The Best Portable Air Conditioner

 

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You may be hesitant to spend a lot of money on a high SACC portable air conditioner.

But consider,

• you're already spending hundreds of dollars even on a low SACC unit
• other than price, lower SACC units have no advantages – they’re still large and heavy, still noisy, etc. like higher SACC units
• this is an appliance you will likely own for a very long time – the DOE estimates the average life for a portable air conditioner to be 10 years 

         Ultimately you want to

           

Other Factors

SACC should be the primary factor that dictates your purchase decision when buying a portable air conditioner. It is also the only portable AC feature that distinctly sets one model apart from another.

All portable air conditioners

• Require a bit of effort to install
• Draw a lot of power – in the 1,000 to 1,400 watt range.
• Make a lot of noise – in the high 60 to low 70 dB range (measured at 2 ft.)
• Are large and heavy appliances
• Come with the same general features and functionality
• Are about equally durable and reliable – all of them even come with the exact same length warranty of 1 year

A Closer Look At Secondary Factors

Recall that a portable air conditioner’s hot condenser has to be cooled. Once it’s cooled, the heated air (used to cool the condenser) has to be exhausted. If you were to exhaust this air right back into the room you were cooling you wouldn’t be able to cool the room. The exhausted air would heat it right back up.

So, instead, the exhausted air is pushed through a large diameter hose that’s attached to a window bracket that fits into a partially opened window.

Portable AC installation requires three primary components

1. The hose connecting the back of the AC (where hot air is exhausted) to the window bracket.

The hose has an adapter on each end. One that connects the hose to the AC and one that connects the hose to the window bracket.

These adapters usually come pre-installed on the hose. However, sometimes they do not. And when they don’t, they can be quite difficult to install. For example, the LG LP17WSR series of units require that you pull the end of the hose into the end adapters using pliers. A lot of force and a bit of finesse is required to pull the hose into each adapter properly. In contrast, a unit like the LG LP1419IVSM comes with both end adapters installed so none of this work is required.

All hoses can be extended from a minimum length in the 16” to 24” range to a maximum length in the 5 ft. range. All the hoses for all of the ACs we tested were about 5” in diameter.

Note that all manufacturers recommend that the hose be kept as short as possible. This is to ensure that the AC runs at peak efficiency. Most manufacturers warn against extending the hose. For example, the Honeywell HL14CESWB has a sticker right on the hose warning that extending it will void the unit’s warranty.

Some manufacturers are not as critical of hose extension. Whynter even sells a 5 ft. extension separately although they don’t recommend extending the hose beyond a total distance of 9 ft. and they still recommend that the hose be kept as short as possible.

2. The window bracket and any extensions.

Window kits vary in

• min/max length
• versatility – the range of in-between lengths that can be accommodated without cutting

Most kits come with a primary window bracket – the bracket that the hose actually fits into – and one or multiple extension brackets.

The primary bracket determines the minimum length of the kit. The shorter this bracket the lower the minimum length of the window that can be accommodated. The LGLP17WSR series again does very well here. The primary bracket is only about 18” long. Most other units come with primary brackets that are about 23” to 26” long.

If the primary bracket is too long for your window you won’t have any other choice other than to cut it to the correct length. A saw that can cut plastic (like a hacksaw) will be required.

The number and size of extensions determines the maximum length of the kit. Depending on model, a kit can be extended between 3.5 ft. and 5 ft.

On the low side of things are Whynter dual hose units. The ARC-14S and ARC-122DS can be extended to 47” and 46”, respectively, according to the manufacturer.

Note that manufacturer specifications are not always complete. For example, the kit for the ARC-14S could be extended to 47” with custom work involved (drilling holes into the brackets) but using the standard adjustments (the screws and holes that already pre-drilled on the brackets) we measured the maximum length for the kit to be 46 ¼”.

On the high side of things is the LG LP1419IVSM. The manufacturer specification for maximum length for its window kit is 60”. Again, we measured the actual maximum length with no custom work required to be slightly less – 58 9/16”.

The number and size of those extensions also largely determines the versatility of the kit.

One of the most versatile kits on the market comes with the LG LP17WSR series of portable ACs. The kit includes a short primary window bracket and four different extensions. The extensions can be fitted to the primary bracket and to each other in different combinations to accommodate a wide variety of window sizes.

Dual hose units tend to have the least versatile kits on the market. A dual hose unit requires two large cut-outs in the primary bracket. This reduces the range of lengths to which the kit can be extended.

• The way in which length is adjusted on the kit and
• included weather stripping

also impact the versatility of a particular kit.

