NewAir AC-10000E

The 10,000-BTU NewAir AC-10000E is a portable air conditioner designed to cool a room of about 250 square feet or less. Priced lower than most of its competition, this unit packs such features as a remote control and built-in timer. Installation is typically called quick and easy, even though some say the exhaust hose could be longer. A compact cabinet is another plus.

The NewAir AC-10000E uses self-evaporative technology, designed to evaporate collected moisture into the exhausted air so you don't have to empty buckets of water. This works well for most users, who say the unit's reservoir bucket rarely needs to be emptied, but others say that it fills up so fast that they can't leave it on all night. Most reviews say the NewAir AC-10000E cools well, but a vocal minority vehemently disagrees, saying the unit either didn't work at all or cooled the room by just a few degrees. However, the same complaints hold true for most of the portable air conditioners we researched, and the NewAir AC-10000E gets more positive reviews than most.

The most consistent complaint we saw in user reviews is that the NewAir AC-10000E is quite loud. Some also grouse that the display is excessively bright, although a couple of owners have found creative ways to block the light. If you'd like a space-heater function, the NewAir AC-10000H (*Est. $380) adds one and gets equally high marks in reviews. If you don't need to cool this much space, the slightly smaller 8,000-BTU MobilComfort KY-80 (*Est. $260) can handle a room of up to 150 square feet, gets mostly good reviews for cooling ability and is called a good value by most owners. The similar (but more powerful) 12,000-BTU NewAir AC-12000E (*Est. $430) costs substantially more, but owners are less likely to complain about its cooling ability -- and interestingly, owners say the self-evaporating feature works well on the AC-12000E.

As with all portable air conditioners, user reviews provide the best guidance. The most feedback can be found at Air-n-Water.com, where more than160 owners weigh in. Additional owner comments can be found at Amazon.com and Air-Conditioner-Home.com.