Single vs Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioners
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
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In this video we discuss the differences between single hose and dual hose portable air conditioners. What are the advantages of dual hose ACs? What are the disadvantages? We end up finding that the number of hoses involved in the system does impact overall efficiency. But it doesn't impact the overall cooling capacity of the air conditioner to the extent that it's impossible for a single hose system to outperform a dual hose system. To the contrary, we find that there are multiple single hose systems on the market that outperform the best and most prominent dual hose options.
Edward Snowden got real serious about having a cool room to work in.
🤣🤣🤣
Lol, thats funny. I was actually looking Snowden up the other day!
I needed a giggle, cheers :)
Any age 25-40 white male with short facial hair and glasses is Edward Snowden
Ha! 😆
You can't really solve the infiltration air problem with single hose units, but you can pretty easily solve the issues with a dual hose unit by insulating the hoses and taping the joints.
Well i solved it, it is possible.
PiotrK sorry, which problem did you solve? The second one that can easily be solved or the first one that I said can’t be solved?
The first one, there are two ways:
1. Add a second hose by covering the vent with some prepared sealed box that has the hose connected to it (basically conversion to dual hose)
2. Put the single hose unit outside and blow the air into the house, some single hose units allow to switch the sides and if not, it is possible to mod the front vent to add pipe as well.
3. Basically the first except that a permanent modification is made by altering the casing to "hard-mod" the hose in
PiotrK yeah, I thought you might go there. Modifying a single hose unit into a dual hose unit doesn’t really solve the single hose problem, it sidesteps it completely. It’s a fine workaround, it just doesn’t “solve” the physics problem of a single hose unit.
The idea of placing the unit outside and running it in reverse is really cool, and maybe it qualifies as a single hose solution. It still shouldn’t be as efficient in theory as a dual hose since you are having to cool hot outside air instead of recirculating already cool inside air.
@@sleeknub well the second hose solves the negative pressure problem
I don' t think that he understands refrigeration concepts. I have been a manager for 2 HVAC companies. A dual hose unit will always be more efficient. He tested one dual unit that is technically not a complete dual hose, as he admits. Once you seal and insulate both hoses it will be much more efficient. He also doesn't understand that a single hose unit is exhausting air that it has already cooled. Time for him to go back to school.
Despite all those physics in favor of dual-hose units, what if they fail to outperform single-hose units in real world scenarios for other reasons? Also, what kind of insulation would you recommend for the hoses?
@@garousaitama-ff4wh any kind of insulation would work. Flex duct, pipe, wall, even insulation tape.
@@toddhughes4745 I looked into this before and a lot of the insulation methods used fiberglass, which apparently you should avoid being around too much? Thanks, hadn't heard of insulation tape.
My thoughts too. Not only is the single hose way inefficient but it also creates a pressure difference between the inside room and the outside environment. As long you can properly seal and insulate the two hoses. The inefficiencies of the dual hose will be lesser.
By looking at a particular model's SACC and CEER we can now evaluate its efficiency independent of form factor (single vs dual hose). Calculating either one of these metrics requires rigorous testing and mathematics. See appendix CC at the link below:
www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=83f8e5ba7502cb6f0b2803f5b3a467d3&mc=true&r=PART&n=pt10.3.430#ap10.3.430_127.cc
There is one thing that this video fails to mention. It is my understanding that for the same SACC / DOE BTU, the single-hose units use a lot more electrical power than an equivalent SACC / DOE BTU dual-hose unit. For example, a 1200 watt single-hose unit produces 5200 DOE BTU, whereas a 1200 watt dual-hose unit produces 8600 DOE BTU!
Both types are crap that's why I have a mini split at the end of the day if you don't have a split system then neither of these are really good really did you only good for temporary spot cooling.
Wow, seriously? Then this video is worse than worthless. It's just 10 minutes of blabbering about optimizing the wrong metric to the detriment of what really matters.
Is it feasible when the unit is placed outside only to put a duct that enters the cold air?
@@user-ux9gh9qh9g yeah it would work since it is like having a window ac ..not as strong but at least the compressor that has a lot of heat is not inside your room..also cover the portable ac since it is very fragile body having outside in the sun
@@robertnguyen2025 People keep mentioning this, but these things aren't waterproof. You can't just leave it out in the rain...
If you got a portable AC just for 1 room and always stays there, try and wrap the exhaust hose in as much duct insulation as possible. It makes a huge difference. It won't look pretty, but it works.
Makes sense
What duct insulation do you recommend?
@@SuffocatedByThighs duct tape.
@@SuffocatedByThighs I bought this long strip of cable management wrapping, cut off a section for my computer cables, and used the rest to wrap around my exhaust vent: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073TZPYHV/
I don’t care about how duct look since the older mini spilt that didn’t have a plastic cover like ductless also have duct that look as ugly. I have no choice in my apartment so this tip would be helpful since portable ac is my only option.
Bizarre review. I had a 10,000 BTU single hose PAC and it couldn't even cool down a 200 sf room. The amount of air it was evacuating was ridiculous. It was probably something like 200 cfm. At that rate the entire room's air is completely turned over in about 10 minutes. There's no way to cool the room. And since the cool out vent is in the proximity of the condenser intake fan and exhaust, the cooled air is the first to get evacuated out of the room. I don't even understand why they still sell these.
The problem is that you're using the single hose unit when it's hot outside. The SACC calcs assume that their is a 5.4F, on average, temperature differential between the inside and outside. The portable AC manufacturers had a big hand in coming up with that number.
