, they are also the reason for why this hose also exhibits a high amount of sound insulation. This helpful trait is an additional benefit that this ducting has to offer.
If the level of noise that your portable AC has been generating bothers you, the fact that this duct insulates sound is a quality that you likely cannot forego. (Sound insulation is almost certainly something that your portable AC’s default ductwork does not offer!) However, even if the noise created by your portable AC is not something that has consciously bothered you, consider a world in which your portable AC ran at a level near silence. It might just be one of those things which you never knew you needed until you actually get it—greatly improving your quality of life.
How Do You Insulate an Air-Conditioner Tube without Replacing It?
To insulate a portable-air-conditioner tube without replacing it, you may use an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose cover. However, this option is highly inadvisable, as these covers tend to be relatively inefficient, as well as short-lived. Firstly, these covers are poor fits for the hoses they are meant to cover. They tend to fit loosely around an air-conditioner duct/hose, offering it a negligible amount of insulation, especially when compared to more comprehensive, better-built solutions, such as a portable-AC-hose replacement. Secondly, these covers are fragile. If your hose is accidentally dragged across the ground, or if you accidentally scrape furniture or other objects against the cover, it can easily tear. Even a small puncture in an insulated portable-AC-hose-cover can dramatically lower its insulative efficiency. In this way, merely covering your hose with an insulative wrap is much less reliable and is a larger financial risk than replacing your hose altogether with ducting that has insulative qualities built into its structure. An insulated replacement vent/hose for portable-air-conditioner applications avoids many of the issues that plague insulated covers, which is why it is the optimal choice for obtaining an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose.
Is It Worth Insulating Ductwork for Portable Air-Conditioners?
It is always worth it to insulate ductwork for portable air-conditioners. Without insulated ductwork, your portable AC will leak heat back into your room, slowing the rate at which the room cools. This is a waste of energy, significantly inflating your energy bill. Even if energy usage does not concern you, the mere fact that your portable AC is running at a level much lower than its maximum potential should concern you. Furthermore, the portable-air-conditioner hoses that typically come with portable ACs are generally made of polypropylene, a type of elastomer known for being vulnerable to all sorts of damages, including tears and abrasions. This material—as the main constituent of a hose’s composition—does little to insulate the temperature of the air that the hose transports. Upgrading your portable-air-conditioner duct to a higher-quality, insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose will give you a portable-AC-hose replacement that lasts much longer than your original hose. Plus, your new duct will offer a substantially higher level of insulation, minimizing the amount of energy that your portable air-conditioner wastes.
Moreover, a portable-AC replacement-hose acts as a de facto portable-AC-hose extension. That is, when replacing your original portable-air-conditioner vent, you have the ability to select a hose whose length is longer than that of the hose being replaced. Thus, even if your portable air-conditioner vented with an insulated duct, you may require a new hose in order to extend its reach, especially if your unit’s hose is so short that it does not reach a window or if its short length forces you to position your unit in an inconvenient location within the room.
And for those who have been needing a portable-air-conditioner-hose extension in the first place, a portable-air-conditioner-hose replacement is the perfect opportunity to obtain a longer hose—all while gaining the advantages of improved insulation and industrial-grade ductwork. These are just a few of the many reasons for why an insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose is such a worthwhile investment. It is certainly worth the money, for all those savings you sustain from your unit’s newly-heightened energy-efficiency will eventually outvalue the cost of the hose. An insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose is one of the best investments you can make toward upgrading your portable AC-unit. Frankly, upgrading is an understatement. For, without insulated ducting, your unit will simply run at a level of efficiency that is way lower than the level of efficiency at which it was meant to operate. If your portable-air-conditioner tube was not already insulated, this is especially true. However, if the original ductwork that came with your portable AC offers some degree of insulation, then acquiring a portable-AC-hose replacement would truly be an upgrade. A new, insulated portable-air-conditioner-hose offers you a plethora of benefits which certainly heed your attention. It will drastically outperform your portable AC’s default ductwork across virtually every dimension of measurement—from lifespan to flexibility to insulation.