Last Summer, my dad mentioned that he wanted to buy a portable A/C because during the Summers, he would like to run one of his air conditioning units in an effort to conserve energy and save some money on his energy bill.
The A/C unit that cools the upstairs bedrooms and some of the common spaces will need to be on during the days, but he would like to keep the other HVAC unit off and purchase a portable A/C for his bedroom located on the bottom floor. I advised him not to make the purchase because I wanted to do some research on portable A/C units. The portable A/C he wanted was from a random television commercial that convinced him that the unit would be great for his cooling needs. I saw the same commercial and thought the product was amazing as well. Those advertisers really do a great job at convincing consumers to buy their products. However, after further research and reading some very spirited reviews, I advised my dad that he should skip the portable air conditioners all together. Many described them as nothing more than a glorified fan and advised not to waste our money on them. I suggested to my dad to buy a window air conditioner instead because they are more reliable, and we have used them in the past with very little issues. In addition, the design and technology have improved since the last time we used them, and I found some with raving reviews. After that conversation, my dad hasn’t mentioned wanting a portable A/C or any additional A/C’s at all. Perhaps he changed his mind and I have not brought up the topic since the last discussion we had. Sometimes we should take the time to do some research on products that we see being advertised, and I am glad I saved my dad from wasting his money on a portable A/C unit with poor functionality.