Portable Air Conditioners Reviews

Window units are much less expensive than portable air conditioners, and all reviews say they work better. However, window installation isn't an option for some homes and apartments. In that case, a portable air conditioner is the only option. See our separate report on window air conditioners for more on these less expensive units.

Despite a large number of units on the market, there are relatively few portable air conditioner reviews and comparisons. It seems reviewers have not kept up with the latest models. Consumer Reports magazine, for instance, last reviewed portable air conditioners in 1991. For this report, we found that the most credible reviews actually come from owners themselves. Although websites like Air-Conditioners-America.com recommend portable air conditioners, the ratings criteria aren't disclosed. Editors say their picks are based on owner satisfaction and features, but no user reviews are posted. We found the best evaluations among owner reviews posted at Epinions, Sears.com, HomeDepot.com, Amazon.com and Target.com.

As a group, portable air conditioning units do not receive the best reviews from owners. The main complaint is that they just don't cool as well as window air conditioners. This is an assertion we saw repeated almost everywhere -- that portable air conditioners do a good job of taking the edge off a hot room, but experts say they just can't chill a room like a window unit can. Most owners say the best application for a portable air conditioner is for those who need to reduce temperature enough to sleep and be moderately comfortable -- but a portable cooling unit simply won't be able to make a room truly cold. Portable air conditioners are also fairly fussy, since they need to exhaust air to the outside and usually need to be drained of water that's removed from the air in the cooling process.

Interestingly, while you can buy a smaller 6,000- to 8,000BTU window unit for less than $175, portable air conditioners don't get much cheaper than about $350. We found it odd that smaller 7,000BTU units like the Haier HPE07XC6 (*est. $350) sell for almost the same price as much larger 10,000- and 12,000BTU window air conditioners, which will cool a larger area. So while the smallest portable air conditioners aren't much of a deal over small window units, prices for larger models are much more comparable. Keep in mind, however, that you'll need more BTUs if you go with a portable air conditioner. For a 300-square-foot room, you should look for about an 8,000BTU window unit, but you'd need a 10,000BTU portable air conditioner for the same room. (See our BTU estimator below.)  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We didn't find an overwhelming number of reviews for portable air conditioners, but we checked recommendations against user reviews at Amazon.com, Epinions, Sears.com and Target.com. Sharp portable air conditioners are more expensive, but in reviews they are judged to be quieter than others. Because these units exhaust condensate through the main exhaust hose, you don't have to empty a water-collection container. Although you do end up emptying a water container, reviews say the Amcor ALW 12000E is a particularly good value with good cooling performance, even though it's not as quiet as the Sharp models. The Whynter SNO Arctica ARC-10D is also a good value but there are also complaints about its noisiness and weight. As for a small portable AC unit, we found a handful of good reviews for the Haier HPE07XC6. Although we only found reviews in one location -- Sears.com -- we found a larger number of reviews for the Royal Sovereign ARP1000ES than for any other unit.