I does not matter how big your portable A/C is, if you have an area / room that is a challenge to cool when temperatures are going to be over 90*F outside, then take note.
Treat your portable A/C like a under-powered car driving up a steep hill. Just like when we were kids on a bike, you would get a running start and build up speed to conquer that steep hill. Same thing apply's with portable A/C units. You need to cool your living space as early in the morning as you can get it (60-65*F). The cooler the area is, the easier it is to "keep it cool" during the peak time of the day when temperatures outside are the hottest (usually 3-5pm). If you turn on the A/C after is has warmed up in your home (over 80*f), it will be much harder to bring the temps down to a comfortable level.
Why are single hose units even legal, what a waste of energy, it would be like leaving the window open every time you turned up your thermostat, or down your AC for that matter, what idiots, those people should be fined heavily for even making them. If WV can be fined for not meting efficiency and pollution standards then these guys can certainly get fined for building this absolute garbage.
did you watch the fucking video mongrel
Lots of talking, theories and explanations, but I believe you never really compared in "real life" a single hose vs dual hose. The amount of hot air that single hose sucks into the room is vastly more detrimental than the leaks and heat radiation from an extra hose, there is simple no comparison. Just close the room door and place you hand or foot in the joints between the door and the door frame and you will feel the air blowing inside in great amounts, so you are blowing out cold air all the time creating vacuum in the room, and then sucking in hot air all the time, so you really never end to cool the room, as the situation is equivalent to try to cool a room with the door open, we all know how difficult that can be. . And that is a unsolvable flaw on the single hose units.
Is true that outside air wont cool the condenser as quickly, but it does not really matter is this situation. Besides don't forget that windows air conditioners get cooled with the outside air, and sometimes even get hit by the sun directly and still work well. If you can intake enough air flow you will cool the condenser enough to allow him to work efficiently even with the outside hot air. Your statements are simply ridiculous. I believe you have some interest in promoting single hose units, probably from the brands you mentioned. I could send you the heat transfer equations and calculations but I don't have time for that. Even more I converted a single hose to dual hose and results were immediately outstanding, cooling the room lot lot faster.
Exactly. Physic here is ruthless. Possibility that heat brought by infiltration air is equal to radiation+leakage heat of dual hose system is total physical bullshit. Even with 100% heat transfer efficiency between intake air and hose, it will be only equal and 100% heat transfer is another physical nonsense.
And ability od 2hose systems to isolate room/house from outside air is main advantage for everyone purse. You can actually cool room enough to turn AC off, because with well insulated house, you will get several hours (ie whole night) at convenient temperatures. This is impossible for 1H system and they have waay large electricity consumption to be running non-stop.
U seem to know alot about conditioners so I have a question for you if you dont mind. Can I split my cooled air via tubes to two different rooms? I want this because I have 1 unit and 2 rooms I'd like to cool. Thankss
@@codfreak1994 I assuming you are talking about portable AC right? Then I do not recommended it. First you would have to make some DIY adapter from AC cold air outtake which is most probably square or rectangle. And then there is second problem. Static pressure of axial fan of AC. Axial fans have poor static pressure and any obstacle in airflow would diminish its efficiency and airflow significantly. And when you add long path (5-10 meters) of cold air tubes, it will be such obstacle, that airflow will be almost nonexistent.
There will be one way although. You can add inline axial fan into end of the hoses with minimal airflow calculated by this formula (AC Airflow) × sqrt(((Area of AC outtake)×(Length of Hose)/((Hose cross section×5))). (That number 5 is typical static pressure difference between 125mm inline fan and 300mm axial fan). But I am warning you, longer your hose, stronger inline fan will be needed. So it will be also noisy solution. But it will work, because inline fan will compensate hose drag.
@@tomascernak6112 Thanks for the reply man! Portable yes. My situation is like this: imgur.com/v7oyaGe
Id like to cool both rooms at night, I have a single hose (wich is ok, because air from outside is colder then inside(im top floor of an appartment complex and heat is in the roof/walls etc)) I think if this solution works it'll be the most efficient, otherwise ill have to cool my whole appartment wich will cost more money/power etc. I'm quite a good DIY-guy so Im gonna try. If your interessted I can tell you how it went.
Again thanks for the info!
@@codfreak1994 These distances are even worse than I anticipated. Airflow of cold air will be absolutely miserable. Do your best, but be ready that you will have to install inline fans into those hoses. I wish you luck in your DIY efforts. I will be glad to hear about result.
This guy obviously works for the single hose unit consortium! 🤣
This video makes it seem like the losses due to the way a single hose unit sucks out the air that it already used energy to cool to then cool itself, thus bringing in massive amounts of outside warm air is *remotely* close to the minor loses of convective heat from short 5 foot hoses and a couple extra leaks.
The inefficiencies of a single hose unit are *orders of magnitude* greater than the marginal increases in small heat gains from a dual hose system. I can't fathom why you would want to defend terribly designed single hose units, unless you are paid by their manufacturers to shill for them.
You should always purchase a dual hose unit, as that is the same operating principle as split units (traditional whole-home) and most American style "sit-in-the-windows" units.
Would explain my comments that disappeared...
Yes, two units with the same SACC will have the same "cooling potential" - but a dual hose design will do it whilst consuming significantly less power, and potentially while being a physically smaller and quieter unit. A single hose design will also heat up other parts of the house, by drawing hot air into them from outside. To claim that the two designs are the same because one of the stats on the box accounts for the fact that one design is shit, is highly misleading.
