Mobile or split air conditioner?

Hello,

unfortunately, it gets extremely warm upstairs in the summer. Therefore, we are considering purchasing an air conditioner.
The easiest option would of course be a portable air conditioner. However, we are bothered by the exhaust hose, which must be led outside through an open window.
Therefore, a split unit might also be considered, unless you have a clever idea for the portable unit.
Two rooms (living room and bedroom) would need to be cooled, which are not next to each other, if that is relevant.

The selection is huge and the test and information sites are unfortunately not always as impartial as they seem at first glance.

Do you have a recommendation for an affordable unit?

Best regards

The "best" is of course always a fixed installed split air conditioner. This is by far the most efficient way to cool. With just a few hundred kWh - assuming open doors and 24/7 operation - you can pleasantly climate-control an entire floor throughout the summer. Disadvantage: If you have it installed, about €1000 per kW. So €2500 to €3500, depending on the device and installation situation. Doing it yourself is not allowed. But maybe you know someone with an air conditioning license? That would reduce the costs to about €1000 for a 2.5kW brand device. If that, for whatever reason, is not possible, the next best would be a mobile split air conditioner. They cost significantly more than the pretty useless energy guzzlers with exhaust hoses, but are almost as good as the fixed installations. That would be the premium solution for a rental apartment where you are not allowed to drill through the exterior wall. But you would also lose €1700 on that. There are actually only two serious providers. One starting with R and one with U. People say U is better... With these things, you have to be careful not to move them too often, otherwise the hose can become leaky. So don’t put the [AG] in at night every night and take it out again in the morning. If that is also not possible, then you can try to get one of the rare two-hose monoblock devices, or convert a normal monoblock device to a two-hose system. That roughly doubles the efficiency of the monoblock. I would really never consider the last option (single-hose device, hose out the window). That is simply nonsense. Why you can read everywhere. Edit: If you have an old building and have not yet switched to a heat pump, you can have the split air conditioner subsidized by 35% from the Bafa if you mainly use it for heating. I would then also recommend this (down to approx. -5°), as it is cheaper and lower in CO2 than wood/oil/gas.

Mobile hose device is just rubbish. I once had to buy one for the office, really can be forgotten.

Do it properly with a splitting device.