# Portable, free-standing room air conditioner-good idea or no? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788 "2009-04-29T23:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/41 "2009-05-17T16:37:02Z")
So, OP, what was the decision? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/42 "2009-05-18T03:14:46Z")
OK, now I’m stumped. Brookstone’s “Windowless Personal Air Conditioner” sku # 587048 is a portable freestanding air conditioner with ZERO hoses, no venting of any kind. Not just a fan, not an evaporator, it dehumidifies and cools. How in the world could it do that? I don’t think you can remove heat from an environment without putting that much and more into another warmer environment, unless you do it temporarily (for example with ice) which requires exporting even more heat at some other time. The ad seems pretty clear. I don’t see a catch anywhere. What is this thing??? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/43 "2009-05-18T05:53:06Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > OK, now I’m stumped. Brookstone’s “Windowless Personal Air Conditioner” sku # 587048 is a portable freestanding air conditioner > with ZERO hoses, no venting of any kind. Not just a fan, not an evaporator, it dehumidifies and cools. How in the world could it do that? > > I don’t think you can remove heat from an environment without putting that much and more into another warmer environment, unless you do it temporarily (for example with ice) which requires exporting even more heat at some other time. The ad seems pretty clear. I don’t see a catch anywhere. What is this thing??? It doesn’t. Even Brookstone (and I would never buy an air conditioner from them) admits this in the FAQ: > [@](#): > > All air conditioners put out hot air and humidity as a by product of cooling - the hot air comes out through the back of the unit and the water collects in the internal bucket - the purpose of the unit is not to cool a room - this can not be achieved with this unit since the unit is generating cold air through the front and hot air through the back - the purpose of the unit is to cool your personal space. hence it can be directed to cool your immediate space. So as you suspect, what they are actually selling is a heater. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/44 "2009-05-18T09:16:26Z")
Those darn old Thermodynamics laws at work again! Won’t someone please repeal them??? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/45 "2009-05-18T09:33:22Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Those darn old Thermodynamics laws at work again! Won’t someone please repeal them??? 😛 Yes - and the quicker the better! My refrigerator pumps out hot air from the back - that can’t be right. 😕 I just want cold stuff without any silly heating. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/46 "2009-05-18T10:29:29Z")
OK, so they aren’t breaking the 2nd law. They must be breaking \*some \*law here! ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/47 "2009-05-18T11:21:01Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > It doesn’t. Even Brookstone (and I would never buy an air conditioner from them) admits this in the FAQ: > > So as you suspect, what they are actually selling is a heater. Wow. This really is the jerk-a-thron 3000 then. What are you supposed to use it for? For a room that is hot enough that makes you want an AC but you cool your little area and make it worse for everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/48 "2009-05-18T14:43:03Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > So as you suspect, what they are actually selling is a heater. No, we generally use “heater” to describe a device which converts fuel (charcoal, wood, electricity) into heat. I would call this a “heat pump”; it takes the existing heat from in front of the device, and pumps it out the back. I can see it as useful in an office where everyone else is confortable, but it is still a bit too warm for you. So it cools down your little area, and sends the heat out towards everyone else, where the building’s air conditioner will fix it. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/49 "2009-05-18T15:35:59Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > No, we generally use “heater” to describe a device which converts fuel (charcoal, wood, electricity) into heat. I would call this a “heat pump”; it takes the existing heat from in front of the device, and pumps it out the back. > > I can see it as useful in an office where everyone else is confortable, but it is still a bit too warm for you. So it cools down your little area, and sends the heat out towards everyone else, where the building’s air conditioner will fix it. Sorry. I’m still calling it a heater since we would simply consider this device as a heat source when determining the building heat load. The heat pump part doesn’t matter since it is simply moving heat around in the same space, but the electrical load of this device is all additional heat load. Considered that way, it is no different than the resistance heaters some people have under their desks for when the room is a bit too cold for them. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788/50 "2009-05-18T16:17:50Z")
I had one in my office for awhile and it worked if I pointed it right at myself, or closed the door to my (small) office. To cool a bigger space, not so much, and dumping the water tank twice a day was a drag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portable-free-standing-room-air-conditioner-good-idea-or-no/494788.md?page=2)