For example, the NewAir NAC14KWH02 has a unique locking mechanism installed on the primary bracket that allows for extreme fine tuning of the total length of the primary bracket and extension.

Most other units on the market come with brackets with drilled holes on the top and/or bottom. For example, the LG LP1419IVSM has drilled holes one 1 inch apart from the other on both the primary bracket and all extensions. A screw is pushed through a hole in the primary bracket and a corresponding hole in an extension to extend and secure the kit.

Note that the brackets can still slide into each other and fit together without the screw but they won’t stay in place without the screw. And because the holes through which the screw fits are 1 inch apart from each other, the length of the kit, should it be secured by the screw, can only be adjusted in 1 inch increments.

Weather stripping

Window kit brackets are made of a hard material. So is the bottom of the window sash, the window sill and the side jambs of the window into which you’re fitting those brackets. Not to mention the fact that the brackets may not perfectly fit into channels in the bottom of the sash, the sill and/or side jambs.

To improve fitment and eliminate air gaps you can install weather stripping between the AC window kit brackets and all of these window components.

Most manufacturers include weather stripping with the purchase of their portable ACs. The only two manufacturers that don’t necessarily include weather stripping are Whynter and NewAir.

Most manufacturers (including LG, Honeywell, and Frigidaire) include

Some models come with more or less weather stripping than others. The LG LP1419IVSM comes with more weather stripping than any other model on the market. The Honeywell HL14CESWB comes with much less but still enough to get the job done in most applications.

You can, of course, always buy weather stripping separately. But having it included with your purchase is certainly a nice bonus.

We also strongly advise that you buy duct tape along with any portable AC unit you end up purchasing. The tape can be used as an additional tool to eliminate air gaps.

For example, the NewAir NAC14KWH02’s primary window bracket has that unique locking mechanism to adjust the length of the extension. That same mechanism is not tightly sealed. Once you have the whole window kit installed for this unit we would recommend taping over the mechanism.

In the past and even still today EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) is used to describe a portable AC’s energy efficiency.

Let’s take a look at the equation used to determine EER:

EER = BTUs per hour/Watts

For example, a 14,000 BTU model that draws 1,400 watts of power on maximum settings would have an EER of 10.0 as 14,000/1,400 = 10.0.

A 14,000 BTU unit that draws 1200 watts of power would have an EER of 11.67 as 14,000/1,200 = 11.67.

Taken at face value, this looks like a good and proper metric to use for energy efficiency. The lower the power draw (watts) compared to the cooling capacity (BTUs/hr), the higher the EER. And the higher the EER, the better the energy efficiency.

Thus, if we were to look at the EER of the two example units above we could easily say that the second has better energy efficiency because it has a higher EER – 11.67 compared to 10.0.

However, taking into account what you’ve learned so far about the old method used to determine cooling capacity (standard BTUs) vs the new method used to do so (SACC), you should be able to spot one major problem with EER. That’s right. It uses standard BTU’s – yes, the old BTU metric – in its equation.

The Department of Energy also recognized this issue with EER and acted accordingly by instituting a new metric by which to determine a portable AC unit’s energy efficiency.

That metric is called CEER – Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio.

Unfortunately, CEER is a lot more complicated than EER. The new energy efficiency ratio could have simply involved taking SACC and dividing it by maximum power draw on cooling mode in watts. But the DOE decided that the equation needed a little bit more nuance than that. Let’s take a look at the end result:

CEER_SD = ACC₉₅ × 0.2 + ACC₈₃ × 0.8 divided by AEC_SP + AEC_T ⁄ k × t

Note: this is the equation for single hose units. The equation for dual hose units is even more complex.

At face value, this equation looks unnecessarily complex and that’s because, well, it is.

We’ve already shown how

SACC = ACC₉₅ × 0.2 + ACC₈₃ × 0.8

Thus, the top half of the fraction (the part that goes before "divided by") in the equation can simply be replaced by SACC.

But what about the bottom half of the fraction (the part that goes after "divided by") ?

Here’s the bottom line.

The bottom half of the fraction equates to power draw – that is, power draw under specific conditions. CEER combines the power draw of the air conditioner on all of its different modes over a set period of time; hence the name – combined energy efficiency ratio.

More specifically,

AEC_SD = annual energy consumption in cooling mode
AEC_T = total annual energy consumption attributed to all modes except cooling
t = number of cooling mode hours per year, 750.
k = 0.001 kWh/Wh conversion factor for watt-hours to kilowatt-hours.

Thus, the denominator for this equation involves accounting for power draw during cooling mode on top of certain other modes for a certain number of hours with “k” being nothing more than a conversion factor.

