We don’t all live in places where we can or want to have central air conditioning. Given the climate in some parts of Canada and how the warm weather lasts only months, incurring the huge expense of central air doesn’t make sense. But when the heat hits, it really hits, and that’s when a portable air conditioner will be your favourite home appliance.
Portable air conditioners are an economical, easy way to keep your house cool during the blistering days of a Canadian summer, but instead of huddling inside one room during the hottest days and nights, I’ll show you how you can use your portable air conditioner to maximize the cooling effect in certain areas of your house.
Choosing the right air conditioner for the job
Tom wrote a great post on how to choose the best size of air conditioner for your home, and Best Buy has a wide selection of different types of air conditioners for every space including portable air conditioners to window air conditioners. To maximize the cooling effect, all you need to do is pair your air conditioner with portable fans and place them strategically in your home.
I have an open floor plan on my main floor, with bedrooms down the hall. For my square footage I’d choose the Haier Commercial Cool 14000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner. It’s good for medium-sized rooms like my living room and kitchen area, it doesn’t need a window to work, and it has 3 modes – fan, dehumidifier, and air conditioner.
Check out this video on how to set a Haier Air Conditioner:
Placing your fans
No two fans are created equal, and there’s nothing more disappointing than turning on your squeaky old desk fan in the hopes it will provide some relief from the heat.
The latest fans are designed to be energy efficient while still cooling your room. When using them with a portable air conditioner unit, my recommendation is to place a fan off to the right and left of your air conditioner unit. That way the cool air will be picked up and spread throughout your space.
Take my home as an example – because the spot where I’d place my portable air conditioner is at the end of a hall of bedrooms and I want to maximize the cooling effect throughout the area, I need to place several fans strategically. I’d put the Dyson Tower Fan at the very end of the hallway to distribute whatever cool air makes it’s way down there. I’ve written a review of the Dyson fans, and love how they are both ultra-quiet, energy efficient, and controllable by remote.
In each of the three bedrooms, I’d place a desk fan on the dressers by the door. With each pass of the fan, we’ll be picking up cooling air from the hallway and that keeps everyone comfortable on the hottest nights of the year. I love how retro table fans look, and the Init Retro Table Fan is perfect for bedrooms. They run quietly and provide just the right amount of white noise for the perfect sleep.
For me, mapping airflow and running multiple fans along with a portable air conditioner has worked to keep my house cool and comfortable on the hottest days of the year. Depending on the temperature and size of your own home, you could choose more or less fans or even add an extra portable air conditioner to the mix.
Check out all of Best Buy’s Air Conditioners, Fans, and Dehumidifiers and get ready for a cool and comfortable summer. Here are just a few of my favourite fans and air conditioners:
 Stay cool this summer with the energy efficient Dyson Desk Fan |
 The Haier 10000 BTU Horizontal Air Conditioner mounts in your window and cools your room quickly and quietly |
 This 10,000BTU Danby air conditioner cools a room up to 450 square feet and can be mounted in the window or used as a portable. |
