Everyone reading this probably knows that a
refrigerator (with or without a freezer) is a device
which moves heat from the air inside of it, into the air
of the room it sits in.
A portable air conditioner is a device which (with the
same basic technology as a refrigerator, but with the
aid
of an air hose or two) moves heat from the air of
the room that it is in, into the air outside of the room
(more precisely, to the air wherever the air hoses end,
but whatever).
Now, let's combine them.
When the weather is warm, the following occurs:
When the air inside the fridge is too warm, heat from
inside it is moved to outside of the room.
When the air inside the fridge is cool enough, but the
air inside the room is too warm, heat from the room is
moved to outside of the room.
When the weather is cold, we disconnect the hoses
from their wall sleeve or window, and leave them
somewhere inside the room.
When the air inside the fridge is too warm, heat from
inside it is moved to the room the fridge is in.
That's it!
The pros:
*) It should be less expensive to purchase than a
separate fridge and air conditioner.
*) The maximum amperage is determined by one
refrigeration compressor turning on and off, not two,
which means lower maximum amps, which means less
chance of a blown fuse / flipped circuit breaker.
*) Fewer parts than two separate machines, therefore
there are fewer potential points of failure.
The cons:
*) Your fridge is basically tethered to a window, or to a
wall. You might have several feet of flexibility, based
on the lengths of the air hoses, but overly long hoses
would be awkward, and probably inefficient unless
insulated.
*) Since the heat removed from it's insides is thrown
out of the building, users might not feel as guilty about
leaving the fridge door open while deciding what to
eat, which might result in food getting warm and going
bad.
A more advanced version "heat pump" version might
also exist. In that version, the user leaves the air hoses
attached to the wall or window all year round.
When inside of the fridge is too warm, heat from it is
either moved from it into the room, *or* to the air
outside of the room, automatically selected by a
thermostat.
When the inside of the fridge is cold enough, and the
room temperature is either too warm OR too cool, heat
is either pumped from in the room to outside, OR from
outside into the room.
The device will still only need one compressor... just a
slightly more complicated system of internal air ducts.