We went through our more than 100 portable air conditioner reviews to shortlist this list of the 15 best portable air conditioners for 2015. Portable Air Conditioners are a great way to cool off a room. To start off, here are a few buyers’ tips on what to pay attention to when buying a portable air conditioner:
- First, be sure to buy an air conditioner designed for the square footage of your room. If you buy one that is too small for your room, it will not be able to bring down the temperature.
- Second, make sure the unit has proper ventilation, such as with a window venting kit.
- Third, allow the unit to cool one room fully. If you move the unit from room to room frequently, you will not see the cooling these units are capable of. Though they are called portable air conditioners, they are designed to stay in one room for several hours or through the heat of the day. For information on how to know which size unit is best for your room see, figuring out your cooling needs
Best Portable Air Conditioner
If you are looking for specialized portable air conditioners, start here:
- Best Ductless Portable Air Conditioner
- Best Quiet Portable Air Conditioner
- Quietest Portable Air Conditioner
- Best Portable Air Conditioners with Heat Pumps
- Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner
- Best Water Cooled Air Conditioner
- Cheap Air Conditioner
Whynter 14,000 BTU ARC 14SH
This portable air conditioning unit is touted as a air conditioner, fan, and dehumidifier. As you will read in our Whynter Arc 14SH portable air conditioner review, one of the nicest features of this unit is that it has dual hoses which makes it more efficient while it cools. However, like many of these units, it is also a bit loud. It has a 24 hour programmable timer, remote control, and window kit. It has a sleek silver and black design along with a 3 year limited warranty. As it cools, the air is pulled through a washable filter and carbon air filter to reduce pollutants and odors. Users report it cools well and is efficient. If you do have problems with the unit, be aware that customer support is slow to respond. For an explanation of BTU see how air conditioners work
Check Price on Amazon: Whynter 14,000 BTU Air conditioner
American Comfort ACW500C 13,000 BTU
Our American Comfort ACW500C review came out overwhelmingly positive. The American Comfort is designed to cool a room up to 350 square feet. It is also a dehumidifier but does so in a unique way. The excess water that builds up can be put out as a fine mist. If you prefer not to have a mist, you can drain the excess water. It has 3 fan speeds, a sleep option, and is fairly energy efficient. Users say it is pretty noisy but works well.
Check Price on Amazon: American Comfort ACW500C
Haier America Trading CPN10XCM
This air conditioner is also a dehumidifier and it is priced at the upper end of these types of air conditioners. It is heavy and a bit noisy but cools a room medium sized room very well. It features 3 cooling modes and 3 fan modes as well as temperature control, a 24 hour timer, and cleanable filter. The manufacturer says that this unit self evaporates but users say it needs to be drained periodically. The drain hose is a bit short so you could get one from a hardware store if you need a longer one. Also, be sure to have proper ventilation (such as venting the unit out a window—window kit is included) and allow space around the unit for air to circulate. It comes with a 1 year limited warranty. Haier CPN10XCJ Portable Air Conditioner Review
Check Price on Amazon: Haier America Trading CPN10XCM
Honeywell MN10CESWW
Our Honeywell MN10CESWW portable air conditiioner review noted how versatile and durable this air conditioner / dehumidifier combo unit is. The Honeywell 10CES can work as a dehumidifier only or air conditioner and dehumidifier. It has 3 speeds, a 24 hour timer, remote control, a washable electrostatic filter. It includes a window kit and is easy to assemble after delivery. It is designed for a room up to 350 square feet. Though the manufacturer says it is self-evaporative, users say this unit needs to be drained regularly. It cools well and comes with a 1 year limited warranty.
Check Price on Amazon: Honeywell MN10CESWW
Koldfront PAC1401W Ultracool 14,000BTU
The Koldfront is not as sleek looking as the above models but cools well and has a dehumidifying only mode. It is very efficient and comes with a 3 year limited warranty. It comes with a washable pre filter and replaceable carbon filter. The two biggest drawbacks to this unit are that the hose is difficult to hook up and the vents blow the air in an upward direction only. It is fairly quiet and can cool an area of 500-600 square feet.
Check Price on Amazon: Koldfront PAC1401W
Amico AP11000 BTU
This unit will cool and dehumidify an area up to 400 square feet but do so quietly. It has a remote control and features a 24 hour programmable timer, temperature control, 2 fan speeds, and a dehumidifier. It comes with a window kit and good ventilation is important. Also, it will need to be drained regularly when in use. The Amico comes with a 1 year limited warranty.
