Air conditioning is probably the most effective and fastest system for cool the house in a simple way, achieving the ideal temperature to be comfortable in a few minutes, although this comfort has a cost that is given by the high power consumption of appliances.
However, this energy consumption It is not the same in all models nor in all types of air conditioners, and it is one of the characteristics that differentiates a cheap equipment from an expensive one. In fact, we can get to ask ourselves What consumes more, a portable penguin-type model or a wall-mounted one?.
Both produce cold and/or hot air through a compression system, but the way they do it, the situation and the characteristics of this system mean that the electrical consumption can be very different between them.
A question of efficiency
Image: Rowenta
One of the main keys to the matter is in the operating efficiencywhich is influenced by where the compressor is located. In portable models it is integrated into the housing itself, while in wall models it is located in a additional device which is placed on the facade.
This makes it necessary to install one or more on laptops. tubes to expel excess hot air to the outsidedevice that also radiates some of that heat inside the room, as it is generally a plastic duct without any type of insulation.
In addition, although it usually comes with an adapter to cover the space of the half-open window or door where we install the laptop, There are always gaps for which the cold escapesbringing in air from outside, so we will need more frigories or calories than normal.
In fact, this is one of the key points of the matter, since if with a conventional wall air conditioner we need, for example, to generate 2,000 frigories to cool a room, with a portable one this figure will probably increase to more than 3,000 given its inefficiencies, which increases the final cost of electricity to pay.
In addition, in most portable air conditioning models on the market with a single tube to the outside, the system collects the already cooled or heated air from the room and uses it for the heat exchange cycle by expelling it to the outside, so we are wasting a good part of the energy that we have already spent on cooling the air.
That is to say, we spend electricity in cooling the air in the room that the equipment expels into the room through the main grille, but which on the other hand is collected by another of the grilles so that it passes through the entire system and is subsequently expelled from the room.
Finally we have the matter of the compressor technologywhich in most wall models is usually inverter type, while in portable models having this system is not so common. With a non-inverter air conditioner, once the ideal temperature is reached, the compression motor turns off and turns back on when we go beyond a range specified by each manufacturer (for example one or two degrees), activating its new function. 100% working and repeating the cycle as many times as necessary.
This causes the air to require more electrical power in the long run with a consumption peak each time it is turned on, being less efficient that the most modern equipment with inverter technologyIn the latter, once we have reached the desired optimum temperature, the equipment will reduce power and will be placed in a range of very low consumption during which it is capable of maintain the temperature with minimal expendituregoing up and down in cooling capacity if needed.
Cover image | Cecotec
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