Working in your garage during the summer months can prove to be extremely difficult. If you live in a hot and humid state, the object where you store tools and materials can get insanely hot, making your stay there very unpleasant and limited. A garage is typically not an insulated building, walls provide little to no isolation from external sources. Convenient for storing items, yet less comfortable than the main living unit.
Best dual hose portable air conditioner
If you are using your garage extensively, especially in a hot environment, you may have wondered if a portable garage air conditioner can help to keep the temperature down? Technically – yes, you could opt for this choice. There are some requirements that you need to think of before implementing this solution, and you could make it work, but it’s not highly recommended.
Cooling your garage – what you need to consider?
There are a few vital steps that you need to go through when determining how to cool a garage. Sometimes garages share a wall with the living objects, in other cases, they are standalone buildings. Materials used, size, position, and the environment are all parameters that will ultimately result in the garage temperature.
Insulation
Garages are typically less insulated than living objects. Using the same insulation layers as in houses is expensive and not really necessary. You can, however, opt for a lighter layer that could keep the temperature in your garage longer and improve the efficiency of the garage AC. Consider this when choosing the cooling unit, otherwise, you will not only inefficiently cool the space but put extreme stress on the unit
Ventilation
Air-co units need to vent, you wouldn’t want to keep one running in your garage without the proper ventilation installation. In that case, both the cold and the hot air are being blown into the garage, annulling the cooling effect at best. If you have a window – problem solved. Otherwise, you will need to drill a hole in your wall or ceiling, implement the venting hose and lead it to the external environment. Doors are too big and even if they are slightly open for the venting purposes, a lot of heat will be let back in.
Object size
The size of the object is an important factor in choosing a portable AC for the garage. Larger space takes a stronger unit, more time to achieve optimal temperature and more energy to maintain it. Especially if the object is not insulated. What you need to know: Square footage of the garage and the BTU rating of the cooling unit. This means that for garage usage, you will most often have to go with a much stronger air-conditioner to be able to keep the temperature down.
Are portable air conditioners any good?
Even if you optimize your selections, there is a good chance that your garage ac unit will be put through a lot of stress. The powerful device could face the same risk of overworking as a smaller unit: You initially achieve the cooler temperature but the lack of insulation and poor venting simply require more cooling. Perpetual on and off regime lead to breakdowns, most commonly in compressors.
Can it be done?
Considering all of the aforementioned factors, yes, you could have a portable cooling unit in your garage. Be aware of the operating instructions of the cooler and avoid malfunctions. If you live in extremely hot areas, avoid this solution and check out other unit types such as window air conditioners and mini-split AC’s. Get in touch and we will gladly help you find the right option so you can keep working on your projects during hot summer months!