Not only that, but a little bit of tape and an insulating sleeve for the hoses and all the issues he talked on a dual hose unit are gone. Once you go dual hose you never go back to a single hose unit.
How can dualunit be quieter if it needs to be cooled by hot outside air ???
@@Gamerdu45 It intakes air from outside, which makes them more quiet.
I have 2 portable AC's in my apartment, 10000 BTU SACC each and my dual hose ones quieter, I can feel the air more from the single hose one, but my dual hose one cools things more evenly, plus it helps with air pressure. I keep my single hose one in my bedroom because its a smaller room so it can take advantage of the colder air and I use my dual one along with it in the daytime (or when theres a really bad heatwave ill use both 24/7) to keep my whole place cool.
This guy in the video clearly had a bias against dual hose ones because even though the title of the video makes it seem like its a comparison, in truth the whole video was him trying to convince people not to buy them.
If you live somewhere like where I am in Canada: where it gets hot and stuffy indoors in the summer but still has cool breezy air outside, then you're actually better off getting a dual hose one.
I only bought my single hosed one last summer because it was 40 celsius for like a week or 2.....
Is it feasible when the unit is placed outside only to put a duct that enters the cold air?
You would have to have lots of insulation to keep that cool air from warming up before it goes inside, you might even have to take it apart and insulate the areas where the cold air is produced if you're in a really hot area@@user-ux9gh9qh9g
...This not exactly quite the analogy but... we all are familiar with our car AC. If we want to cool down the cabin as fast as possible we usually close the fresh air intake (recirculation mode). That would have a similar effect as a dual-hose unit that keeps the warm outdoor air away from the room. Quite the opposite if we open the fresh air intake, it would have a similar effect as a single-hose unit, drawing unconditioned air to the room all the time.
brilliant analogy friend!!
This is a much simpler, more relatable way to explain it, nice
Two years later and your comment is still helping. It's exactly what I was trying to understand about portable ac's.
dude, check your physics, radiation power of hose with outside air is nowhere near numbers of thermal power of that same air itself. Also we can assume, that intake hose will have much lower temp gradient with room air temp compared to outtake hose.
Two hose system is vastly superior to single hose system in efficiency.
In theory, but all the highest EER rated portable aircos are single hose as far as I can see. Unless you can point out some units that are available in the EU that are more effcient than the LG/Delonghi sinlge hose systems.
@@StartledPancake yeah was told dual is better and just came across LG's single with same BTU ASHRAE rating with higher BTU SACC rating
@@bbbo85 The new Midea Duo and its Toshiba counterpart has a higher rating than the LG from what I've seen.
The new single hose units hit SACC of 10K out of a nominal 14K now by ramping up the condenser temperature and taking advantage of the cooler room air in smaller volumes. Dual hose units has to cool the hot side with hot recirculating exhaust air and the cool side is either warm or uses a lot more power to get it as cool as a single hose. In hot days, dual hose units can really struggle!
@@_exilon_ in hot days single hose ac suck hot air from outside into house. You can not achieve higher efficiency to cool air in united space than in separated spaces. Dual hose system is close to split system. And I hope, you will not try to claim, that split system is struggling, right?
in practice, these devices are good only for sleeping at night. I have a single hose and I adapted it for dual hose and ended the problem of negative pressure and waste of refrigerated air.
Why
How?
@@_JakeFrom_StateFarm_ intake outside air to cool the condenser (instead of cool room air) and you essentially have a dual hose unit
@@carlysullivan4449 Obviously. But he's asking how do you do that?
Better sex in the bedroom with dual hose. Keeps my hose running smooth & cool all night.
Single hose units work well when you need to supplement a house A/C to help cool a single room that is too hot because it not only adds cold air to the hot room, but the circulation "problem" becomes an advantage! It assists in circulating cold air from the main A/C into the room that is too hot, and the make-up air being sucked into the house, will mostly flow into rest of the house, then be cooled by the house A/C before being sucked into the hot room. Single hose units help balance the A/C without having to add entire new ducts and a larger A/C to your house. So single-hose units are actually ideal when trying to cool down a hot spot in a larger building that already has A/C. But if you have no A/C in a house, and are trying to add A/C to only one room, like a bedroom, the single hose unit will just keep sucking hot air from the rest of the house into the room, instead of re-cooling only the bedroom air. A dual-hose unit is far better for cooling only one room in a building when the rest of the building is just as hot as the outside air. single and dual house units solve different problems.
ua-cam.com/video/_-mBeYC2KGc/v-deo.html
Huh, I always thought about this in a different way. It would make the entire house hotter because the cold-er central air would get sucked outside by the portable unit. Assuming that the portable AC cannot get the air any colder than the central AC.
@@professorjack2099 Maybe? Doesn't the central A/C have a thermostat that causes it to keep the house at the same temperature? Sucking hot air from outside will undoubtedly require the central and portable units to use more energy to cool the hot air you bring in and compensate for the cold air it forces out of the house. It's an energy and money cost issue for sure. But if the central A/C is large enough to cope with the load, it won't lower the temp of the rest of the house. On the other hand, if the central A/C is undersized, and must run 100% of the time just to keep the house at a given temp, then yeah, adding a portable unit to a room may make that room colder, but it might make the rest of the house warmer as you mention.
