Portable air conditioner without a window or a hose
A portable air conditioner works without a window, but never without venting: its hot air has to go outside.
All 2,772 model numbers certified by the Department of Energy have one or two exhaust hoses. Units sold with no hose or no vent are evaporative coolers, not air conditioners.
Ways to vent with no window
- Sliding door. A vent kit fits the door track, with a panel that holds the hose. Measure the gap.
- Casement or crank-out window. These need a casement kit; a standard window kit will not seal.
- Exterior wall. A professionally cut hole with a wall vent kit gives a permanent, sealed connection.
- Garage door. A garage vent kit replaces a panel or slides under the door.
- Not an option: venting into an attic, a ceiling space or a neighboring room. The heat comes back.
Why no-hose units are not the same thing
An air conditioner moves heat out of the room, so the heat has to go somewhere. Coolers sold with no hose pass air over water instead: they cool by evaporation, add humidity, and only work in dry air. They are a different product, and the Department of Energy's air conditioner database does not list them. Judge any "no vent" cooler on its own claims, not on the ratings here.
If a portable unit will not work
- Window units (the most efficient for one room)
- Through-the-wall air conditioners
- Ductless mini-splits
- Portable vs. window air conditioner
Questions
Common questions
- Can a portable air conditioner work without a window?
- Yes, but it still has to vent its hot air outside. The hose can go through a window, a sliding-door kit, a hole in an exterior wall, a vent or a garage door vent kit. What it cannot do is exhaust into another room, a ceiling or an attic, which only moves the heat around.
- Is there a portable air conditioner with no hose?
- Not among certified air conditioners: every one of the 2,772 portable air conditioner model numbers certified to the Department of Energy has one or two exhaust hoses. Products sold as hose-free or no-vent coolers are generally evaporative coolers, which add moisture to the air and work only in dry climates; they are not air conditioners and are not in this database.
- Which portable air conditioner needs the least venting?
- A dual-hose unit still needs two hoses, but it only moves outdoor air through the condenser, so it does not pull warm air in through the room's gaps the way a single-hose unit does. 378 certified model numbers have two hoses; the most efficient is Midea MAP12S1TBL (14.7 CEER).
- Do I need a window kit?
- Yes, in almost every case. A kit holds the hose in the opening and seals the gaps. Most boxes include one for a standard sliding or hung window; casement and sliding-glass-door openings need a separate kit sized to the opening.