Mon-Fri 08:00 – 17:00

Customer support

After sales support

Technical support and spares department

Call Today +27 (12) 661-1173

Centurion, South Africa, 0046

Cost

Aspects which influence the value of a portable air conditioner consist of having the extra functionality of a heater and/or dehumidifier as well as the BTU size of the system and the warranty offered on the product. Further reasons which will increase the worth will be the brand of the product. The better the brand, the more expensive the product will be, so perceptibly an enduring product will save you the costs of added purchases down the road. With all GMC Aircon portable products, we offer a full 2-year warranty backed up by exceptional after sales support. We’ve been in the business since 1995 and customer satisfaction is our number 1 priority and we are rated as the NO.1 Air conditioning company online in South Africa.  You don’t have to take our word for it though you can see what are happy customers have to say about us here on our Google Reviews.

Size

The weight and dimension of a portable air conditioner ought also to be accounted for, depending on the location of where you will be using the unit you need to make sure that the unit will fit adequately in the required space leaving enough room to allow the unit to operate efficiently. There are various models on the market ranging from small portable units which can be used in caravans etc to larger units which can be used in larger spaces in your household. Here at GMC Aircon we have done extensive market research and offer 3 units. The GMCP10Y – 10,000 BTU portable aircon which offers a cooling only capacity and can cool areas of up to 25m2.  We also offer the GMCP12RLB – Cooling and Heating portable ac model which can cool areas of up to 28m2 and the GMCP07 – 7000 BTU Cooling only portable ac which can cool an area up to 16m2.

Room Size

The BTU’s of your air conditioner determine how powerful your air conditioner is, and by comparison, the size of the area of your home your air conditioner can cool down. Two things one should be aware of when calculating the area your air conditioner can cool down is by measuring it’s BTU’s (Will be given by manufacturer).

Firstly, barriers such as doors and walls affect the area cooled. You may have to buy a more powerful air conditioner, in comparison to its required BTU’s for a certain area, to compensate for all the doors and walls. An alternative could be to buy weaker air conditioners for separate rooms as it may be a more energy cost efficient solution.

Other factors to take into consideration are ambient heat factors which heat up a room. This is true of cities like Bloemfontein where the sun can increase indoor ambient temperatures drastically during the day – and will require a more powerful air conditioner, than given by the BTU guide of your air con manufacturer, to cool down the room. This will include things such as sunlight, steam, or oven heat for example. Below is a rough comparison of the number of BTU’s required (indicated by length of blue) to cool down a certain area (in square feet and indicated by the numerical values)

Energy Use

It’s important to consider the energy use of your new portable aircon, especially considering the current cost of electricity in South Africa. Thankfully with a GMC Portable AC we have the 2 most state of the art units available in the South African market. Our GMCP12RLB has an energy rating of ‘A’ awarded by the department of Energy South Africa and our GMCP10Y has been awarded and energy rating of ‘A’ by the department of Energy in South Africa.

GMCP12RLA – 12,000 BTU AC Portable – Energy Rating.

GMCP10y – 10,000 Portable AC BTU Energy Rating.

Don’t be intimidated by the terms and formulas for determining your cooling needs. The following guide cleanly and clearly breaks down each necessary step in figuring exactly what the most efficient cooling solution is for your home.

A BTU/kW Primer

KW to BTU per hour Conversion

Use this formula to determine how many BTU’s are produced by a given wattage (kW).

1 kW = 3,412 BTU’s per hour

For example, if the air conditioner you are looking at says that it has a capacity of 3,412 BTU’s then during the course of one hour of operation, 1 kW will have been consumed.

BTU to kW Conversion

Use this formula to determine how many kilowatts will be used to power the unit.

1 BTU = .000293 kW or 3,412 BTU’s = 1 kW/h

For example, a 10,000 BTU air conditioner will use 2.93 kW per hour.

Ventilation

Ventilation is key for portable air conditioners – your new portable AC system will be supplied with a window ventilation kit which includes a window slider fitting, connection hose and end connection piece. There is very little installation required as all you need to do is fit the extraction hose to a window which is vented outside, so placement of your aircon unit will be important as it will need to be placed near a window, this will allow the hot air to be pumped outside and will create the perfect cool environment inside. It’s important to understand that ventilation is required for all portable AC units and without it your unit will not work correctly and may cause damage to the internal workings of the unit. If you’re at all unsure about the setup then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the GMC Aircon team and we will be more than happy to walk your through the setup process.

Dual vs Single Pipes

There are two different sorts of hoses of which your ventilation kit consists. A single hose allows your portable air conditioner to take in outside-air and expel hot air via the same hose. The second variation – a dual hose, sucks in air from outside through one pipe and expels air through a second hose. Here at GMC Aircon we have found that the Single pipe ventilation kits work extremely well and thus all of the models we have in our range make use of a single extraction hose.

Noise

Due to the nature of portable AC’s they are self-contained units with internal compressors and thus they will make a noise when running. The noise level will depend on the technology and components being used in the AC Unit. We have done extensive research and testing on our models and we’re happy to say both of our models : The GMCP12RLA and GMCP10Y and some of the quietest units available in the South African market according to their DB ratings. If you would like to see the exact specs please visit our Shop page for more information.

Installation

One of the most beneficial factors of owning a portable aircon is the fact that they require very little installation. Your new portable AC system will come with a ventilation kit which includes a window slider, hose connection and a extraction hose. It’s simply a case of connecting these 3 elements and ensuring the hot air is being extracted through a window. Both of our units include full manuals with a diagram to assist with the fittings and of course if at any point you’re unsure you can always call one of the GMC Aircon team who will be more than happy to help with any questions you may have. Don’t just take our word for it though, check out some of our reviews online.

Ease of Use

Has the portable Airconditioning your looking at been designed for ease of use? For example, all our units are designed with portability and ease of use in mind allowing you to move from room to room fairly easily. They are also fairly lightweight (30-35kgs) which means they can be moved around fairly easily. We also offer fully functional remote controls and intuitive setting options which allow for hassle free running of the machine.

Condensate Type

The condensate type of a portable air conditioner is of importance as it will determine how many times (if at all) you have to dispose of the water disposed of by your portable air conditioner. A drip air conditioner will fill up the water disposal fast and will require constant emptying. A partial drip works on a hybrid system and disposes some dirt via the exhaust hose and the rest via water. This will require less frequent disposal of the water disposal bucket. And finally, the no-drip system will require no water disposal as all of this will be spewed out by air.

What brand are you buying?

All elements taken into consideration a large part of your buying decision will be based on the brand of portable air conditioner you would like to purchase.  When buying from GMC Aircon you’re buying from local South African based company. Established in 1995 we have been in the HVAC business for more than 23 years and operate on the concept of our customers come 1st.

We also offer a full 2-year warranty on all our portable products and we will ensure you are 100% satisfied with the product you have purchased from us.  We also include free delivery anywhere in South Africa and cover all of the main areas such as Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and all other cities in Southern Africa.

If you have any questions at all then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our team who will be more than happy to help with any questions you may have.

Comments are closed.