I guess the point here is if your central A/C is not large enough to cool your house, and you try to add these portable units to "help", they might do just as much harm as good to the problem. Adding a dual hose portable or a window unit would be far better for example. But if your central A/C is large enough, but you just aren't getting the circulation needed to a given room, or you want one room colder than the rest of the house, this portable A/C could help with that.
@@CurtWelchthis doesn't even make sense, instead of fixing your air con you add another high load on your electricity. Not only you are sking your cold air out you are increasing your bills. Your point on single hose doesn't make any sense
I have a dual hose and single hose air conditioner. The dual hose works to cool whatever room it is in. The single hose is only a spot cooler that I use in a small den that blows cold air on me when at my desk. Single hose is basically a fancy fan that only cools you down if you are right in front of it.
I have this single hose unit and it cools my 600sqft two-car garage perfectly fine. The garage door is standard without insulation on the back of the garage door panels and there's a laundry room that has the door open all of the time and there's a slotted closet door where the water heater is located and there's a cat door leading into the house... so the garage is FAR from "sealed/insulated"...so even with the negative pressure drawing in air from multiple places and the fact that I'm in GA during 90+ degree humid summers; my garage has gone from 85° to a comfortable 75°.... This single hose AC unit is fantastic and blows out air that is a crisp, cool 55° ...it has a heating function and a dehumidifier all in one.
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.lowes.com/pd/GE-8000-BTU-Portable-Heat-Cool/5000143967&ved=2ahUKEwiNqfG9l5HyAhXVTTABHTFtCwoQFjAAegQIBhAC&usg=AOvVaw2z-IXaA84IntndC11IbrZ6
I'm in the process of upgrading to the dual hose attachment and expect at least a consistent 72°.
@@Thomas998822 I am happy for you, but if it was a dual hose it would work much better at cooling and would use less power. It is just science and physics.
@@Thomas998822 that ac isn't powerful enough and it's constantly running hard. For the size of your garage you need a 12000+ DOE(SACCS) portable AC
@@jonlee5642 maybe so. It definitely runs non-stop, and I can hear it cycle off and on (while still running). I'm not sure what technically is kicking on and off into overdrive.
Nonetheless I only use it for several hours a day, 3-5 days a week in the summer, and it hasn't shown any signs of slowing down yet. It still keeps the garage in the low 70s which is good enough for me. I'm sure the dual hose attachment will make it more efficient, so it's certainly powerful enough for my needs.
I'll swap it out with a brand new machine in a couple years for free so I'm not worried about wearing the unit down long term.
@@Thomas998822 more likely you ac has a sensor ..if you are asking it to cool it at a certain temp..it will keep working until it keeps that temp you want it at and hence it is powering up and down all the time
I'd like to see measurements from a dual-hose AC first with the intake hose connected and then with the intake hose not connected. This way we aren't comparing apples to oranges
Excellent explanation of this whole business. I'm a renter and can't mess with a traditional window AC, so I'm going to get a single hose portable AC and put it outside(!) next to the window. I'll put some kind of adapter over the main air intake and run a duct through the window to suck air in from inside the house and put a similar adapter on the cool air output and duct it into the room. Then it'll function like a regular window AC, no negative pressure will result, and there will be no hot ducts inside. My main problem is humidity (tropical climate) so I'm hoping the outside air will be enough to cool the condenser. At least now I kinda know what I'm doing.... Thanks.
thanks for sharing. so your hot exhaust pipe goes out the window.
intake of air you duct it from outside the room you are in
and inside the room, you let the cool air out.
Did i get that right?
Don’t follow this guy’s advice; he’s simply wrong.
@@Shontaku I would prefer "unquestionably wrong", "utterly wrong", "dead wrong", or "completely and without any possibility otherwise, wrong" Or better yet, "horribly wrong." That's my favorite. I shall now go and hang my head is shame.
@@workingTchr😂😂
Finally a video that isn't click bait. Thanks for dumbing it down for us.
My ARC-14S is the best portable ac I've ever had by far. Single hose is obviously gonna pull more air in from outside by creating a vacuum in the room.
I have it. The dual hose kind and I have to drain water out of it every 2 hours. worthless to sleep with. But I do have a high humidity area
I feel you were hired by single hose air conditioning companies to help sell these inferior units. I own both a single and dual hose air conditioning and I can tell you the single hose air conditioner will not cool my room but the dual hose air conditioner will absolutely freeze my room to the point of being uncomfortably cold. So I am not buying what you are saying that a single hose air conditioner can be good. Who paid for this single hose air conditioning ad?
I was not paid in any way by any manufacturer. If I were paid and didn't disclose it I would be breaking federal law - it's a serious crime that you're accusing me of. Can you tell me which particular single hose and dual hose model you were comparing in your tests? What was the SACC BTUs for each model?
@@consumer-analysis Hi thanks for your reply. My single hose and dual hose were a Danby. 12,000 btu. I then had a single hose LG and now have 2 dual hose Haier ac units.
@@alanw2005 I don't recommend the single hose models that I do because they are single hose models. I only recommend them because they have higher SACC BTUs than most other single hose models and any dual hose model on the market. I asked for the SACC BTUs of the units you were comparing because the dual hose units you prefer likely have higher SACC BTUs than the single hose units you are comparing them to. The 12,000 BTUs you mentioned are not SACC BTUs.