Check Price on Amazon: Amico AP11000
Keystone KSTAP14A 14,000 BTU
We love this portable air conditioner, as you can tell from our Keystone KSTAP14A review. This pricer unit is designed to cool a space up to 700 square feet and includes a “Follow me” remote which allows you to adjust all of the controls. With other units, the remote only changes the fan speed. This unit also features temperature control, 3 fan speeds, a turbo and sleep mode, auto restart as well as a few other handy features. Users report the common portable air conditioner problem of the exhaust hose being tricky to set up and the window kit tough to fit on. There is a full 1 year warranty included as well.
Check Price on Amazon: Keystone KSTAP14000
Honeywell MN12CES 12,000BTU
As you can tell from our Honeywell MN12CES review, this Honeywell is slightly larger, comes in a sleek black and silver instead of white, and has more cooling capacity than the 10CES. It has all the same great features: 3 speeds, a 24 hour timer, remote control, and washable electrostatic filter. It is fairly loud and needs to be drained regularly. The window kit doesn’t fit many windows so may need to be adjusted to fit well. It does cool well. One user suggests to leave the unit upright for several hours when it first arrives to let the oil in the motor settle. For a video review of this product see,
Check Price on Amazon: Honeywell MN12CES
Whynter ARC -12S 12,000 BTU
The Whynter ARC -12S has a different look than the ARC-14S and is designed to cool a smaller area. It does have many of the same features as the larger model including 3 modes (a/c, dehumidifier, and fan), 24 hour timer, remote control, a washable filter, a carbon filter, and thermostatic control. It comes with a window kit and many users say it cools very well. However hooking up the hose and fitting the window kit can be tricky. Also this unit is, like many others, noisy.
Check Price on Amazon: Whynter ARC-12S
Shinco 10,000BTU Portable Air Conditioner
As you can tell from our Shinco 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner review, this functional looking air conditioner will cool a space up to 300 square feet, has 2 speed cooling, 4 way directional air flow, a remote control, and 2 filters. It has an overcold protect so that it shuts down if the machine gets too cold. It is noisy but seems to cool and dehumidify well. The window kit is not too sturdy and customer support slow to respond.
Check Price on Amazon: Shinco 10,000BTU Air Conditioner
Soleus Air KY-80 Portable Air Conditioner/Dehumidifier
The Soleus Air KY-80 stood out in our Soleus KY 80 review as an inexpensive but still solid portable air conditioner. The Soleus Air is a smaller unit with 8,000 BTU and best for a room 200 square feet or less. It cools well and features a thermostat, auto restart, and a washable filter. Users say the hose is tricky to fit on and that as it dehumidifies, it produces a lot of water and so needs to drained regularly. One user noted that you may get a H8 error code meaning it needs to be drained. After draining, unplug the unit to reset the control panel. It is a fairly noisy unit as well.
Check Price on Amazon: Soleus Air KY-80 Air Conditioner
LG LP1014WNR Portable Air Conditioner
This 10,000 BTU portable air conditioner has 2 fan speeds and 2 cooling speeds. The auto-restart feature saves your previous settings. It has a sleek, curved shape and shuts itself off when the water is full so you can drain it. As with many lower priced a/c units, this one is a bit noisy but cools a space 300-400 square feet well.
Check Price on Amazon: LG LP1014WNR Air Conditioner
Avalon Bay AB8K 8,000
This small, functional looking unit cools and dehumidifies up to 125 square feet with 3 fan speeds, adjustable louvers, and a durable hose. It also comes with a window kit and 1 year limited warranty. This unit does a good job of cooling and has unusually good customer service according to users. It does need the water drained frequently and the window kit is tricky to set up. Avalon Bay AB8K Portable Air Conditioner Review
Check Price on Amazon: Avalon Bay AB8K Air Conditioner
SPT 8,000 BTU Air Conditioner
From our SPT 8000 BTU review, we came away very impressed. This air conditioner has a few more features than many of the units this size. It has 2 fan speeds, digital display, auto-restart, a dehumidifying function, washable air filter, 24 hour programmable timer, and 2 drain openings to attach the single hose to (you choose which opening is best for your setup). It cools and dehumidifies well but is a bit large and needs regular draining.
Check Price on Amazon: SPT 8,000 BTU Air Conditioner
EdgeStar Smallest Footprint 10,000BTU
This functional air conditioner has 3 fan speeds, a washable pre-filter and carbon filter, remote, 24 hour timer, and comes with a hose and window kit. The hose and window kit are tricky to set up but once they are, this unit does a good job cooling a medium sized room. Users say customer service is poor so it might be better to get the unit repaired at a local shop if needed.