We can therefore say that

CEER = SACC/watts (but NOT just on cooling mode)

We do feel like this is still unnecessarily complicated.

The truth of the matter is that

1. the other modes involved here – standby (when the unit is plugged in but not on) and fan only (when cooling isn’t necessary and the desired temperature has been reached) - draw very little power compared to cooling mode. Thus, their impact on the CEER equation above is minimal

2. Furthermore, most models on the market draw roughly the same amount of power on these two modes – standby and fan only - which further minimizes their impact on the CEER equation above when comparing one model to another

Most models we tested do draw a few watts of power on standby (plugged in but not powered on) but they all draw very little power and roughly the same amount of power (1 or 2 watts).

Most models draw little power when only the fan is activated and most draw roughly the same amount as well (about 50 watts or so on max. fan speed).

The bottom line: the “other modes” that CEER takes into account (other than cooling mode) don’t really matter.

What does matter – cooling mode

When cooling mode is fully activated  maximum power draw does vary. It tends to correlate with the old standard for measuring BTUs/hr. High BTU (14,000 BTU) units tend to draw about 1300 to 1400 watts. Lower BTU (8,000 to 12,000 BTU) units tend to draw about 1,000 to 1,200 watts.

So, in summary:

• power draw on fully activated cooling mode is important. It does vary.
• But on other modes – standby and fan only - power draw is minimal and essentially the same for different models.

In our opinion, the standard CEER equation should only be used by manufacturers when testing units to give standard specifications. It unnecessarily complicates energy efficiency for the average consumer.

The better simpler ratio to use would be:

SACC/watts (on cooling mode)

You can use this ratio to compare the actual energy efficiency differences between different models.

Still, you can make things even simpler by only using

SACC

Since maximum power draw is so similar between units with similar SACC, you really could just focus on SACC.

The higher the SACC, the better the unit’s energy efficiency (in most cases).

In other words, if energy efficiency = SACC/watts and watts are essentially equal in the comparison, then the higher SACC, the greater the energy efficiency.

Indeed, when we look at a table for 14,000 BTU units - all with approx. the same power draw - we see the trend that higher SACC units have better energy efficiency.

When we look at a table of 12,000, 10,000, and 8,000 BTU units – all with approx. the same power draw – we see the same trend – higher SACC units tend to have better energy efficiency.

When we compare energy efficiency among different BTU size classes we see that, in general, the highest SACC units in the 14,000 BTU category greatly outperform most units in lower BTU size classes.

Sound characteristics

All portable AC units are noisy. They generally produce two different types of noise:

• fan noise
• compressor noise

The fans on a portable AC tend to be very loud – at least on maximum fan speed. So much so that fan noise is generally louder than compressor noise (again, on maximum fan speed). This is actually a good thing as fan noise consists of a clean white noise (the sound of air moving) while compressor noise consists of harsher sounds (usually a buzzing noise). With the fan’s noise level exceeding the compressor’s noise level the more pleasant sounding noise generated by the unit’s fan can dominate the much less pleasant sounding noise generated by its compressor.

A portable AC’s compressor noise is in fact so unpleasant, that you will almost always opt to run your portable AC on maximum fan speed. Lower fan speeds make for a very unpleasant listening experience.

Note that the soft thump of the compressor kicking in (when cooling mode is activated) and shutting off (when the desired temperature is reached) – an altogether different noise compared to the general buzzing of the compressor - is definitely noticeable, but only if you’re paying careful attention to the unit’s noise output (like we were when we were testing these units).

However, in regular day to day use it shouldn’t bother the average user too much. The fan noise is loud enough (assuming it’s on high fan speed) to drown out much of the sound when the compressor first kicks in or shuts off. For night time use we suggest setting the unit to as low of a temperature as possible (for most units this is 60° F). This will keep the compressor running throughout the night and minimize unique sounds generated when the compressor is activated/deactivated.

Sound levels

So far we’ve told you that portable air conditioners are loud but just how loud are they?

Manufacturers list noise levels in the low 50 dB range, many touting their units as being “whisper quiet”. And indeed, on low fan speed, even with the compressor on, at least a few of the units we tested were measured in the low 50s (dB).

But, while noise levels are lower on low fan speed, the quality of the noise produced is extremely unpleasant. Without the overpowering effect of high fan noise, compressor noise dominates the perceived noise at these lower noise levels. And this compressor noise is highly unpleasant.

On high fan speed the measured noise level jumps up to about 60 dB (measured at 2 ft. away from the unit) but the noise is much more bearable as it’s dominated by fan noise instead of compressor noise.

