If you are shopping for a new cooling system, you have probably noticed the term dual hose portable air conditioner tossed around a lot. Sure, it’s recommended but what does that mean? Do you really need the extra hose and if so, what purpose does it actually serve? If you are like most consumers, this is a fairly significant purchase to squeeze into your budget. Therefore, you want to make sure that you are getting exactly what you need and not paying for extras that just aren’t worth the money.
Understand the Purpose of a Dual Hose
The dual hose feature may very well be one of the most thoughtful, smartest and needed improvements to portable air conditioners. These models work similar to a single hose variety only the efficiency of the unit has been significantly increased.
A single hose unit removes heat from a room by using a compressor to power its cooling system. This heat is then expelled outside via the exhaust hose. Of course, at the same time, the compressor needs to be also cooled off because it’s creating heat while working as well. This means that to remove heat from a room, the air has to also travel over the condenser coil.
The problem with this is that air that has already been cooled off is being heated back up and expelled. This creates more work, uses more energy and results in a product not lasting as long as it would if it didn’t have to work so hard.
Not to mention, as air is expelled, negative air pressure needs to take its space in the room. Air seeps in through a crevice here and there that needs to be cooled thereby contributing to a vicious cycle.
Now, when you choose a product like the Whynter ARC-12SD, that has a dual hose, the cooling process becomes much more efficient. The extra hose pulls air from the outside, into the unit to cool off the condenser coil and compressor. This air is then expelled out the exhaust hose.
Benefits
Not only does a dual hose cool a room a lot faster, it doesn’t create negative air pressure in a room. Understand that when extra air needs to leak in to take the place of that which was expelled, it typically contains allergens. This means that not only is your air conditioning unit working harder, your air filter is taking quite a beating as well.
A dual hose allows the air in a room to stay cleaner which is always good news whether you are an allergy sufferer or not.
Although you very well may find single hose units that are more inexpensive, a dual hose is one of those features that is well worth the extra cost.
|