Check Price on Amazon: EdgeStar 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner
Other Top Portable Air Conditioners
Here are the other top portable air conditioners:
Newair AC12000E Portable Air Conditioner Review
Portable Air Conditioner Buying Guide – 15 FAQs
Portable air conditioning units can be a great alternative to window units or wall mounted split systems, however finding the right unit can be a bit of a daunting task.
1. What are the first things that I should be looking for when buying one?
First off, make sure that the unit has not been damaged in any way, shape or form.
Make sure that there are no dents, that all the components are there and that the seller will give you the full warranty.
Make sure that the unit comes with all the extras that you need, and if that is not the case at least make sure that the seller can provide you with them
2. Are portable air conditioners really portable?
They are portable, however they are not as portable as you might imagine.
The unit itself contains both the splitter and the compressor, meaning that the air is being cooled within the same unit, thus causing condensation to build up within the system itself.
There are some units that can cope with this issue, requiring regular draining very couple of days, however there are units that have hoses and ducts attached to them which lead towards the exterior of the building in order to dump the condensation.
So they are portable, however their range of motion and portability can be rather limited at times.
3. Are there any concerns regarding the noise levels of such a unit?
Yes.
Seeing as these units have the compressor build into them, they are more noisy and louder than window mounted units or wall mounted splitter systems.
4. How powerful do these units need to be in order to cool off an average room?
This depends mostly on the size of the room itself.
These units are rather limited when it comes to how much power they have, going as far as 14000 BTU; however the fact that they can be moved around and repositioned in the room makes it easier for them to cool the entire room than a fixed air conditioner.
Here is a video with more information on this matter:
5. Can a mobile air conditioner be considered a viable substitute for other air conditioning systems?
No.
This system is slightly weaker than the other systems, and it is used mostly for spot cooling and rooms that cannot have other air conditioning systems.
6. Is it more expensive to run such a unit compared to the other air conditioning systems?
No.
Because of the fact that these systems are generally less powerful than the other air conditioning systems, the amount of electricity that they consume is smaller, therefore the extra costs that are added to the electric bill are smaller than the ones added by the other systems.
7. Can these units act like dehumidifiers?
By default, they cannot, however some come with the possibility of adding accessories that allow them to, while the some of the newest models that are just now coming on the market have some features that can help in this regard.
8. What degree of maintenance do these units require?
They require a lot less maintenance than the other air conditioning systems.
Truth be told, the only things that you will have to do is make sure that the units are periodically drained of any condensation or excess water that might accumulate, and that the filters are properly cleaned or replaced if need be.
9. Does regular maintenance require the attention of specialists or specialized firms?
Not unless the unit has suffered major malfunctions.
Most of the maintenance can be done by the user, and the units are quite easy to take apart and clean.
It is recommended that once every 12-18 months the unit should be inspected and tweaked by a specialist.
10. Can these units help clean the air in a specific room?
Yes.
The newer models can be fitted with H.E.P.A. filters instead of their factory filters, which can trap the vast majority of dust particles as well as other allergy causing airborne agents.
11. What can I do to prolong the life span of the filters?
Make sure that the filters are cleaned regularly, and that larger particles such as animal hair and dust balls are frequently removed in order to avoid any blockages as well as wear and tear.
12. Can these units be properly stored when not in use?
Yes.
These units are quite small, up to 4 feet tall in some cases, meaning that they can be properly stored in a garage, attic or store room.
Make sure that the filters have been cleaned and that the water has been drained from the machine before storing it though.
13. Where can I buy a high quality unit?
Anywhere really, however it Is recommended that you stick to specialized dealers and retailers.
You can buy them from convenience stores, supermarkets or even hardware stores; however there are chances that you might end up buying a slightly inferior model.
14. Do these units alter the levels of humidity in the room?
Yes, as a matter of fact they increase humidity slightly.
They are not recommended for people with respiratory or lung problems, as well as people that are very susceptible and sensitive towards changes in the humidity level.
15. Can these units be used outside or are they strictly for indoor purposes only?
Yes, they can be used outside of the house, however under certain conditions.
They can be used to cool off trailers, large tents, and various other closed spaces.
It can be used outside in the open air, however this tends to dramatically shorten the life span of the filter and even cause a lot of wear and tear on the unit itself.
Hope this list of the best portable air conditioner for 2015 was helpful. Do you have others you would like to add to the list? Please leave us a comment below.
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