I want to cool a basement during the hot summer months. Basements are a bit on the humid side even if finished. Using a dehumidifier would be out of the question because they give off heat. What would be my best solution for cooling a finished Slightly humid basement without using central air? I cannot fit a window unit into my basement windows! Any suggestions?
And also, what about if you have allergies, and you’re bringing air in from outside does that affect the room air?
Excellent vid! Thanks. Is there any issue running a dual hose with just the exhaust hose venting out the window and leaving the intake hose off and drawing from inside the room?
Another point to consider is if the unit us used in a condo or MURB building. With a single hose unit much of the air will be pulled in from the hallway rather than the outside. If the hallway is cooled and ventilated, then that would make the single hose unit perform better.
I'm not sure what it is with refrigeration concepts but so many people are confused, can't grasp the basics and go on spreading misinformation, including this guy.
As an engineer I appreciate your straightforward technical analysis. Most of this is a "first world problem." I grew up in the 60s, zero air conditioning in the house. I lived.
I will be looking at your channel for the 4-in-1, as I will need a supplemental source of heat. I am also considering whether or not to put in a vented propane heater, wood stove, but it all comes down to money versus comfort versus reliability.
Much of this is a pay me now, pay me later situation. It comes down to price per BTU added or removed.
My main concern in a remote building is reliability and longevity of the system. I'm less concerned with how much powered will spend, more interested in a suitable unit that doesn't break the bank, will taste good last a long time.
There is one additional measure that consumers should account for. That is electrical efficiency to reach SACC values. Take two or more units with relatively similar SACC values and one uses 85 watts less power. This SACC to Power Usage rating can save users real money through power efficiency.
Quick question... I have a single hose Hisense 300. If another window is vented nearby, and the exhaust hose is wrapped with insulation; will that highly add to the efficiency?
I have a dual hose ac unit. It however appears to also pull some room air into the hot side through some vents around there. Would it be okay to use duct tape to block those inputs so that only outside air can be drawn in to cool the hot side then be ejected ?
You drastically undermined the difference between infiltration air scenarios and used a dual hose model that allows for infiltration... A single hose must bring in an equal amount of heat into the house as it's removing. In theory, you would be correct that they cool a specific 3-400sq ft area based on SACC, in practice I would say you failed to point out that you're heating up the rest of the house... You kept saying "Performance" but I think you mean cooling capacity, in which case yes, the SACC fully accounts for the AC's regional cooling capacity but SACC utterly ignores that with a Single hose you adding tons of heat to the other 800sq ft of your home and the Dual largely doesn't, and that's pretty huge in terms of efficiency.
SACC measures cooling capacity for a given area not the energy burden on your household (which is arguably more important to most people).
I agree. On top of that, think about the super heater attic air that will be pulled in around light fixtures. Newer construction may seal them, but older ones didn't bother. Both houses I owned were built in 1970 and 1965 and around the light fixture boxes none of the holes were sealed and not even caulked around. Doesn't take much 140+ degree air pulled in from those single hose units to offset the cooling on the unit. I sealed mine but I bet many people haven't thought of it.
I purchased a single hose for emergency use without even considering the issue. I really wouldn't think engineers would design a unit with such a flaw, yet they did.
SACC fully accounts for the infiltrating air. But it assumes that the infiltrating is only 5.4F, on average, warmer than the air inside of your home, which is complete crap. The calcs assume your home is at 80F and that the outside air is 83F 80% of the time and 95F 20%.
@@youtubewatcher4603 I agree! I've had both dual & single hose units. In terms of performance / efficiency, the SACC is not nearly as accurate as the SEER rating.
I may have a bias because I'm in Vegas where 4 months of the year beat 100 degrees, but it's important to know that Cooling Capacity and energy burden are much more different than this youtuber seems to realize.
@@youtubewatcher4603 - a lot of people use portable units for a hot room ( usually on a higher floor and facing the sun) . Outside temp can be 70F but 84F in the room for example. For a home with a basement window, crack it open will draw cooler air.
Just curious, I have a dual hose, which I was told can have the intake hose to be removed, I understand that it takes the outdoor air and pressure, but how effective is having that dual hose when it’s 115 degrees outside?
Would there be any potential issue if venting a single hose portable a/c up to a bathroom exhaust fan?
Thanks for taking time to explain the details. Can you also do a video comparing single hose vs dual hose system in an actual setup.
Thank you. Going to to look for the “cheapest” high SACC unit I can find lol
Very informative video, thanks! I was thinking about replacing my single-hose with a dual-hose, but I see it's not as big a difference as I thought. For now, I'm going to insulate the hose for starters.
I have a double hose that I have been trying to get our 1940's stucco non insulated house in San Diego where we never had humidity for such long periods of time~! My questions is, If im drawing in hot/humid air to cool the condenser, can I not attach that to the outside and let it take in the room air but have the condenser line vent out the window?? Any suggestions would be grateful! :)
Very comprehensive and useful! Thank you very much for this video.
I want to extend the exhaust hose 30 feet into a room without windows. What are you thoughts on doing that?
My parents central air is a joke it doesn't cool a thing the lowest I seen it cool is 78 degrees if that and I would like it at least 70 to 72 my dad is 73 years old and thats just too hot it's a town home apartment but it's the downstairs that needs to be cooled more than anything I ask would you highly recommend the Whynter ARC-14S? The downstairs is close to 500 sq ft so I know a 14000 btu will do the job but will this specific unit being a dual hose do the job?
