Can a window A/C unit be run inside a room or does it have to be vented outdoors?

I have seen these protable a/c units that you can just run inside a room. Very expensive. Can I just mount a window unit on a stand and run it in a room?

Can a window A/C unit be run inside a room or does it have to be vented outdoors?
The short answer is No.


The portable units have a duct that exhausts the hot air outside.





In order to run a window unit inside, you would need to install said ductwork as well as a way to catch the condensation.





In both cases, you are exhausting air which must be replaced with unconditioned air from the outside. Portable units are very inefficient for that reason and are a 'last resort' solution.
Reply:All air conditioners do is separate cooled air from hot air. They use energy to cool the air and send its heat out the other side. If both the hot and cold are going into the same room you are not going to get much except a big electric bill.





Venting is essential. Cool stays in room and vented hot goes out. Skip the vent and you are nowhere for comfort.





Maybe you can put the A/C on a stand and put the stand near the window. It would not be super efficient but at least you will get some benefit.
Reply:The portable A/C also is vented to the outside to blow out the hot air. If you tried to use a regular AC and just hooked it up then it would just blow the heat around the room.
Reply:NO NO NO NO NO


The portable ones have a vent that goes out side a window. if you try your idea with out a vent the heat form the exhaust is going to run you out of the room and cancel any cooling you have going on . Best idea if your wanting to save money is get a portable evaporative cooler. we had one growing up and it kept a small area cool in the house with out needing to be vented out side. another idea is get a room size dehumidifer. it takes out moisture and you feel cooler. just remember to empty the bucket modern ones have a buzzer that goes off to let you know the bucket needs emptying OR get one of the ac units that have a dehumidifier mode. we got one 5 years ago and I have only put it in actual Air conditioning mode twice. my light bill only goes up 10.00 USD a month in summer . thats in southwest Oklahoma where once it gets hot (95 -100 degrees plus) I let it run 24/ 7.
Reply:Depending on where you are in th country, you might be able to use an evaporative cooler instead of an air conditioner. They are much cheaper and usable in the areas where there isn't high humidity. In August in Florida, they would be a total waste of money....but in May and June in Arizona, they are a much cheaper solution than air conditioning (cheaper as in both cost to buy and electricity cost).
Reply:A/C are designed to remove heat, not make cold. Venting the heat to the inside is kind of dumb, eh?
Reply:Even the portable ones have to vent outside, you put the hoses in the window.





I tried to use a regular one inside and the heat it puts out is so much, the air condition does no good. You have to put it in the window, I have put them on a stand 1/2 way in the window since I couldn't have a brace screwed in the building, and just use it that way, with the vents outside the window and the water dripping out the back hole. Just make sure it doesn't fall out the window, you don't want anyone to get hurt. Screw it down to the stand so it can't fall out.
Reply:You could but you would defeat your purpose. The tail end that you normally put to the outside takes the hot air and blows it outside while blowing the cool inside so you would be negating any benefit you may have had by doing it that way. Those portable units do not really do that good a job so best bet is to either go the room A/C in the window or get a fan or if you are in a place that is not real humid, you could go with what they call a swamp cooler. That is a unit that goes into your window like a normal A/C but it works by pumping water over some pads that are outside in the unit to cool the air that way. It does make for more humidity in the room but is really cool and can do a whole house with just one medium size unit. They used to use this type of thing for cooling things that now go to the refrigerator so it is very effective.
Reply:You could, but the exhaust heat would be in the room too.
Reply:It must be vented to the outside. AC units are designed to remove hot air. If you put the unit in the room it will not be removing any heat and eventually freeze up, depending on the size of the room.
Reply:It won't work that way. The unit you are talking about has to have a way to drip off the water-condensation from the unit. Just mounting it on a stand will cause you to have to keep a mop beside your bed.... Messy stuff!
Reply:Air conditioners and refrigerators work by removing heat from a space where you don't want it, and transferring to a space where you don't mind it. So your window unit is taking heat from your room and transferring to the outside. So you can't just run it in the room. It will actually make the room hotter.