Portable Air Conditioner in Israel: When It’s Worth the Money and What to Check Before Buying

In most cases, no. A real air conditioner, with a compressor and refrigerant, must expel heat from the room to the outside, so a portable AC always needs an exhaust hose or a vent opening.

Here’s how an AC works: it takes heat from the room’s air and transfers it to the refrigerant, and the refrigerant releases the heat on the other side. In a wall unit, the other side is the outdoor unit. In a portable AC, it’s the hose going out the window. A portable AC without a hose would cool the room on one side and heat it back up on the other, so the room would only get warmer. A review of portable ACs published on ynet (a major Israeli news site) also states explicitly: “a portable air conditioner cannot work without a vent opening”.

So what’s sold as a “hoseless portable AC”? Usually an air cooler (evaporative cooler), a device with a fan, a water tank and a sponge filter. Air passes through the wet filter, some of the water evaporates, and the air that comes out is cooler. On the product page of one such cooler we saw a 120W motor, a 50-liter tank, ice packs for lowering the water temperature, and a recommendation for use on balconies and in yards in hot, dry areas. It also said the device “does not dry the air”.

What this means in practice:

• In a dry climate (the Arava, the Negev, some days in Jerusalem), an air cooler can give a fresh feeling near the device.
• In a humid climate (Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ashdod and the rest of the coastal plain), a cooler adds moisture to air that’s already humid, and its effect is small and sometimes even reduces comfort.
• A cooler doesn’t lower the temperature in a closed room like an AC. Don’t expect the room to reach 24°C (75°F) on a 32°C (90°F) day.

If you see a product called an “air conditioner” with no hose, look in the specs for the words compressor, refrigerant (e.g. R32 or R410A) and BTU. If they’re missing, and instead it says water tank, ice or evaporation, it’s a cooler. For a cheap, efficient alternative to move air, also look at a ceiling fan.

Three categories sold under the name “portable”. To avoid confusion in the store, it’s worth knowing all three:

• A portable AC with a compressor: includes refrigerant, a BTU figure and an exhaust hose. This is the real portable AC, and most of this guide is about it.
• An “industrial” portable AC: heavy units weighing tens of kilograms, with flexible cooling ducts and a hot-air exhaust hose. On one product page we saw a ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ model weighing 55 kg (121 lb) priced at about ₪5,400. They’re meant for halls, warehouses and events, not a room at home.
• An air cooler: a fan with a water tank and a wet filter, no compressor and no hose. It’s cheap and uses little electricity, but it isn’t an air conditioner.

Before paying, look in the specs for the refrigerant type and the BTU figure. If they’re missing, it’s probably not an AC.

For a room up to about 12 m², a ⁦9,000 BTU⁩ portable AC is usually enough, and for a ⁦12–18⁩ m² room choose ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ or more. Go bigger than you would with a wall unit, because a portable AC loses some efficiency.

The common rule of thumb for ACs is about ⁦600 BTU⁩ per m² with a standard ceiling, and importers like Tornado and Tadiran publish tables based on it. With a portable AC, two factors reduce the actual cooling:

• The hose itself heats up and radiates heat back into the room, especially when it’s long or kinked.
• In a single-hose model, the air exhausted outside is taken from the room, and warm air from the rest of the home comes in through gaps and doors to replace it.

So if the room is on a top floor or has a large west-facing window, go up a size. In a 14 m² room under the roof, for example, ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ is better than 9,000.

Note that stores sometimes classify portables by ranges, e.g. “⁦15,501–⁦20,000 BTU⁩⁩”, rather than an exact number. Ask the seller for the nominal cooling figure from the manufacturer’s spec sheet. The full table by room size, including adjustments for a top floor and a high ceiling, is in our guide on how many horsepower an AC needs.

A quick table for a portable AC, with a safety margin compared with a wall unit:

• ⁦8–10⁩ m² room: about ⁦9,000 BTU⁩.
• ⁦10–14⁩ m² room: ⁦9,000–⁦12,000 BTU⁩⁩, and 12,000 on a top floor.
• ⁦14–18⁩ m² room: ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ or more.
• ⁦18–25⁩ m²: about ⁦18,000 BTU⁩, but here a 2 HP wall unit is better if possible.

