Return Air for Room with Portable Air Conditioner

6 years ago

I'm considering building a room in my garage to act as an office. I will close off a corner with studs, insulation, drywall, etc. My plan for HVAC is to use a portable AC since the room probably won't be more than 100-200 SF. I plan to vent the portable AC (one that heats as well) through one of the exterior walls. If I take this approach, is it still necessary to add some kind of return air vent to take the air up one of the stud voids and out the roof of the room?

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Comments (3)

Bruce in Northern Virginia
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
The cheapest portable A/C units have only one vent hose to the outside. The next step up in portable A/C units will have two vent hoses so that the "system" air is pulled in from outside and then exhausted again outside. Take a look at this video for a better explanation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHklc5mlzas

Going up and out the roof seems like the hard way, but you do need a window or wall penetration for the hoses. When I used a portable A/C in my garage I had a single hose unit and used one of the vents in the sidewall of my garage to exhaust the air. Its also common to use a window.

Bruce
Marc Well
5 years ago
Venting Options

Many people feel they cannot use a portable air conditioner because they do not have a window in the room they are trying to cool. This is not a problem! Though most portable air conditioners are designed to vent out of a window (most come with a handy, easy to install window kit), you can get creative when thinking of venting options. You can vent through the floor, ceiling, even a chimney. You can even vent into another room. The primary goal of venting is to get the hot air coming off the compressor out of the room you are trying to cool. As long as you can accomplish that, then you and your portable air conditioner will have a very happy life together.

https://www.centralacwarehouse.com/

Venting From a Casement Window

Many people think that they cannot use a portable air conditioner because they have a casement, or crank out, window. Don’t fret, this is easy to overcome. You simply need to get a piece of plexiglass cut to the size of your window, and attach it like a screen so that the window will still open (usually can be done with strong Velcro). In that piece of plexiglass, have a 5 inch hole cut near the bottom. Then you simply put the vent hose in the hole, and you are good to go. Plus, you do not lose the view from the window when you use the plexiglass!
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Exthinker
5 years ago
I was using a fan in my room since last summer. I always thought that an AC system at home is something that no one needs until I visited my friend's apartment on one hot summer day. Majorcooling.com installed his air conditioning system. When I entered his apartment and felt the cold, I immediately understood that I need such a thing at home. The next day I called the same company, and in just a few days, they installed the air conditioning system in my house. It was the best decision in my life. Now I can normally sleep during summer nights.