It’s that time of year when the gates of hell have opened and we’re all desperate to turn our home into ice boxes that even winter would be jealous of. And while some of you have run back to the office for that free AC, some of us prefer to WFH without fear of swamp ass.

But before you take the plunge and purchase the first portable air conditioner you see, it’s worth knowing how they work and how good they are at doing the job. That way, you can make the perfect choice for your home to get you through those dog days of summer.

How exactly does air conditioning work?

Air conditioning keeps your room at a cooler temperature, but how? Firstly, a portable air conditioning unit pulls all the hot air in from the room using a fan, which is then cooled using an internal motor and condenser coils. That process separates the moisture from the air, and all that excess warm air and moisture (or humidity) is then pushed through a hose and out the window back into Hades. The refrigerant inside the air conditioner then cools down the air and uses coils and a fan to recirculate it back into the room at a much cooler and comfier temperature—ahhh heaven.

Many portable air conditioners feature an internal removable bucket that collects the moisture but needs to be manually emptied when it reaches capacity. The majority of Hisense portable AC units have a convenient drain-free design that means the moisture is automatically disposed of, so you never need to worry. However, if you don’t have space for an air conditioner by a window or outlet, you’ll need to go for the manual system to keep your conditioning unit in tip-top condition.

How to vent a portable air conditioner

You’re probably wondering why that AC unit you’ve got your eye on needs to be vented at all. But without it, the unit will struggle to take the heat out of your home, forcing you to sacrifice your pandemic mini doodle to the sun gods for a moment’s reprieve.

As we mentioned before, the main purpose of air con is to cool down your room, but to do that, it has to remove the heat from the air. And rather than scream at the hot air to leave you alone, you’ll need a vent (not from you) to get it out of the room. If it’s not vented or there’s nowhere for the heat to go, the energy the AC uses will actually make the room even hotter (if that’s possible in for a 5th floor walk-up). Nobody wants that, so here’s how to vent an air conditioning unit through a window:

• Place the unit close to a window or air outlet.

• Attach the exhaust hose to the coupling and window exhaust adapter, then insert the coupling in the slot on the back of the AC unit. Slide down to lock it in place.

• This one is the most important of all – read the manual! Hisense portable ACs come with a window kit designed to work with horizontal and vertical sliding windows between 18 and 50”. But the parts you’ll be using depends on the size of your window, so you’ll have to find that missing tape measure and get the measurements to assemble the window vent yourself. And if it’s so hot the manual bursts into flames (yes, it happens), you’ll find the manual for your Hisense AC model online.

Do air conditioners prevent condensation?

In an ideal world a good AC unit should take care of condensation (provided that it’s not coming from a leaking roof or pipe) while keeping your home at a comfy temperature. The moisture that’s pulled out of the air initially is either collected in a buck or sent through the exhaust of the winow, which you may sometimes feel like raindrops when there is no cloud in sight. It’s that hot air condensation—yummmm.

So, if you’re struggling to chill at home because of both heat and humidity (no one wants to actually melt into your couch), you’re probably better off investing in air con over a purpose-built dehumidifier. Two birds, one stone.

Can portable air conditioners be used without windows?

Venting your air conditioning through a window may be the most popular and practical solution, but that doesn’t mean that air con is off limits in rooms that either have a ‘swing-open’ window or no window at all. In fact, there are a few ways to vent your air con to suit all kinds of rooms. The only criteria is that the hot air doesn’t come back into the room you’ve placed your AC units, as that would be as useless as bringing a knife to a gun fight, we’re told .

The other options include:

• Venting your air con through a casement window

• Venting through walls

• Venting through a swinging door into another room

If choosing the latter, you’ll need to keep an eye on the temperature of the room you’re venting the hot air into – after all, you’re escaping the pit of hell outside, not trying to create another portal to it .

At Hisense, we’ve got a great collection of portable AC units to suit rooms of all sizes, with plenty of options for venting (again not the auditory kind; we’re not your therapist). And if you’re planning to install permanent air con in a particular room, don’t forget to check out the exceptional Hisense window air conditioner range. They’re quiet, efficient, and just the thing for that dreamy, peaceful night’s sleep (when your neighbors aren’t having an absolute rager to celebrate the solstice, that is).