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garrai81

vent portable AC unit into bathroom (with fan on)?

garrai81
9 years ago

At night, we need to cool our bedroom to 66, to be able to sleep well.

We have grown tired of the waste and expense of cooling the whole house to 66 at night.

We have central air.

We cannot afford to install a mini ductless system for just the bedroom, to be able to control the bedroom temp at night (while leaving the rest of the house at 72).

We plan to try this:
Get a portable AC unit for the bedroom (about $300) and vent the hot air exhaust hose through the interior wall into the bathroom. The bathoom fan, which exhausts to the outside, would be on all night.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Thanks.

Mac

Comments (10)

  • cuffs054
    9 years ago

    I think you will have some moisture issues. The exhaust also carries moisture away. I've also bought two portables, one for bedroom and one for kitchen for the same reason. Wouldn't it be easier just to duct them out a window as designed?

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    HAS to be externally ducted through a window, not indirectly routed through another room. If you need 66 degrees to sleep, you have too many blankets on the bed and bedclothes on you. Start by removing them and getting a portable fan. And remember the old days before AC existed. I certainly do. And we all slept just fine without being spoiled by sleeping in a refrigerator.

  • garrai81
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    There is no usable window to vent this through. The window is sealed against the heat and noise.

    As for the temp, 66 is what doctors recommend. We sleep with a light sheet over us.

    Thanks.

  • dovetonsils
    9 years ago

    Portable air conditioners are strange beasts. I have been looking into getting one to use as a backup just in case my aging heat pump goes when I need it most. Read reviews on any portable a/c and you will find an overwhelming dissatisfaction. The problem is that since the condenser coil - the part of an A/C system that releases the room's heat to the outside - is actually inside your house, you need to blow the heat outside. In a "one hose" system (the most popular now), the fan that blows air across the condenser coil and pushes the warm air out through the hose creates a vacuum that pulls air in from other parts of the house and eventually warm from outside air comes in.

    In your scheme, you have the same net effect. The warm air from the bedroom will be moved to the bathroom. The exhaust fan will expel (some of?) that air plus create a vacuum that expels cooled air from other parts of the house.

    IMO, you will be happiest with a window a/c in your bedroom.

  • SaltiDawg
    9 years ago

    "IMO, you will be happiest with a window a/c in your bedroom."

    Possibly mounted thru the wall as opposed to window mount.

    I put a 23,000 BTU unit thru the wall of my first house in the 1960's. It kept a large portion of the house cool...

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Wow. Regardless of doctor recommendations I could never afford to cool my bedroom to 66ðF. My last electric bill was $236 and that's keeping the house at 78ðF.

  • countryboymo
    9 years ago

    A small through the wall unit like for a studio apartment would be the best solution. 500-750.00 for a heat pump unit and 400 and up for just a/c. The btus put out on the hoses of portables is shocking unless you use insulated ducts which in a bedroom is a poor idea. The other tip if looking portable is an input and outlet duct for the outside air and pump for the condensation otherwise you will never see 66 in the room unless it is screaming on high all night.

  • mike_home
    9 years ago

    I get the chills every time I read this thread about sleeping with the AC set at 66 degrees. In my opinion it it is not necessary and a waste of energy.

  • cindywhitall
    9 years ago

    I am freezing at night when our family room hits 72.5, hubby likes it cool to sleep. We sleep with the heat around 63-65 in the winter, but with long PJ's and comforter.

    I wonder if the OP is on the larger side, or perhaps at a certain stage of life. Larger people tend to get hot at lower temps as do women of a certain age. My MIL (age 77) is super scrawny and she is freezing at 75. She has no boy fat to keep her warm.

    But the subject was how to cool one room, which I am also interested in as our babies will be flying the nest one day soon and it is silly to cool/heat the whole house at night. (Though heating is probably easier since heat at least rises.) We are lucky to have aback facing window, so we'll probably do that someday. A neighbor has a black hose hanging out his front window. It is small, but still looks tacky. (I wonder if he could switch it to clear). I think the vent hose might go to his attic. Could the OP vent out through the roof?