These are general estimates based on the ⁦600 BTU⁩ per m² rule and the efficiency loss of a portable AC, not an engineering calculation.

If you’re allowed to install, a wall-mounted AC almost always pays off more: it’s quieter, more efficient, and at small capacities its price including installation isn’t far from that of a powerful portable.

A comparison based on what we saw in stores and spec sheets:

• Appliance price: a 1 HP inverter wall unit from a major brand costs about ₪⁦1,000–1,500.⁩ (In Israel, AC size is given in “horsepower”, where 1 HP ≈ ⁦9,000 BTU⁩/h.) A ⁦9,000–⁦12,000 BTU⁩⁩ portable costs about ₪⁦900–1,650.⁩
• Installation: a portable needs no installer. Basic installation of a wall unit up to 1.5 HP costs about ₪⁦800–1,400.⁩
• Efficiency: per the specs, popular portables have a COP of about 2.6. Inverter wall units show SEER of ⁦6.9–7.3⁩ on 1 HP models. The measures aren’t identical, but the gap in electricity use for the same cooling is significant.
• Noise: in a portable AC the compressor is inside the room. In a wall unit it’s in the outdoor unit, so the indoor unit is much quieter.
• Portability: you can move a portable AC between rooms and take it to your next apartment. That’s its real advantage.

Bottom line: for renters who move every year or two, or for just one room in a short season, a portable AC is a sensible solution. In an apartment you own, or when the AC will run many hours a day, a wall unit will pay back the difference on the electricity bill and in quiet. For an overview of all AC types, see our best air conditioner guide.

A quick calculation for renters. Say you rent an apartment for three years. A ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ portable costs about ₪1,600, and at the end of the period it moves with you to the next apartment. A 1.25 HP wall unit costs about ₪1,300 plus about ₪1,000 for installation, and at the end of the period it stays in the apartment or you pay for removal and reinstallation. On direct cost the portable wins, but on the electricity bill and quiet it loses. If the landlord is willing to install a permanent AC, or split the cost, that’s usually the better deal for both sides. In any case, compare the price of the same model at several stores, since differences between chains can reach hundreds of shekels.

A ⁦9,000–⁦12,000 BTU⁩⁩ portable AC with a COP of about 2.6 draws roughly ⁦1–⁦1.35 kWh⁩⁩ for each hour of full-load operation. At the residential rate of 63.52 agorot per kWh, that’s about ⁦65–85⁩ agorot per hour.

Here’s how we get the number: ⁦9,000 BTU⁩ is about ⁦2.64 kWh⁩ of cooling. Divided by a COP of 2.6, that’s consumption of about ⁦1 kWh⁩. At ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ (about ⁦3.5 kWh⁩ of cooling) it comes to about ⁦1.35 kWh⁩. In practice the compressor doesn’t run at full load all the time, so average consumption is lower. This is an illustrative estimate, not a measurement.

An example: a ⁦9,000 BTU⁩ portable AC running 6 hours at night, with the compressor active about 70% of the time, uses about ⁦4.2 kWh⁩ a night. That’s about ₪2.7 a night and about ₪80 a month. An inverter wall unit with a high SEER would do the same job with less electricity.

How to reduce consumption:

• Keep the exhaust hose as short as possible and don’t kink it.
• Seal the gap in the window around the hose with the sealing kit that comes with the AC or is sold separately.
• Close the room door.
• Lower the shutter (tris) during sunny hours.
• Set ⁦24–25⁩°C (⁦75–77⁩°F), not 18°C.

Don’t forget Shabbat mode. Most portables have no built-in Shabbat mode. Shabbat-observant users can connect the AC to a Shabbat timer (shaon Shabbat), but only if the AC returns to its previous operating state after a power cut, i.e. it has an Auto Restart function. Check this in the specs before buying, because on many models you need to press the remote again after power returns.

For comparison: a 1 HP inverter wall unit with a SEER of about 7 uses over a season roughly a third to a half of the electricity a portable with a COP of 2.6 uses for the same cooling, by a rough calculation from the specs. The estimate is rough, since SEER and COP are measured under different conditions, but it illustrates why a portable that runs all summer costs more in electricity.

