We actually bought this for short term use when our central cooling went out during the hottest month of summer. It was easy to install and kept us cool enough to sleep in our bedroom until central unit replaced. It does take some time to cool a room down initially AND it is not made for really large areas (our bedroom is approximately 16x20). We have actually continued to use it at night for extra cooling in the bedroom on hot summer nights. My only complaints is that it is loud and shuts off & on during the night. We sleep with a white noise machine and that helps.