Air Conditioner Review

Comparing professional and user reviews of air conditioners

Consumer Reports, by far the leader in testing window air conditioners, has an entire lab designed to simulate an air conditioner running on a muggy day. Choice and Which? magazines, the Australian and British contemporaries of Consumer Reports, also offer current reviews with detailed testing analysis, although the air conditioners tested are not available in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy operate EnergyStar.gov, which publishes a frequently updated list of Energy Star-rated air conditioners, and National Geographic's TheGreenGuide.com rates and recommends particularly efficient window AC units. With energy prices rising across the country, an extra point or two in the energy efficiency ratio (EER) can make a difference on your monthly power bill. And, as Consumer Reports points out, models with higher EERs are usually no more expensive than non-Energy Star room air conditioners.

Interestingly, reviews say that most modern window air conditioners do a pretty good job cooling a room, as long as you buy the right size unit for the space you need to cool. The big complaint we read in consumer reviews is noise, especially if you need a unit for a bedroom. The Haier ESA3059 (*Est. $160) is about the right size for a small bedroom. And while reviewers say the Haier unit cools well enough, we read a high number of noise complaints for this model. We read better reviews overall for the Frigidaire FAA055P7A (*Est. $170), also a 5,200-BTU air conditioner. This compact window unit has a high EER of 11.0 and cools well with less noise, according to reviews.

When it comes to noise, it was interesting that we found better reviews for smaller Frigidaire units than larger ones. For example, the 12,000-Btu Frigidaire FAC126P1 (*Est. $345) gets mixed reviews for noise along with the 10,000-Btu Frigidaire FAC106P1A (*Est. $270). Reviewers point out that these two models might not be the best choice in a bedroom. However, these are both larger window air conditioners, so they are probably oversized for most bedrooms anyway. Still, the 10,000-Btu Kenmore 75101 (*Est. $270) does a little better noise-wise.

In this report, we cover window air conditioners. If you are unable to install an air conditioning unit in a window, see our report on portable air conditioners. These units aren't as efficient and are more expensive, but if a window unit isn't an option, a portable air conditioner is an alternative.