1. The energy caused by convention heat from the INtake hose (holding outside temp) on a dual hose unit is nowhere NEAR the energy of the air (holding outside temp) pullled directly into the room by a single hose unit.
Both versions have an exhaust hose, so there is no difference there in convection heat (unless one hose is more insulated than the other or shorter of course), but for sure it helps a bit to insulate this extremely hot hose on both variants AND keep it as short as possible to minimize convection surface.
Great info! Much appreciated.
Using a single hose unit in, say, a closed bedroom will draw air from the room and, therefore, the rest of the house (from under the door). A dual hose unit works more like a window unit or a central unit--both of which cool the condenser with outside air.
I got a Hisense Portable 12000btu from PriceSmart. It's been 5 months and the compressor is always kicking and making a loud noise, the. Shutting off and turning back on after some time....is this normal? It never used to be this often?
SACC is probably the worst indicator for a comparison between single and dual hose AC units. The main reason is that there is no test setup description available that fits the design. The cooling capacity at any given seasonal point is measured against a constant volume of air .. with a single hose unit that does not work, where's the exhaust air to come from ? So a few admissions had to be made, for example that the exhausted air is replaced by 'room temperature' air that has 'exactly the same' humidity as the test volume :-)
The second thing is that hose type ACs have no seasonal use cases, they mostly get stored away when not needed.
I modified a single hose to dual some time ago and measured the result. It's cooling performance dropped by about 10% because of the losses in the second hose and the higher temps of the outside air, but it's cooling capacity of the room volume of air rose by 40+ precent, simply because the room never filled up with hot outside air. Where the unit was running 100% of the time it dropped to a nice 30/70% duty cycle.
The point here is: the SACC value of a dual hose may be lower, but the suction effect of the single hose units ruins their actual performance while the SACC calculation ignores that effect.
ASHRAE is still worse than DOE's SACC. Here is a fun description of the test and the feedback that the portable AC industry gave for the SACC calcs: www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/01/2016-12446/energy-conservation-program-test-procedures-for-portable-air-conditioners
Wow your gaining subscribers fast congratulations on 1000+ subscribers
I appreciate these reviews but still just bought the arc-14s dual hose unit. Its plainly obvious to me. A single hose unit will draw replacement air from hotter rooms or air leaks.
the goal of the ac is to keep cool air in the room, pulling in hot air that will rise and using the cool air you just made to blow out the window is a massive waste of energy and wont ever cool the room you will have the AC running constantly so you can sit in front of it and never have a room actually cooled. insulate the hoses and seal any gaps and place the unit close to the window port to minimize hose length, at least this way you actually have the damn thing do what it is intended to do an that is make the room comfortable.
They are just spot coolers.
Interesting & valuable information, thank you.
So… in theory.. one could remove the second duct that brings in (hot) air from the outside to cool the condenser. Thus making it only cool AC air being used to cool the condenser
Oh wow! Thanks for explaining this! I do feel the lower pressure when I try to close my door it's like it doesn't want to shut when the AC unit is running, and I didn't fully understand the reason for that! Basically my room is turning into a giant vacuum.
It means the room is well insulated (warm air still gets in but slowly). Crack open a basement window if you have one ( cooler air from there).
Where do you find the sac rating? I never even heard of this before.
Fascinating. ...I know this is already an "older" vid in UA-cam years, but some great info there. Thanks very much!
Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for watching!
I have small apartment wher i cant install normal ac and i bought single hose portable ac and it works very good. You just have to insulate the exhaust hose and maybe use normal fan to help the cold air stay where you sleeping other than that i dropped from 30 degrees hot to 21 in one hour.
Great video!
I have a large sunroom with vaulted ceiling’s (more of an in closed porch with Sunspace Weather Master windows). Insulation is minimal (floor and ceiling)as all the walls are windows. Currently have TOSOT 6000 DOE BTU that can’t cool the room on hot days.
Looking at portable AC
Single Hose
Hisense 12000-BTU DOE (15000-BTU ASHRAE) 115-Volt White Portable Air Conditioner
Item #2987539Model #AP1221CR1W
Vs.
Dual Hose
Hisense 10000-BTU DOE (15000-BTU ASHRAE) 115-Volt Grey Portable Air Conditioner
Item #2987537Model #AP1021TR1GD
Both at Lowe’s.
The single has higher BTU DOE. But, given my insulation/window situation. . . . which one should I go with?
Great video that helped me finalize my decision. You the man.
The installation is the same for me I had a single unit and now I have a duel unit, It took me to same time frame is very quick to install
As it's basically a fridge, any leak or bad insulation will do harm.
And you'd never cool the condenser with air from inside.
At some conditions, the system gets inefficient, but a single hose only makes it worse.
I bought a Hisense 12000btu single hose and made an adaptation for the compressor refrigeration inlet hose made on the 3d printer. I wrapped the two ducts with a foam blanket and I can say that the efficiency has increased by 50 percent, now it turns on and off and with one duct this didn't happen, meaning I will save energy. It also depends a lot on the air conditioning model.
How does chillflex pro 12BTU perform it is single hose? there is a 3D printed part for 2 hose modding. should i do it? it is a soft mod lol
Can the LG, for example, be positioned in the doorway between a bedroom and ensuite, surrounded with a shower curtain to separate the two rooms, let the AC face into the bedroom to cool it, but vented into the bathroom with the bathroom exhaust fan running? Bathrooms regularly get hot and humid, and the exhaust fan removes all that. Couldn't this set up work in a pinch where a window setup is simply not available? Could even a regular, more efficient, window AC be used in that manner: perhaps placed on a rack facing into the bedroom but venting into the bathroom/shower/tub/sink?
