Another AC thread--window units vs portable, placement, how many, how many BTU's, etc.

AC likely won't get fixed in time before we have to leave for my brothers wedding, and the dogs will be at the house. Forecast is calling for about 90 each day, and my dogs have more fur than a PETA nightmare.

Our house is approx. 1300 square feet downstairs; about 150 of that will be closed off (bedroom, door closed). Upstairs is about 500 square feet not including hallway; all but the hallway (5x20?) and master bedroom (12x15) will be closed off. Our one dog really loves to lay on a platform in the staircase that has two exterior walls. At the top of the staircase there is a window that I could put a unit in--that would probably effectively cool the kitchen (staircase goes into kitchen) and probably get the master bedroom reasonably well, although not great. The kitchen is closed off from the rest of the downstairs--only an 80x36 doorway leads it into the dining room, which is relatively open to the living room, which is relatively open to the family room.

In a perfect world, I'd have 4 units put in (not sure what kind or what BTU)--one in the master bedroom, one at the top of the stairs, one in the kitchen, and one in the family room. But that isn't feasible really.

So I'm thinking 2 units--one at the top of the stairs, and one in the family room. Any thoughts as to what BTU's I should be shooting for? We're not looking to keep the place an ice rink, just keep it humane for the pups. Also, any thoughts window unit vs. portable? I'll probably be buying on craigslist, just because of the cost, unless you tell me I only need 1 8000 BTU unit in which case I'll buy new.

Oh, one other thing--we have a whole-house fan. Fan is on or off for the whole weekend. If it is on, there is a fan-sized hole to the attic that is un-insulated. If it is off, that hole is covered.

I have a 1200 ft house and a 12,000 btu unit in the living room set on 72 keeps him plenty comfortable though he does tend stay in the living room even though he has the run of the house. We have a couple ceiling fans running on low to keep the air moving which also helps quite a bit.

Aside from the energy costs, every time I have done the math multiple $99 5k BTU units has been the best cooling for initial buy in. $400 spent on 4 units in 4 rooms just works better than a single $400 unit or a pair of $200 units regardless of how big they claim to be.

It's also been my experience that an expensive new 12k BTU portable unit cools about the same as a cheap 8k window unit, for 3x the cost plus having to empty the condensate reservoir twice a day. The condensation problem alone would rule out a portable for more than a day without you home because it will just shut down when it gets full anyway.

In reply to oldopelguy:

Mine is a window unit so I don't have to empty it. When you buy one you may want to check Amazon. Mine qualified for free two day shipping so I only had to carry it the last 15 feet from door to window.

Buy one.. it'll keep that area cool. The dogs can stay close if the rest of the house is hot.

I got one off Craigslist for $70. Spent about $15 more at Home Depot on insulation to get it to fit the window.

8k btu ge portable. Next I have to disable the condensation collector to send it into a bucket since we will be gone.

Still on the lookout for another one, almost as a backup since I don't trust just the one, but if I don't find it the dogs will survive.

Put it in the bathroom and dump the condensate down the tub or toilet

Let the dogs drink the condensate. It can't be any worse than the toilet.