I'm considering buying a portable AC for my bedroom, any advice or things to consider?
I'm in a new apartment that gets a huge amount of solar exposure. Even though spring is just getting going, with temps in the high 70s around here, my place is getting to the mid to upper 70's during the day, and it's only going to get hotter during the summer. Now I don't mind low to mid 80's around the house, I can tough it out forever, but I can't fall asleep at that temperature. I find that I do best between 65-68 in the bedroom, and anything higher than 72 means I'm tossing and turning. Obviously sleep is important and I can't be groggy and sleep deprived for the next 6 months. Cracking the windows works around here, but it usually doesn't get cool until after midnight. My plan is to get a programmable unit that will automatically cool the room before I go to bed, and crack windows around the house to bring the overall temp down through the night.
Right now I'm concerned with venting the hot air. Is it possible to vent through the floor vent for my central HVAC system? This would be going against normal flow direction, the ducting is normal metal and runs between the apartment and the ground. I don't want to use the window since quite a few cars drive by (noise), and my landlord isn't excited about it (window units are prohibited).
I'm seeing 8000 BTU, programmable, auto evaporation units, for around $250. If these are "true to size" I would expect it to cool my room, but should I get a more powerful unit so it can cool more quickly? The last thing I want is to find out half way through the summer that my unit isn't powerful enough.
Thanks!