Smart Portable Air Conditioners
Before you rush out to buy the best smart portable air conditioner in the store, your choice will be a better one when you know what your buying first.
That's where I come into the picture, by providing you with this handy guide and information resource to explain what these particular cooling devices are, how they work and how you can get the most from using one in your home or work space.
To get us started, I'll explain what a smart air conditioner is.
What is a Smart Portable Air Conditioner?
The best way to begin explaining what one of these cooling appliances is, would be to give you a few examples of other ″smart″ devices, such as:
Smart TV
Smart cooker
Smart dishwasher
or in fact any appliance found in the home that can be controlled and even programmed using a mobile device like a phone or a tablet in addition to the usual remote control that comes with the device.
Well, there are some new portable AC models from a few manufacturers that also have this feature, making them ″smart″ in that they can be programmed and controlled via an app on your phone or other computing device.
That means you can program your AC to cool your place to your preferred temperature before you get home from work, or have it turn itself on just as you walk through the door if you want.
And do it all on your phone while you're still at work or on your way home on the train.
If you thought being able to control your traditional portable AC remotely via a remote control was a cool feature, a smart AC takes convenience to a whole new level.
These really clever air conditioners are WiFi ready and connectable!
What is Wifi a Ready Air Conditioner?
That means that as soon as you get one of these cooling appliances home, unpacked and set up, when you turn it on it will connect to your WiFi network with your password that you enter into the control panel. It literally becomes another device in your home wireless network.
Once the AC unit has connected itself to your home network, it's available to be programmed through an app on your computer, tablet or phone. This is the really cool part.
It means that you can create a set of instructions within the app to tell the AC:
When to turn itself on and off during the day and/or night
What temperature to set its thermostat to
Which power setting to use, for how long and if and when to change it
You can even create multiple programs to have the AC run at different times depending on your daily schedule, weekend leisure and when you'll be at home or out of the house.
Does it Get Any Better?
It gets better.
You can also have the app alert you if there is a problem with the appliance or simply to inform you that it has completed a function you preset for it to do. And it does it on your phone while you're away from home.
Having a smart portable air conditioning unit to control the temperature in a room in your home is a real step up from just being able to turn a not-so-smart AC on or off or set its temperature with a remote while you're present in the same room it's located in. It gives you the power to control all the tasks the appliance can do from a phone while you're at work, at the gym or enjoying a meal in a restaurant!
Do Smart Air Conditioners Cost More?
You're probably wondering at this point if a smart WiFi air conditioner is going to cost more than a regular one.
The short answer is that it will cost more. That's because it comes with advanced technology that is fairly new and therefore not widely available but restricted to just a small number of new models from a few top manufacturers.
However, you should not be deterred from taking a look at the models that are available right now.
There are Serious Benefits to Smart ACs
The extra purchase cost is very often offset by the greater flexibility one of these devices provides and can even save you money in the long run by careful presetting on and off times to coincide only when you'll be at home.
On that note, another major plus point is if you left the house without remembering to turn the AC off, your phone can alert you to the fact and you can use the app to turn it off remotely – saving you a good deal of money by not letting it wastefully run while there's nobody at home!
This makes the extra purchase price seem like a pretty good investment, making a smart portable air conditioner a highly desirable item to own!
Now you have read my overview of these clever coolers, do you want to know some more? Visit my Q&A page and ask me a question using the contact form and I'll print it with an answer!