bad idea: put a space heater and a portable air conditioner next to each other, turn both on, and see which one wins

@starkatt I don't even know what would constitute winning. Last-appliance-standing?

@starkatt @Felthry

Heater would win that every time, assuming equal thermal power

Air conditioners produce a staggering amount of heat as a byproduct of cooling, and an appreciable amount of that heat radiates into the room being cooled.

All a heater has to do is what all other electrical appliances try their best to avoid: allow that energy to leak out as heat

@mawr @Felthry Exactly.

Now, if the AC were a split unit with the hot side located outside, then I'd give it my confidence.

@starkatt @Felthry

Now if that's the case, external factors become extremely relevant! Like: what's the base temperature? If it's 0ºC, the heater's going to have a really hard time, but the air conditioner might freeze up...

Factors!! :blobwhee:

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@mawr @starkatt Heaters don't do well with high temperatures either though! They can overload and have the heating element break

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