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thebeaz
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Rating:  10
Time with product: 1 Months
Strengths: Quiet, Very Cold Air, Dual Hose Design, Remote Control, Sleep Mode, Heavy Duty Castors For Rolling, Air Purifier, Programmable Operation, No Water Pan To Empty, Attractive Design, 1yr/5yr Warranty.
Weaknesses: Very Heavy To Take Upstairs.
Summary: We needed a portable a/c to cool an upstairs 13' x 18' bedroom. During the summer it normally gets into the 80s-90s for a high and cools into the 60s-70s at night in this Atlanta suburb. Running both the upstairs and downstairs central a/c units can really run up an electric bill. We've had this PACL90 now for the last 2 weeks in June and the first 3 weeks of July and haven't had to turn on the upstairs central a/c yet! This really was a bargain at $320 (after MIR) shipped right to our door...-I did quite a bit of research before buying. There are user reviews of various portable a/c units all over the place with complaints about little or no cooling power, being loud enough to wake you every time the compressor kicks in and having to empty water drain pans every couple of hours to avoid flooding the carpet. Of course, nobody wants problems like those! This DeLonghi has really lived up to my high expectations and has given us no problems since installation. Here are some tips and additional info based on my experiences for those of you considering a purchase of the PACL90:-1) Calculating an EER (Energy Efficiency Rating) for this unit isn't easy considering the product page at DeLonghi's website doesn't even list the max wattage. I hooked ours up to my P3 Kill-A-Watt device and found that when first turned on the highest setting (Boost), the unit draws between 1,050 and 1,070 watts, which is in-line with calculating the max wattage by multiplying its 9.3 Amps by 115 Volts to arrive at 1,070 watts. This gives the 10,000 BTUs an EER of about 9.35 at maximum output. To be honest, I consider some manufacturer's claims of EER's on portable a/c units as high as 14 to be suspect.-2) Since a portable a/c is primarily used to reduce an electric bill while providing comfort, the setting used and runtime has a dramatic effect. For example, during a 30-min run of the Boost mode I measured a .45 kWh (kilowatt-hour) consumption of electricity. At our current cost (incl taxes) of $0.11 per kWh, that equals just 5 cents on a monthly bill. However, the room temp was lowered about 5 deg in that time. This unit also has lower, more conservative settings than Boost, plus there's a sleep mode where it gradually lowers power consumption while maintaining room temp. Interestingly, while the PACL90 was drawing 1,070 watts when first turned on in Boost mode, after 30 min it was only drawing 910 watts on the same setting. I suppose this has to do with a compressor becoming more efficient at cooling as it continues to operate.-3) This is where I got an UNEXPECTED BENEFIT from the PACL90's two-hose design that is really saving us money. One of the exhaust hoses is actually an intake hose that draws air in from the outside to cool the unit's condensor. I found that without engaging the compressor but just turning the fan on high setting, cooler air from outside is drawn into the room. In fact, when it cools into the high 60s-low 70s at night, the PACL90 will cool this particular room down in just a couple of hours while drawing only 60 watts (and filtering the air!). By morning, the air coming out of the vents will be downright cold. Running it for 8 hours like this costs about 5 cents per night. I've read that most central units draw around 3,500 watts and our upstairs unit is located in the attic, which can still be well over 100 deg after midnight. By the time it blows cold air through the attic ducts to several rooms, the air in the room closest to the a/c is cold while the room farthest away has warm air coming into it. This central unit can literally run just about all night to cool the far room. If it runs 5 hours per night at 3,500 watts, that's a painful $1.93 on the electric bill for ONE night! I like 5 cents per night much better, especially when the central a/c downstairs has already been running most of the day.-4) Convenience and Intangibles. Program the PACL90 to come on and go off when you want. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it's too cold, then turn it off with the remote control and go back to sleep. Under normal operation, condensation is exhausted through the window vent, meaning no drip pan to empty and no wet carpet/floor. For an a/c unit that has the compressor inside the room with you, the PACL90 is relatively quiet. Most window and motel room a/c units I've heard are louder. However, it will never be as quiet as a central system because it is still a portable a/c. One last thing...The 3M air filter that ships inside the unit is sealed in plastic that needs to be removed before operation.-When you understand a portable a/c and accept it for what it is, you should be pleased with the PACL90. There are many bad reviews for portable ac units and if this one had disappointed, I wouldn't have held anything back. I'm genuinely happy with this purchase, especially at the price I paid...
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