I seek the wisdom of the OT.

The den in our house is always the coldest or warmest room in the house. We have a gas log fireplace to fix the cold, but the Wife wants to cool the room without having to extra cool the entire downstairs.
Don't really want to do a regular window unit A/C. I know I have seen you guys talk about different options:

What are good options?
What is the cost?
Can I find it at Home Depot/Lowes?

Thanks

Step 1. Measure the floor space to figure the BTU required for the square footage. That'll let you know the cost of the unit.

My wife and I had to get one of these when we were in a rental house and there was zero insulation in the attic above our den, the rest of the house was fine but in the summer it was always warm in the den. It worked great and didn't do too much damage to the electricity bill.



https://www.homedepot.com/pep/HOMCO...BSABEgKkkvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#overlay

Get a mini split
From
HD

I would go with a split unit. Fairly reasonable, efficient, and very reliable. We used Mitsubishi when I worked in the school system. They ran 24/7 to keep the IT equipment cool. My

Just realize, they create condensation and drip, either into a pan or rigged with a hose. At least the two I had did. Also, mine needed to be vented through a window. Not sure if technology has changed. The last one I had was high end 12000 btu unit that worked for about a year and the compressor carped out

I have a portable i put in rent houses and mine when there is an ac problem. They do pretty good probably around 500 front HD is what i paid.

It's the worst time of year to buy a unit. I was looking at one at Best Buy(?). They had unit after unit next to the appliances. Washer and dryers, dish washers.

So in-store they had a 15,000 BTU for ~$350. Exactly what I needed for the square foot. I kept watching the price till fall on their website. The price was cut to $250. Today, it's back to over $350.

What's rather remarkable is the size of the modern window units. High BTU for such a tiny AC. Kinda impressive... but not for $350.

I bought a small window unit last summer during an emergency.

Good gosh I had no idea air could be so cold.



Window unit allows the water to drip outside versus having to path it out with the portable unit.

One of my tenants kids asked me if I could leave the window unit in his last summer after repairs were done. He liked his room about 10 degrees colder than dad would set the temp on. I had pity on him an let him keep it

About 350 Sq Ft,
Will probably only run evening and overnight.
Traditional window unit is least favorite esthetic for the Wife.

They have a sale going. You will need a window and a plug

Had the same issue as the OP has.

Master bedroom was always way hotter than the rest of the house.

I got a unit very similar to what WAWI posted here.

Now we keep the master bedroom cold as a refrigerator at night and turn the house AC to 79.

Works out great. Saves a lot on electricity. And when it cools down I just roll it into the closet until it gets hot again.

My unit has a drip pan underneath it for condensation. If it's really bad it has a hose you can put out the window. But I only have had to empty that pan once per summer. The unit will stop working and throw you an error code once it is full. Takes 30 seconds to empty the pan And you are good to go until next year.

I would definitely look into something like this. It's a lot cheaper, easier and just as effective as a mini split.

PS That is a very good price for 13,000 BTU. I would get on that deal if you're interested in going that route

If it’s like the one I used for work, he’ll have to empty a water drain bucket every day. Mine worked great though.

Edit: interesting reading Dan’s comment above, mine discharged a ton of water everyday; but might just be a difference of location.

I have never had to when the house ac is working and just using as a booster. I figured the main ac kept the humidity down. Now stand alone I could see it making a bunch of water