The options for venting your portable air conditioner include a window vent kit, a sliding door vent kit, and others like through a wall, ceiling, or dryer vent.
Portable air conditioners need to be vented because this allows your unit to get rid of the hot air that it extracted from your space and only blows the colder air back into your room.
Fortunately, there are a variety of venting options available for portable air conditioner users, including window vent kits, sliding door vent kits, and even other options for rooms without windows and exterior doors.
Do all portable air conditioners need to be vented?
Although you can find some vent-less portable air conditioner models, most portable air conditioners require some type of vent installation, because these units need a way to get rid of the hot air that they extract from your space.
To lower the temperature of your space, an air conditioner extracts excess heat and humidity from the air, which it sucks in and it runs this warm air over evaporator coils that have refrigerant running through them. The colder air is then released back into your room, and the hot air is vented out.
Portable air conditioner venting options
Since the vent is used to get rid of the hot air that your portable air conditioner extracts, it does not make sense to vent this unit into the same space that you are trying to cool down.
This is why it is so important that your portable air conditioner is vented outside your house, or at least just outside the room that you are trying to cool down.
Fortunately, even though you need to vent your portable air conditioner, there are many options available when it comes to venting your portable air conditioner. Some of the most common venting options are as follows:
- Venting out of a window
- Venting out of a sliding door
- Alternative venting methods
Regardless of which venting option you choose, it is vital that you try to find the shortest and straightest possible path for the vent hose.
It is best to try to avoid making any 90-degree angles with your venting hose as this can cause heat to get trapped in the hose.
It is also crucial that you seal the area around the vent for your portable air conditioner with foam tape, as this will prevent wind and dust from entering your space and will make sure that the hot air does not seep back into the space.
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Venting your portable air conditioner out of a window
Venting out of a window is the most common way that people choose to vent their portable air conditioners. This is also why most portable air conditioners come with a convenient window venting kit.
However, you can also buy this kind of window venting kit separately, as is the case with this best-selling Gulrear Portable AC Window Vent kit.
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This will allow you to vent your air conditioner out of a sliding window horizontally or vertically, by simply clicking the appropriate pieces into place and setting the fitting to the appropriate size of your window.
If you have a window that does not suit these window kits, you can always DIY your kit by cutting a hole the size of your vent hose out of an acrylic sheet or foam board.
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Venting your portable air conditioner out of a sliding door
In much the same way as a window vent kit, there are vent kits that allow you to vent your portable air conditioner out of a sliding door.
This includes kits such as this Gulrear Sliding Door Air Conditioner Kit, which will adjust to a maximum length of 220cm or 87 inches and will work for a 59 inch vent hose.
This kit also has many sliding pieces that interlock to fit into the gap between the sliding door and frame, with a hole through which your vent can fit. This means that you can still open and close your sliding door as usual.
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Other venting options for your portable air conditioner
There are a few venting options for rooms that do not have access to sliding doors or any kind of windows, including the following:
| Venting option | Description | What you will need |
| Venting through a wall or drop ceiling | Cutting a hole for the vent hose to go through your wall or a drop ceiling panel | |
| Venting through a dryer vent | This method is not recommended, but it can work if you connect your air conditioner vent to the dryer vent properly |