Comparing the noise levels of different models

All portable air conditioners generate a lot of noise. But, are there specific models that are even a little bit less noisy than others?

The short answer – no.

The long answer – yes, under certain conditions.

For example, the LG LP1419IVSM was measured at only 52.3 dB of noise output on low fan speed with cooling mode activated (compressor activated). The LG LP1017WSR was measured at 58.6 dB. Thus, in terms of raw noise output, the LP1419IVSM can get much quieter than the LP1017WSR while still cooling a room.

However, on this setting (cooling mode on low fan speed), the LG LP1419IVSM still generates compressor noise just like every other portable AC we tested – and that is despite its “Dual Inverter” technology.

The truth is that in a real world setting you’re likely to use either unit exclusively on high fan speed to mitigate the cacophony of compressor noise. And on high fan speed the LP1419IVSM was measured at 59.5 dB while the LP1017WSR was measured at 60.8 dB – hardly much of a difference at all in terms of raw noise output and in the perceived noise generated by either unit.

And this leads us to our final point for this section – lower BTU units are not any less noisy than higher BTU units. We saw approximately the same dB levels on cooling mode on high fan speed for all the units we tested, regardless of maximum cooling capacity.

All portable AC units are large and heavy appliances. All units – even 8,000 and 10,000 BTU units.

8,000 BTU and 10,000 BTU units do tend to weigh in the 50 to 60 lb. range while 12,000 and 14,000 BTU units tend to weigh in the 60 to 70 lb. range.

But, 50 lb. is still very heavy. And if you can’t lift 70 lb. by yourself, chances are that you won’t be able to lift 50 lb. either. If you find 70 lb. uncomfortable to lift you’ll likely find 50 lb. to be uncomfortable to lift also. Again, these are very heavy appliances no matter what BTU unit you buy.

In terms of size, certain low BTU units are a little smaller but not by much. For example, the Frigidaire FFPA0822U1 is an the 8,000 BTU unit and one of the smallest units on the market but it’s still almost 2.5 ft. tall – only about 2 inches shorter than the 14,000 BTU LG LP1419IVSM.

There are, of course, outliers in each size class. For example, the 14,000 BTU Whynter ARC-14S is a full 3 ft. tall and weighs over 80 lb. The 12,000 BTU Frigidaire FGPC1244T1 is similarly tall and heavy.

But, for the most part, most portable air conditioners fall in the 50 to 70 lb. range and are about 2.5 ft. tall.

To combat this lack of portability all units come equipped with high quality heavy duty casters. So, while you will absolutely need to exert quite a bit of effort to pick a portable air conditioner up (e.g. take it up or down a set of stairs) you can move it between rooms on the same floor quite easily.

Par for the course

All portable ACs come equipped with the same three modes

• cool – the standard mode for cooling a room
• dry – a dehumidifier mode
• fan – a fan only mode

Almost all units come equipped with

• three fan speeds – high, medium, and low
• a thermostat that lets you set the desired temperature between 60° F and at least 86° F
• a timer that can usually be set in 1 hour increments up to 24 hours
• a remote

Differentiating factors

Generally, higher BTU units can remove more pints/day in dehumidifier mode. For example, the 14,000 BTU LG LP1419IVSM can remove as much as 163 pints of moisture from the air per day. The 8,000 BTU Frigidaire FFPA0822U1 can only remove 67 pints/day.

Some units do have certain unique features but this is extremely rare. For example, the LG LP1419IVSM gives you the ability to adjust the brightness and even turn the display LEDs completely off for night time use. It also has a compartment on the back of the main body of the unit to store your window kit during the off-season. No other unit currently on the market offers either one of these features. Certain units also include a drainage hose for continuous drainage during dry (dehumidifier) mode operation but this is true for only a few units on the market.

All of the portable air conditioners we tested appear to be reasonably durable and reliable appliances. The Department of Energy cites the average lifespan of a portable AC as being 10 years which confirms this observation.

The only potential concern we can list here is that certain units have no filter for intake air on the condenser side of the system.

We see the most egregious example of this with the dual hose Whynter ARC-14S. There’s absolutely no filter (the plastic grate on the intake hose is not a filter) for outdoor air as it enters the unit to cool its condenser. The NewAir NAC14KWH02 intakes indoor air to cool the condenser and doesn’t have a filter either.

Will this create reliability issues for either unit down the line of ownership? The ARC-14S, the more extreme example (because it intakes outdoor air), has been on the market for several years now and it doesn’t appear that it has, at least not for this particular model.

Finally, we should mention that almost all portable air conditioners come with a very similar 1 year warranty. You cannot buy a particular model that comes with a longer manufacturer’s warranty.