Air Conditioners Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Air Conditioners. See our ratings criteria

For recommendations of best Air Conditioners, see our Fast Answers page, which summarizes what these reviews say. A longer summary and analysis appears in our Full Story report for Air Conditioners. Our Where to Buy page contains information on retailers and Air Conditioners prices.

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Air Conditioners Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Air Conditioners Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Cool Choices in Room Air Conditioners Editors of Consumer Reports Nov. 2006		Consumer Reports tests 46 room air conditioners for a variety of properties, including thermostat sensitivity, performance under brownout conditions, energy efficiency rating (EER), air directing, noise level and ease of use. Consumer Reports' annual air conditioner roundup is considered the final word on air-conditioner ratings. Interestingly, cooling quality is fairly uniform across the board, so choice comes down to price, noise level and efficiency. A large ratings chart is included.

Air Conditioners Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Air Conditioners Ratings Comments on Reviews

2. Choice.com.au >> Details/Subscribe	Small Air Conditioners Editors of Choice.com.au May 2007		Choice is an Australian contemporary of Consumer Reports, offering current reviews with detailed testing analysis. Because Choice focuses on the Australian market, few of the tested air conditioners are available in the United States. Testing criteria includes heating and cooling efficiency, ease of use and airflow. In general, editors find that you get what you pay for with air conditioning units. Of the nine models tested, the recommendations are for three very expensive models from Fujitsu, Panasonic and Daikin. Choice also offers a September 2006 report on large air conditioners, but again, most of the models are either discontinued or not available in the United States. Still, we found quite a bit of helpful background information and buying advice here.
3. Jim Dulley's Sensible Home >> Details/Subscribe	Air Conditioner Buyer's Guide James Dulley Not Dated		James Dulley is an engineer, environmentalist and syndicated columnist whose articles on home improvement and HVAC are the best we found. His Update Bulletin #861 on room air conditioners demonstrates the technology involved. He also provides a Btu calculator and tips for energy savings. There's a list of the most efficient air conditioners, including specs on air flow control and fan speeds. Dulley especially recommends the Amana, Carrier, Fedders and Friedrich lines for their energy-saving features, timers and high EER ratings. The Friedrich models have the highest EER ratings overall. However, this article has not been updated in years.
4. American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy	Most Efficient Room Air Conditioners for 2005 Editors of ACEEE May 2005		If you're concerned about energy efficiency, ACEEE is the authority. The Council examines dozens of appliances each year, ultimately publishing guides to the most energy-efficient appliances, including ratings for air conditioners. All of the models listed here exceed the latest government standards. Small Carrier and Frigidaire models do well, and in each size category, an LG unit also gets high efficiency ratings. Friedrich models are well represented here. This report won't be updated until fall 2007, so the current listings are somewhat out of date.
5. Amazon.com	Air Conditioners Contributors to Amazon.com As of June 2007		Amazon.com invites visitors to review and rate air conditioners. While there aren't a huge number of reviews here, noise is the most common complaint across the board. Users can only rate items sold by Amazon.com, so many brands are not included here. Although it's hard to gauge a consensus from the information here, Amazon.com is worth a visit once you've narrowed your choice to a few models.
6. Sears.com	Air Conditioners Contributors to Sears.com As of June 2007		The only place you can buy Kenmore air conditioners is at Sears. Now that Sears has begun letting site visitors review products, Sears.com is the best place to find reviews on Kenmore stuff, including air conditioners (none of which are actually made by Kenmore). There aren't yet enough reviews here to be able to make any big conclusions, but if you're considering a Kenmore air conditioner, definitely check the reviews here first.
7. Lowes.com	Air Conditioners Contributors to Lowes.com As of June 2007		The Lowes.com website sells 16 different air conditioners from Frigidaire and Samsung. Purchasers are allowed to rate air conditioners on a scale of one to five. However, Lowe's doesn't let visitors add any comments, and the average rating for most air conditioners is exactly the same. Furthermore, Lowe's doesn't allow customers to rate air conditioners on noise -- probably the biggest complaint.

Air Conditioners Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Air Conditioners Ratings Comments on Reviews

8. Good Housekeeping.com >> Details/Subscribe	Savvy Consumer: Appliances – Air Conditioner FAQs Editors of Good Housekeeping Not Dated		This article has some good buying advice on air conditioners, plus a tool for calculating size. No specific models are tested or recommended, but this is a great source for general information.
9. Epinions	Air Conditioners Contributors to Epinions.com As of June 2007		Over a thousand different air conditioners are listed at Epinions, but very few receive more than a handful of owner-written reviews. Because of the low number of reviews and the high number of discontinued products that are listed, Epinions isn't very useful for air conditioners.

Air Conditioners Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Air Conditioners Ratings Comments on Reviews

10. Consumer Guide.com	Air Conditioners Editors of ConsumerGuide.com As of June 2007		Although Consumer Guide is giving products a rating for performance, there is no evidence that any of these recommended air conditioners were actually tested at all -- or even seen in person.