Portable Air Conditioner Reviews

BTU rating and room size go hand in hand. A unit's BTU (British thermal unit) rating determines how much heat can be removed from the room. The higher the BTU rating, the better a unit can cool an area. The maximum BTU rating for portable air conditioners is 16,000 BTUs; this can cool a room up to 500 square feet. The smallest units rate around 8,000 BTUs and can cover about 250 square feet.

The variety among portable ac units comes down to how they're set up. This can determine just how well they perform.

Portable air conditioners with drainage tubes can easily drain through a window, sink or floor drain. Air conditioners like the EdgeStar Extreme Cool 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner & Heater can run continually since there's no drip pan to empty. Most drain hoses are 10 feet long but extensions can be purchased separately if necessary.

Portable air conditioners that don't have a draining tube such as the Delonghi PACA130HPE Portable 13,000 BTU Air Conditioner & Heater usually have a built-in water collection feature like a drip pan or pail. The water collection bin has to be removed from the unit by hand and dumped out periodically but most will give out a signal and automatically shut off when this pan is full. More advanced models have sensors prominently displayed on the control panel that indicate how full the drip pan is and displays this information on the control panel.

Self-evaporative air conditioners cool a room with the help of water evaporation. Evaporative air conditioners like the Royal Sovereign 13,500 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner collect the moisture droplets in a pan. This type of air conditioner is perfect for hot, dry climates where humidity is low.

A portable air conditioner with a single vent hose pulls the air from the room where the unit is located, runs it through a refrigerant and expels it back into the room. This action can cause negative pressure to build up in the room. As a result, air from nearby rooms is drawn in to fill the void making the unit slightly less efficient at keeping the space cool.

A dual hose system has two large venting tubes attached to the unit: one to cycle and cool indoor air, and the other to expel hot air. This eliminates the problem of negative pressure but does require more power since it has two separate fans to move the air through the unit. If your air conditioner needs to cool your home all day, a dual hose, draining model will be up to the challenge. Dual hose systems like the EdgeStar Extreme Cool 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner cost more but consumers report that they perform the best.

Many quality portable air conditioners like the Delonghi PAC A120E 12,000-BTU Eco-Friendly Portable Air Conditioner have additional functions which can make them more versatile. Features such as an electrostatic air cleaner, HEPA filter, circulation fan, space heater and dehumidifier will give you more bang for your buck.

Eco-friendly portable air conditioners automatically adjust their output according to the ambient temperature. This saves energy and money. For further energy conservation, look for a model that automatically switches off the refrigerant cycle and engages the fan once the target temperature has been reached.

Eco-friendly units are often also Energy Star-rated. To see if your portable air conditioner of choice passes muster, check out the official Energy Star website for more information.

Units that have carbon, HEPA or electrostatic filters help improve indoor air quality as well as provide consistent cooling.

Portable air conditioning units typically weigh anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds and are almost always mounted on wheels for easy mobility. Each time they're moved, however, they do require reconfiguring the venting apparatus.

All portable air conditioning units require an outlet for venting the hot air, usually through a flexible hose that runs out of a window or screen door. Most portable air conditioners come with installation kits that include everything you need to get it up and running including brackets and foam to help position and insulate the outlet vent.

Be aware that even with the included assembly kit, some portable air conditioners may require additional parts and accessories. For example, some models made with European specifications may feature drainage pipes that are constructed according to metric standards. This may make it somewhat difficult to find a comparable replacement.

Most portable air conditioners will only cool down to 75° Fahrenheit. For some, this may not be enough. You can find this information on the Description tab on any product detail page.

For the best results, pick a model that's slightly larger than the area you need to cool, especially if it's a poorly insulated area, has large windows or high ceilings.

Powerful, consistent cooling can sometimes come at a price. Often, it's in the form of noise. You can find the decibel (dB) rating of most portable air conditioners on the Description tab of most product pages. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, prolonged exposure to sounds exceeding 90 dB can result in hearing loss. To get a better idea of how loud 90 dB is, a farm tractor is measured at about 98 dB.

Based on reviews, reviewers prefer EdgeStar and Whytner portable air conditioners.

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