Portable Air Conditioner

[steviehobson]

I have just bought a portable air conditioner with heat pump. It is a 4.6kW machine but never draws any more than 3.0kW no matter what the settings are. The supplier tells me this is normal and it will only draw the full load when the conditions are right. I think that setting the machine to 31 degrees in a room that is only 18 degrees could be considered to be the right conditions and it should run at full rate from the moment it is switched on. Anyone know how these things are supposed to work? Thanks - Steve

 

[RandomGrinch]

What model is your portable unit?

It is a 4.6kW machine but never draws any more than 3.0kW

You may be confusing the power use with the heating/cooling output.
Due to the nature of heat pumps, they have a better than 100% efficiency.
If it is plugged into the wall with a standard 13A plug, then 3kW is the maximum power it can possibly draw.

 

[steviehobson]

Sorry, my mistake. Totally messed up the first message. The machine is a 4.6kW heat output. It has a COP efficiency of 3 and the input power is shown as 1.5kW on the rating plate. I am basing my figure of 3.0kW on it only drawing around 1.0kW when running. Using the COP figure I have calculated the 3.0kW output.