I have a dual hose unit I bought for my garage. Is it okay if I run the unit without using an intake hose? I have the exhaust going out of a hole I made on the side of the garage. Thanks!! 14000 BTU
Window units are much more efficient than any portable unit and use outdoor only to cool there compressor side.
Big AL well in Germany we dont have sliding windows so we cant really use them. I converted my portable AC to dual Hose.
so how do you find out the SACC a unit??
does the air conditioner work if I do not install the hose for air exchange? using the unit to cool the heat generated by the unit within the room will cause any damage to the people and/or the machine?
My SACC values are always hotter in the summer.
Underrated comment right here lol
Finally someone with a brain. I've seen imo people wast thier money on these single hose units. A HVAC contractor since 80.seen it all. This guy is right.
I’ve used several different portable ACs.
And finally settled on the Whynter Arc 14s…this damn thing seems to solve all the issues you brought up somehow in a dual hose unit.
Does anyone know where you can buy a dual hose portable AC in Sweden? I would love to know.
Kind regards Pontus Berg
Thank you, great video and information!!
Question, what if i were to recirculate some of the cold air vented from the front of portable ac using additional hose to the back of upper condenser so it acts like the car's recirculate function do u think it will improve the efficiency of my portable ac unit?
The brand am using have an 7400 btu SACC VALUE, is tat good? What is a good threshold value u reccomend?
Hmmm, trying to work this out myself but using the system in reverse, to heat a room. It’s all about COP. There is always a fixed temperature difference between the condenser (hot side) and evaporator (cold side). In cooling mode, by limiting how hot the condenser gets, more cold air will be generated. By using it in reverse, to heat, limiting how cold the evaporator gets, more hot air is produced. It’s not as easy as burning gas!
I understand what people are saying when they mention physics. People need to realize that the SSAC is measured using physics too. Some of the negatives listed with dual hose designs are minimal. The intake air hose is usually just barely warm to the touch and the extra leaks is very minimal.
Technically a two hose design should be better but there is much more to it. I had a Haier 12,000 2 hose unit that cooled less than a 5,000 BTW window ac that it was replaced with. Because it is a dual hose design doesn't mean that it is any better. We all know the "MAX A/C" settings on cars work the best. It mainly recirculates the already cooled air which is much more efficient. That isn't the only factor though. A good working compressor, fan, ducting system, condenser and evaporator are all parts too. My car's A/C letting if fresh air will outperform another vehicles using recirculated air if their system isn't fully charged or if their condenser is clogged with leaves, or if the vehicle is stopped and their condenser fans aren't spinning up to speed or if their A/C clutch is slipping.
The LG's SACC goes from 14,000 BTU to 10,000 because it is like a car using fresh air while my old Haier went from 12,000 BTU to 5,000 BTU because it is like a car with other inefficiencies despite using recirculated air.
Oh, that guy that claimed to be an astrophysicist, brain surgeon and astronaut is full of more shit than a filled septic tank.
the intake hose/air will get warmer on a sun facing window.
I have the LG single hose inverter model, works great and cools fast until the temps outside hit 95. I will say that the problem is it will pull air from the central air and make it work harder even if we keep the door closed where the LG is.
I'm taking a chance with a brand Hisense. From Costco so return can be easy.
It is rated 10,000 DOE/SACC? And is a dual hose unit. I didn't see any tested but do you believe with equal efficiency or close to the Dual hose units have advantages.
The area I live has an aroma during the warm months from the Puget Sound. It's also on the top floor of the condo unit. I wanted to avoid the negative pressures for those reasons.
That being said this video was very informative and I'm going to go by the efficiency instead of a design.
How'd it go?? Considering a midea duo or hisense. Whynter is just way too expensive
Very informative thank you
Is it feasible when the unit is placed outside only to put a duct that enters the cold air?
Does sacc account for the temperature of the rooms on the other side of the house? If it did dual hose would be better right? You could insulate the hoses right?
SACC does account for the infiltration air on the other side of the house. However, the calculations assume that there is not a big temperature differential between inside/outside. It assumes an average of a 5.4F difference between inside and outside or a 3F difference (80 to 83F) 80% of the time and a 15F difference (80 to 95F) 20% of the time. The bigger the temperature differential between inside/outside, the better dual hose systems are.
How do I find the SACC? Is it just BTU?
Excellent video. Is there a chart with revised square footage cooling specs using SACC values? e.g. would a SACC 8,500 unit work for a 200 sq. ft room?
I recommend against using charts. Ultimately, you want as high of a SACC unit as you can afford, even for a 200 sq. ft. room. A full explanation can be found in this video - ua-cam.com/video/qV_cGSlxzPk/v-deo.html
12,000 is the highest you can get without blowing a breaker on a 15A circuit.
Really helpful, thanks.
How often do retailers and manufacturers publish SACC values? I just checked Home Depot's US website and didn't find them.
The "DOE BTU" is the SACC value.
