2

My portable air conditioner can also be used as a dehumidifier. I can use it in the summer/spring both as air conditioner as well as dehumidifier, and it works really well as a dehumidifier under hot weather. The brand and model is as follows: De Longhi Pinguino PAC N82. In the summer it works perfectly well as a dehumidifier. However, I don't know whether it can be used in the winter at low temperatures -let's say 0-5 degrees Celsius. Can I use a portable air conditioner/dehumidifier as a dehumidifier in the winter at cold temperatures?

Let me also explain how the air conditioner/dehumidifier works. The humidity of the apartment (that is captured by the dehumidifier) is expelled outside the apartment through a plastic hose. Moreover, and in contrast with most dehumidifiers, my air conditioner/dehumidifier does not store the humidity in a bowl in the form of water; indeed, as explained above, the humidity is not condensed in the form of water and is expelled outside the apartment through a plastic hose.

Moreover, I also would like to ask another question: In the case that the air conditioner/dehumidifier should not be used with cold weather, which is the threshold of the temperature under which I should not use it as a dehumidifier?

Franz
  • 23
  • 2
  • I also want to add other information. This is reported in the guide of the product: "DEHUMIDIFYING MODE: Ideal for reducing the humidity in a room without lowering or raising the temperature (spring or autumn, damp rooms, rainy spells, etc)." That is, they mention that it is possible to use the product as a dehumidifier in spring and autumn, but winter is not even mentioned in the guide. – Franz Aug 28 '21 at 14:57
  • 2
    You should be checking with the manufacturer or their technical support. That's all we'd be doing. Just try it and see if it works. – JACK Aug 28 '21 at 14:59
  • So how does it store the moisture produced from the dehumidifying process, as you state it is not stored as water? – Solar Mike Aug 28 '21 at 15:09
  • You should get educated about relative humidity. If temperature of evaporating coil higher then dewpoint, device is not effective. – user263983 Aug 28 '21 at 15:09
  • It is my understanding that some a/c condensing units can be damaged if they are turned on at low ambient temperatures. I don't know the reasons for this, but it could be that the oil in the compressor becomes too viscous or it could be the low temperature results in excessive liquid refrigerant in the suction line input to the compressor. IIRC one unit had a warning to not try to operate the unit at ambient temps below 40 F (or 50 ?). – Jim Stewart Aug 28 '21 at 15:23
  • @SolarMike: Based on my understanding, the moisture is vented out of the flat in gaseous form. The plastic hose is used to vent the moisture (in gaseous form) out of the flat. – Franz Aug 28 '21 at 15:23
  • 4
    It used to be that in winter most heated enclosed spaces had a problem with excessively *low* humidity. – Jim Stewart Aug 28 '21 at 15:27
  • 2
    Most people depending on location and weather want to add humidly with a humidifier in winter to offset dry air. A humidifier also costs less to run. – crip659 Aug 28 '21 at 15:33
  • @crip659 I like to use a dehumidifier because I am allergic to dust mites, and dust mites thrive with a humidity of 50% or more (https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/dust-mites). I noticed that the humidity is often more than 50% in my apartment, even in winter. – Franz Aug 28 '21 at 15:44
  • If air intake is from room air and only exhaust pipe/vent is going outside, you should be okay(portable AC unit is inside?). Would need to check often that exhaust pipe does freeze up/get block by ice in cold weather. A separate dehumidifier is also an idea. – crip659 Aug 28 '21 at 16:18
  • @crip659 Yes, the portable AC unit is inside. – Franz Aug 28 '21 at 17:16
  • Wait. If the portable air conditioner ejects a bunch of air to outside, *how is that air being replaced?????* You can't just remove air from a room without putting an equal amount of air back. **Where is the replacement air coming from? What is ITS temperature and humidity?????** – Harper - Reinstate Monica Aug 28 '21 at 19:12
  • Is this a 1-hose or a 2-hose portable a/c? If the latter, then it is not pumping any air out of the conditioned space. And if it is spraying the condensate into the exhaust stream, then it would dehumidify the inside air, but it would chill the inside air excessively unless the unit has a dehumidify mode which reduces chilling but still dehumidifies. How are you measuring the relative humidity? – Jim Stewart Aug 28 '21 at 19:33
  • Automobile HVAC systems use the refrigerant coils to dehumidify the air to defog the windshield even in winter. These auto HVACs do disable the refrigeration cycle when the ambient temp is below a certain value. – Jim Stewart Aug 28 '21 at 19:53
  • @JimStewart car defogger systems automatically cycle the AC compressor and pass the intake air over both the AC evaporator *and* the heater core to generate warm, dry air. Most car AC systems only have 2 modes of operation: on and off. So when the defogger is engaged, and assuming sensor readings are within the predefined limits, the AC will be going full blast. Window AC units with dehumidifier modes work by throttling the compressor and fan to very low speeds (some newer cars have electronic expansion valves that may metering, but I'm not sure if it is used for this purpose). – Z4-tier Aug 30 '21 at 00:18

1 Answers1

1

A portable ac unit can dehumidify in the winter but the problem will be when the temps are below 62 F you risk icing the evaporator coil and possibly damage to the unit.

If the coil ices then it will not be effective because of the coil being blocked at the temps you list.

Many portable ac units are capillary tube controlled or no true active component to reduce the chance of icing (check your machine if 62 or even higher is the minimum temp you risk damage). I would say NO as it could damage the unit. I also agree with Jim that low humidity is usually the issue in cold temperatures.

Ed Beal
  • 101,306
  • 4
  • 72
  • 150