How to Vent a Portable Air Conditioner Without a Window

Portable air conditioners can’t work properly without a vent. The AC unit draws in the warm air from the room first. Next, it cools the air using the refrigerant and disperses the cool air back into the room. The accumulated warm air then needs to be released, and that’s where the vent comes in.

Without a vent, your portable AC will push the warm air back into the room. This will prevent your device from achieving its goal of cooling the room. In this article, we’ll explain different ways to vent portable air conditioners.

How to Vent a Portable Air Conditioner?

Placement is the key factor when it comes to ventilating a portable AC device. To ensure the best results, make sure that your mobile AC’s exhaust hose is straight. Another thing to consider is the noise produced by a portable AC unit, which can be louder than a window-based unit. In the sections below, we’ll provide you with venting options that you can use for your portable AC.

Vent Through the Door

In case your room has no windows, you can use its door to vent a portable air conditioner. This is the most popular method of venting a windowless portable AC unit.

Naturally, you should consider where the doors lead. In case another room or a hallway is on the other side, it might be quite hard to achieve the temperature difference necessary to keep the AC effective. On the contrary, in case your room has a balcony door, you’ll be able to vent your AC device straight outside.

Still, there’s even a better option, in case you have sliding doors. Sliding doors typically open onto the balcony or porch. You can install a sliding door seal for the portable AC effortlessly, and the desired temperature difference will be there. Now your portable air conditioner will achieve the same effectiveness as it would with window venting.

The great news is that there are kits specifically designed for the purpose of venting through the sliding doors. They’re very easy to set up, but keep in mind that hose pipes on most portable ACs aren’t very long, so you should consider placing your portable AC device somewhere near the door. Remember to make sure that the area around the hose is tightly sealed to the sliding door since this will prevent hot air from getting back into the room.

Vent Through the Wall

The most drastic option on our list is also the most permanent one since it requires drilling a hole in your wall to make space for a vent. Before you begin with hard work, put some thinking into how much will you really use your portable AC unit. Now that you’re surely cool with making a large hole in your home’s wall, you’re ready to get the tools or hire a professional.

In case you want to do the whole thing by yourself, you won’t be facing many problems, since the entire installation process is rather simple. Before starting, you should make sure that your intended location is free from any  wires or pipes that may be located in the wall. Checking the architectural plan of the building is always a good idea. This simple check will ensure you do a good job and don’t create any damage to the existing installations. You should also consider what’s outside the wall before you start drilling.

Naturally, it’s easier to cut through wood or drywall than through stone or brick, so in case you’re dealing with these harder materials, it might be for the best to call a professional.

Vent Through the Ceiling

Those of you living in places with a drop ceiling will surely find this option to be the most optimal. A majority of modern buildings don’t have this amenity, but if you’re a resident of an older building that has high ceilings, you should definitely consider venting your portable AC unit through the ceiling.

This method requires a hole to be made in the ceiling. Again, you should consult the architectural plan to make sure not to interfere with any of the building’s infrastructure.

After you make the hole, put the hose pipe through it and seal the gaps with a silicone sealant. Keep in mind that you should always observe the temperature and humidity levels in the ceiling space to avoid creating conditions in which mold thrives.

Venting air conditioners through the ceiling can typically be seen in computer server spaces. Those rooms are usually windowless, so venting through the ceiling is the best possible way to exhaust the warm air.

Venting Through a Dryer Vent

There’s also an option of venting a portable air conditioner through a dryer vent, but a vast majority of manufacturers advocate against it. The reason for this is that the AC unit’s hose pipe is typically larger than the dryer vent, so it might require a great effort to fit the exhaust hose in the dryer vent.

Regardless of experts’ recommendations, a great number of people have tried this method and found it useful. The only important thing to consider here is the size of the dryer vent since it needs to be wide enough to let the hot air pass easily.

Making sure that the dryer can exhaust enough hot air is crucial before connecting the portable air conditioner’s hose to the dryer vent. Without this check, the heat might increase and start a fire somewhere in the system. Similarly to venting through the ceiling, always remember to check on the temperature in the AC unit and the dryer. This will let you ensure that everything works as planned.

Vent Through an Unused Chimney

Venting through a chimney is the least common option of venting a portable AC device. This method has many requirements. The first is to have a chimney, of course. It also needs to be unused, which it normally is during the summer.

Now we’re getting to the difficult part, since running an exhaust hose through the chimney can get kind of tricky. That’s why we usually suggest consulting a professional to all those considering venting their AC units through the chimney.

A very long hose is also necessary when it comes to venting through the chimney, and that’s why this method of venting can usually be seen on smaller cottages, with shorter chimneys.

Final Words

This concludes our comprehensive post on how to vent a portable air conditioner without a window. We hope you like the article and find it useful. As always, feel free to post a comment in case you have any additional questions, or simply want more information about a certain point. We’ll be happy to receive feedback and respond quickly.