Single hose air conditioners simply don't have a plastic fitting for a hose on the intake for the condenser heat exchanger. Some people have duct taped a duct to that intake to make their single hose air conditioner into a dual hose air conditioner. As to the dual hose having two hoses radiating heat, only one is an exhaust hose, the other is an intake but it is pulling in outdoor air and this is the same volume of outside air that will infiltrate in with a single hose so it not more heat then the single hose, it's just that that outdoir air brought in is only in tenporarily with the dual hose as it's then pumped out the other hose whereas with a single hose, all that extra outdoor air doesn't just have some radiating off a hose but just all of it stays in the house. Sure you will feel heat radiating off that hose but it's a fraction of what the single hose pulls in through infiltration. You do need to look at how outdoor air infiltrates into your home, is it through the cracks around doors and windows or does your home have a fresh air intake that ducts into your basement by your furnace as the basement would cool such air. If you have the latter then a single hose may be just fine. Now if you live in an aparrment, you should seriously consider a dual hose or duct taping a hose onto the compressor intake vent (make sure you figure out which is the condenser intake and which is the evaporator intake).
Exactly
I have a 10'x10' canvas tent. Which unit would work best or should I even be concerned seeing it is such a small area?
cool a room then pump air from the room in to the tent
I bought other air condition two hose one suck air one out the hot air its near how its good it suck the hot air again because they are not far from other if I use one of them it cause problem ? If its sock from the room ?
Thank you so much! can you do a video about drain hose?
You're welcome! For my comments on drainage see my individual product reviews listed at the bottom of this page: www.consumeranalysis.com/guides/portable-ac/best-portable-air-conditioner/
hell!!! i was looking for an answer on one or two hose i will buy a window 12000 btu instead of a 14000 portable is that ok.
woh, straight up dropping facts! thank you!
I wish this was made when the Whynter ARC-1230WNH was available. It says it has a SACC of 12000/14000
It’s funny that another site recommended a dual hose ac for hot weather for the reasons that this site says doesn’t really make that big a difference. Interesting that the other site tested two units that weren’t even 14000 btu units. They were both 12000 that equals to real btus of 7000. So, probably that’s where the dual outperformed the single. But, they didn’t match the very best single hose with the dual, which probably would have given different results.
QUESTION: First, Thanks for this video! 😎👍🏻The thumbnail looks like a picture of mu Whynter dual hose, will it be more efficient to just use the one hose exhausting out?
wow thanks, this clears up a lot of things. There is one edge case where a dual hose system might be warranted; in the case of areas that experience a lot of wildfire smoke, or have generally poor outdoor air quality (near a highway or other roads with lots of traffic), a dual hose system would help preserve the indoor air quality
Dual hose ALWAYS makes more sense in efficiency, cleanliness and cooling. Creating a vacuum in a room is the worst thing you can do.
@@Shontaku Came here to make the same comment. As someone who lives in a location that has had issues with incredibly poor air quality during wildfire seasons (peaking between 400-700 AQI when wildfires were raging North, South, and West of us) using our Single Hose AC basically blew all of the clean indoor air with horrible outside air in a matter of a few hours.
I'd much rather take the "inefficiencies" to preserve indoor air quality, especially when it's 32c/90f outside and inside and you just want a little bit of relief with cooler air temperatures indoors without having to suffer with cool and horrible air quality. So I agree there are other real-world factors to take into consideration. Also this guy continues to go on about how dual hose is so much less efficient by using the hot outdoor air to cool the condenser... He does know that Central air, as well as minisplits, with the condenser being mounted outdoors, does the exact same thing right? They don't take conditioned indoor air to cool the condenser outside. Same goes for window mounted units, those have always used the outdoor air to cool the condenser.
Also newer dual hose options typically have the hot evacuated hose contained within the intake hose, so there's a little bit of a level of insulation with the intake air surrounding the exhaust so a bit less heat as it's primarily the intake hose that will only be radiating the outdoor temperature air and not the much hotter exhaust air that may escape through the hose.
There is no way that the heat radiated from the 2nd hose(condenser intake) is equal to the infiltration from not having a second hose. And what heat is radiated can be minimised by insulating the hose. Both hoses should be insulated. Believe what you want, you will anyway. Have a great day.
@@PaulRosberg The window AC is NOT pumping air into the space! A window AC is equivalent to the dual-hose system, entirely using outside air to cool the condenser.
What model is the AC that you have on the desk? I like the way the output vents are designed. Thanks and have a good day.
It's the LG LP1017WSR.
can you run a dual unit with a single hose ?
Thanks for this and your other videos. I've been looking into these and yours really helped. Have basically decided on the LP1419IVSM
single hose since it is an actual ~10,000 SACC BTU unit
So, My dual hose could perform the same or better by using only the outtake?
My only concern would be that certain parts of the rest of the system (the refrigeration system, fan, etc.) may have been optimized for its dual hose design. Otherwise, I would say it is theoretically possible.
Just what i was thinking...lol...
Incorrect your better iff always using the outside air to cool the condenser. Keep the cold expensively produced cool air in the room.
thanks for sharing
The first thing is to take the intake hose off and plug the window hole for the intake 😮 then you will be using the cooler air from inside your house, just like using the recirculation button in your cars ac and if you know how that works??? It made a huge difference with my unit and now it's nice and cool 😎
What an absolute pro. Thanks
Thank you so much for this! Btw is it possible to tell the SACC of this model: AEG axp35u538cw chillflex pro 12.000 BTU.
Since SACC is a US DOE standard the model you mentioned is unlikely to have a SACC rating unless it is eventually sold in the United States.
Consumer Analysis Ohh ok, didn’t know but thanks!