A portable AC doesn’t need an installer, but it does need a solution for the exhaust hose: a window, a balcony door or a dedicated opening in the wall.

Common connection options:

• Window kit: a plastic strip that fits into the groove of a sliding window, with an opening for the hose. This is the common solution in Israel, where most windows are sliding windows. The ynet review mentions such window kits.
• An opening in the glass or shutter: a glazier can cut a round hole in the glass or a panel. This is a more permanent solution that prevents warm air leaking in.
• An opening in the wall: drilling a round opening with a cover. In a rental apartment, this requires the landlord’s permission.

What else to check:

• Hose length: the hoses are relatively short, so the AC must stand close to the window.
• Drainage: on humid days, the water collected from the air can fill a tank. If there’s a continuous drain outlet, connect a hose to a bucket or a balcony drain.
• Electricity: plug the AC directly into a standard outlet, not a power strip with other appliances. A portable AC of a kilowatt or more is a significant load. (Israel runs on 230V/50Hz; a 110V unit from the US would need a transformer.)
• Mamad (reinforced safe room): in a mamad, don’t route the hose through the protected window in a way that prevents closing it. If the room will also serve as a protected space, make sure you can disconnect the hose and close the window quickly.

Routine maintenance. Clean the air filter every two to three weeks in season, empty the water tank if there is one, and at the end of summer dry the AC in fan-only mode before storage to prevent mold and odors. Store it upright. If it was laid on its side during transport, wait a few hours before switching it on, per the manufacturer’s instructions.

A portable AC is the noisiest AC in the home, because the compressor is inside the room. If you’re sensitive to noise when sleeping, this is the key consideration.

On the product pages of most portables we checked, there was no decibel noise figure, only descriptions like “quiet”. That means you need to ask the seller for the information or find it in the manufacturer’s specs. A sponsored review on ynet noted that Tornado’s TO GO 20 and TO GO 14 models aren’t particularly quiet.

Tips for sleeping with a portable AC:

• Cool the room an hour before bed and set an off-timer.
• Place the AC on the far side from the bed, as far as the hose length allows.
• Use sleep or night mode, if available, to lower the fan speed.
• For real quiet in a bedroom, a wall unit or a mini-central AC with a hidden unit will be much better.

In a home office, study or living room during the day, the noise is less disturbing, and there a portable AC can do a reasonable job.

There’s also the issue of dry air and direct drafts. A portable AC blows cold air from a relatively low height, so aim the louver upward rather than at the bed. If you wake up with a dry throat, raise the temperature by two or three degrees and run a ceiling fan on low at the same time, which spreads the cool air more evenly around the room.

Don’t buy a portable AC if you can install a wall unit, if the space is larger than ⁦20–25⁩ m², or if you’re looking for a permanent solution for a bedroom.

Cases where another solution is better:

• A living room open to the kitchen: even an ⁦18,000 BTU⁩ portable will struggle. A ⁦2–2.5⁩ HP wall unit or two units will suit it better.
• A whole apartment: several portables will cost a lot in electricity and be noisy. In a renovation, consider a mini-central AC.
• Just to “move air”: on hot but not extreme days, a ceiling fan with a DC motor uses only tens of watts and gives a cooling sensation without compressor noise.
• A humid area with no window: a room without a window or opening isn’t suitable for a portable at all, and an air cooler won’t help there either.

On the other hand, a portable AC is especially suited to students and renters, a home study in summer, a backup when the permanent AC is being repaired, and a room where there’s no technical or legal option (for example, building-committee approval) to place an outdoor unit.

To finish your choice, three checks in the store: does the spec sheet list a refrigerant and a BTU figure (i.e. it’s an AC, not a cooler), how many hoses are there and how long are they, and what is the noise figure in decibels. If the seller can’t answer one of these questions, ask for the manufacturer’s spec sheet before paying. And check that the product comes from an official importer (yevuan rasmi) with a warranty, because on a product that stands on the floor and gets dragged between rooms, faults with the wheels, remote and tank aren’t rare.