Many people may not know that the exhaust that comes out of your portable air conditioner is merely hot air and moisture. The term “exhaust” is used to encompass any gas or air that is expelled from a machine in the course of its normal processes. “Exhaust” may conjure up images of cars coughing up a black fog of smoke, or factories puffing out tall, billowing clouds. With impressions like these in our heads, it is easy to speculate if portable ACs are producing dangerous fumes that may affect your household. You may be wondering: can you get carbon monoxide poisoning from a portable air conditioner? Is it safe to use a portable AC at all? Luckily, portable-air-conditioner exhaust does not contain any noxious chemicals. You should be relieved to know that portable-air-conditioner exhaust is merely vented to the outside to prevent temperatures from rising inside. Portable ACs are small, transportable units that can be used to cool your home or workplace. They have the added benefits of humidifying or dehumidifying the spaces they occupy (depending upon the unit) and are environmentally-friendly! AC exhaust may seem like a potentially concerning factor in your portable-air-conditioning experience, but in actuality, portable-air-conditioner exhaust is just heat and condensation created during the air-cooling process.
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Can You Get Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from a Portable Air Conditioner?
No, you cannot get carbon monoxide poisoning from a portable air conditioner. Portable ACs do not produce carbon monoxide because they do not use gas. Carbon monoxide (or CO) is produced by fuel-burning machines and because portable air conditioners use electricity, they are unable to emit carbon monoxide. The same is true for all forms of air conditioning! The only way you can get carbon monoxide poisoning from a portable AC is if the AC picks up CO emissions from other sources. Carbon monoxide is a dangerous fume because it is a colorless, odorless gas that cannot be observed by the human eye or nose. All homes should feature a carbon monoxide detector that can alert you to above-average levels of CO in your home. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the average level of permissible exposure to carbon monoxide is around 50 parts per million. Any levels above 51 PPM are considered medium range, with anything greater than 101 PPM being considered unsafe. The carbon monoxide detector in your home will alert you it detects high levels of CO in your home. Carbon monoxide is especially hazardous. Exposure to CO can include symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, impaired vision and memory—and in the worst cases, loss of consciousness and death. This is why you should always ensure that the carbon monoxide detector in your home is working.
However, even though your portable air conditioner may not be producing CO, there is still a possibility that dangerous fumes could be brought inside by your portable-AC exhaust-pipe. Air-conditioner-units such as the dual-vent portable-air-conditioner are the main culprit of this specific scenario. The dual-vent portable-AC utilizes a 2-hose portable-AC system. One hose acts as the portable-AC exhaust-tube and expels hot air and water vapor. This is the hose that a single-duct portable air-conditioner also requires. The second, additional hose for the two-duct portable-AC is an intake hose that draws in air from the outside. If this hose is positioned near any sort of fume-producing machinery, the emissions will end up inside your home as well. Be aware as to the location of your intake pipe; keep it away from garages, running cars, furnaces, or anything that emits noxious chemicals. Despite the fact that your portable AC cannot realistically produce carbon monoxide (unless it catches on fire!), you should still be conscious as to the outside positioning of your intake hose to ensure that you are not bringing in dangerous fumes. For the portable-air-conditioner hose, too short of a hose may hinder your venting options. A long air-conditioner-hose can literally extend your choices to circumvent areas with hazardous fumes. With a long exhaust-hose for portable-air-conditioner units, you have more ways to reach safe spaces for ventilation. Ducting.com’s Wind Handler Flexible Air Duct is an extremely compressible and flexible duct that can extend the reach of your portable-air-conditioner exhaust-hose. With customizable lengths up to 50 feet, you can tailor this hose to any length in order to suit your needs.
It can also be easily manipulated into turns and curves that can accommodate for any obstacles in your room. You do not have to worry about compromising the structure of your hose with constant flexing! Due to its neoprene-coated, polyester design, the Wind Handler Flexible hose can withstand heavy amounts of stress and will not tear or crack as easily as a typical portable AC duct. The Wind Handler Flexible is specifically designed for air ventilation, with its portability and flexibility making it an ideal aircon exhaust-hose for the portable AC unit.
Is Portable Air Conditioner Exhaust Harmful?
No, portable-air-conditioner exhaust is not harmful! The exhaust from the portable AC is composed of hot air and water that is expelled out of the aircon exhaust pipe. It does not contain any harmful chemicals or fumes that can negatively affect your household. Portable-air-conditioner exhaust is created during the air-cooling process. Hot air is sucked into the unit via intake fan and crosses condenser coils full of refrigerant liquid. Once it reaches the refrigerant, the refrigerant turns into a gas due to the interaction with the hot air. This process also creates condensation. The cooled air is then ushered back into your home, while heat and water vapor are funneled outside by the exhaust-vent on air-conditioner unit. The byproducts of air cooling are the main components being exhausted from the machine. Although, if you do not clean or replace the air filters located on the back of your portable AC, your unit may be collecting dust or other allergens. This collection of particles can decrease the quality of your air flow as well as cause allergies to flare in your home. You should make sure to clean or replace your air filters as often as every few months, depending on what type of filter you have. Consult your instruction manual in order to determine the exact air filter you have, and how often it should be replaced. The dust and dander that may be accumulating on your air filter will be vented out of the unit, potentially aggravating you and your loved ones’ allergies. However, is portable-air-conditioner exhaust harmful, per se? Despite the dirt and allergens that may be multiplying inside your unit, cleaning your air filters and replacing them around every six months will limit the number of particles that are exhausted from your unit. With a little care and maintenance to your unit, you can ensure your portable-air-conditioner exhaust is relatively harmless.
