Are portable air conditioners good dehumidifiers?
All refrigerent air con units will remove moisture from the air as they cool it i.e. they dehumidify. This is an unavoidable effect of passing air over a cold surface to cool it (like the condensation that forms on a milk bottle when you take it out of the fridge). Whilst portable air conditioners are optimised for cooling performance they will dehumidify quite well. However, a portable air conditioner will only dehumidify within it’s operating temperature range of typically 18-35C. Below this temperature the compressor does not start and the machine will not operate. A dedicated dehumidifier will be more efficent in operation (i.e use less energy) and can be made to work at temperatures right down to below freezing point.