Does a Portable AC Need Exhaust Hosework?
Yes, a typical portable AC needs exhaust hosework. The portable-AC duct/pipe connects to the exhaust vent and removes the hot air and moisture from the area that the air conditioner is trying to cool. The only case in which this is not necessary would be if you were using an evaporative cooler. Despite the fact that portable-air-conditioner exhaust is not harmful, the emissions still need to be ventilated outside to ensure that they do not affect the temperature of the room in which the AC is working. Venting will also ensure that the air conditioner will continue to work efficiently. The portable-AC-vent pipe ushers the byproducts into another area—whether it is outside or to another room—in order to prevent the room from heating up or becoming humid. Without the exhaust hose, the hot air and moisture would blow out of the exhaust vent, back into the room that the AC is in. This influx of hot, humid air would counter-act the cool, dry air that the unit is producing. The portable air conditioner would be trapped in a cycle of cooling its own exhaust, wasting energy and electricity.
Exhausting the heat and moisture from the portable AC happens to be one of the key components that keeps the machine running. Heat from the internal machinery would continue to build inside of the unit, impairing performance, until it ceases to work altogether. The same concept would apply to the levels of condensation inside of the portable air conditioner. Venting a portable-air-conditioner hose—out window-sills, doors, or through walls—ensures that the byproducts will not circulate inside the unit or the room it is cooling. Using a portable aircon pipe is one of the most important steps in running your portable AC.
Unless you have an evaporative cooler—which uses evaporation to cool and concurrently rids itself of heat and moisture—you need a portable aircon hose. However, the portable duct-work that comes with most portable air conditioners is made from cheap, fragile materials that are not suited for long-term use. An outstanding portable air-exhaust hose will be extremely flexible, incredibly tough, and made from good materials. Our selection of portable AC hosework at Ducting.com will meet all of the requirements necessary for proper ventilation. Our Wind Handler Insulated TU Insulated Ducting is an extraordinarily compressible and flexible hose that can handle air at a range of temperatures. This fabric hose is coated in neoprene to form two, single-ply layers of fabric that protect a barrier of insulation. With insulation ingrained into the very layers of this hose, the Wind Handler Insulated TU can preserve the temperature of the air it is ducting better than a typical portable AC hose can. How does insulation pertain to your portable AC unit, though? Insulation will allow the portable-AC exhaust-tube to carry hot air without warming up. By keeping the temperature of the air inside the hose, the heat will not sufficiently warm the outside of the hose. With the heat from the hose diminished by the insulation, the unit can save more energy and therefore work more efficiently. The Wind Handler Insulated TU’s fabric composition also allows for easy flexing and compression. It features a compression ratio of 5 to 1, meaning that a 25-foot hose can be pressed down to just 5 feet for easy transport! Its flexibility is useful when configuring portable-air-conditioner portable-duct routes; it can be manipulated into twists and turns that rigid ducting cannot support. The flexibility, compressibility, and insulation featured on the Wind Handler Insulated TU make it a powerhouse in terms of portable AC ventilation. Hopefully, you can answer the question: “does a portable AC need exhaust hosework from Ducting.com?” with a resounding “yes!”.
Are Portable Air Conditioners Good for the Environment?
Yes, portable air conditioners are good for the environment! They do not release refrigerant gas in trace amounts like their larger, centralized AC counterparts. Their portability also allows them to be utilized in specific areas of your house, eliminating your need to run your AC 24/7—saving you from an expensive energy bill! Most air conditioners use refrigerants to cool air, as stated prior. Again, refrigerant liquid—such as Puron—turns into a gas when it interacts with heat. This exchange draws heat as well as moisture from the air, effectively cooling it. This may seem like a great process of using reactions to lower the temperature of the air, but there is more to it than that. Refrigerants are a main contributor to greenhouse gases, which are toxic fumes that eat away at the Earth’s ozone layer. Other greenhouse gases include methane, carbon dioxide, and other synthetic chemicals. The ozone layer protects the Earth from the Sun’s radiation. Without this protective layer, the Earth is prone to climate change such as global warming. Central ACs that use refrigerant can leak trace amounts of Puron that will continue to create holes in the atmosphere. Air conditioners are not the sole cause of climate change, but they do happen to be a contributor. Therefore, utilizing eco-friendly devices such as portable air conditioners—which do not leak significant quantities of refrigerant—will promote healthier living patterns that can affect your life as well as others.
Review: Is it Safe to Use a Portable AC?
Yes, it is safe to use a portable AC! As long as your unit is installed and vented with a good-quality portable-aircon vent/pipe, your device will work securely and efficiency. There is also little possibility of your portable air conditioner producing carbon monoxide, as it uses electricity in place of gas. Portable-air-conditioner exhaust is instead composed of heat and water vapor produced during the cooling process. These byproducts are exhausted from the unit via portable-aircon vent/pipe. Portable ACs are also less dangerous than general ACs because they do not contain large amounts of refrigerant. Therefore, they are less likely to emit harmful amounts of Puron that can contribute to greenhouse gases. Portable air conditioners are eco-friendly and safe devices that should be assisted by first-rate ductwork. However, the hosing that often comes with the unit is source from low-cost materials that reflect on their quality.
At Ducting.com, our hoses are built from durable and resistant textiles that can even be environmentally conscious! Venting your portable-air-conditioner exhaust with an excellent-quality air-conditioner exhaust-tube will ensure productivity for your unit. At the end of the day, portable ACs—as well as the fumes they exhaust—are safe. You and your loved ones can rest assured knowing that the dangers of portable AC exhaust are just a myth, and that a good exhaust hose can keep your unit running smoothly and efficiently—out of harm’s reach.
