The best portable air conditioners
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Summer is well underway, and if you live in a warm or humid climate, having an air conditioner is a great way to stay cool. There are plenty of AC configurations out there, including window air conditioning units, air coolers and portable units. If you don’t want the stress and hassle of installing a unit, you may want to consider a portable air conditioner, which is easier to set up and can be moved throughout your space, experts told us.
SKIP AHEAD How to shop for a portable AC unit
To help you find the best portable air conditioner, we consulted cooling and appliance experts to help you find the right model for your space, plus used their advice to round up some top-rated recommendations.
Best portable air conditioning units
Here are our top picks for portable air conditioner units, which are designed for easy installation and portability. We’ve highlighted their cooling power, the size of room they’re fit for (according to the brand) and their hose type, whether single or dual. All of the portable air conditioners we recommend have wheels so you can move them around easily.
Best affordable portable air conditioner: Shinco
Shinco 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 10,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 300 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
This portable air conditioner from Shinco has three modes to choose from: cooling, dehumidifying and fan. The unit weighs 62 pounds and has both an LED display and remote that you can use to control it, plus a timer that you can set for up to 24 hours. It has a 4.2-star average rating from more than 1,600 Amazon reviews.
Shinco 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Shinco 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Best portable air conditioner for smaller rooms:Black+Decker
Black+Decker BPACT08WT 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 8,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 150 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
Relatively compact, this portable air conditioner weighs just under 53 pounds. It has an adjustable fan that can cool the air down to 65 degrees Fahrenheit as well as ventilation and dehumidifying features. It’s easy to install, according to the brand, and it has a 4.4-star average rating from more than 36,000 Amazon reviewers.
Black+Decker BPACT08WT 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Black+Decker BPACT08WT 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Black+Decker BPACT08WT 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at Wayfair
Black+Decker BPACT08WT 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at Walmart
Best portable air conditioner for large rooms: De'Longhi
De’Longhi EX390LVYN 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 14,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 700 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
With 14,000 BTUs of cooling power (the most of any single-hose portable air conditioner on this list), this portable AC is designed to cool a room up to 700 square feet in size, De’Longhi says. The brand also says it will auto-adjust the temperature depending on the humidity levels in the room, and it has dehumidifying and fan features in addition to its cooling features. The De’Longhi has a 4.1-star average rating from 1,700 reviews on Amazon.
De’Longhi EX390LVYN 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
De’Longhi EX390LVYN 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
De’Longhi EX390LVYN 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner $ at DeLonghi
Best smart portable air conditioner: Honeywell
Honeywell HF0CESVWK6 Smart Wi-Fi Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 10,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 450 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
The Honeywell HF0CESVWK6 can connect via Wi-Fi to be controlled by your smartphone, which means you can control it from anywhere in your home. The HF0CESVWK6 weighs just under 63 pounds, and you can use your voice to power on the machine, as well as change the temperature and adjust fan speeds. It has a 4.2-star average rating from more than 130 Amazon reviews.
Honeywell HF0CESVWK6 Smart Wi-Fi Portable Air Conditioner
Honeywell HF0CESVWK6 Smart Wi-Fi Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Honeywell HF0CESVWK6 Smart Wi-Fi Portable Air Conditioner $ at Walmart
Best smart, high-end portable air conditioner: Midea
Midea MAP10S1CWT Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 10,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 200 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
This Wi-Fi-enabled Midea portable air conditioner seems to have been designed with convenience in mind: It can be controlled via a smartphone app or paired with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to respond to voice commands. With 10,000 BTUs of cooling power, it can cool a room up to 200 square feet with a temperature range between 62 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Midea. It also comes with a 24-hour adjustable timer. The Midea has a 4.2-star average rating from nearly 2,000 Amazon reviews.
Midea MAP10S1CWT Portable Air Conditioner
Midea MAP10S1CWT Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Best smart portable air conditioner for large rooms: De'Longhi
De’Longhi 12,500 BTU Smart Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 12,500 BTUs
Room size: Up to 500 square feet
Hose type: Single hose
With the De’Longhi app, you can control this portable air conditioner from your phone, and it’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The air conditioner can also be used as a fan, dehumidifier and heater in the colder months. It has a 4.1-star average rating from more than 250 Amazon reviews.
De’Longhi 12,500 BTU Smart Portable Air Conditioner
De’Longhi 12,500 BTU Smart Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Best dual-hose portable air conditioner: Whynter
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner
Cooling power: 14,000 BTUs
Room size: Up to 500 square feet
Hose type: Dual hose
Whynter’s conditioner, the ARC-14S, has three operational modes — air conditioning unit, dehumidifier and fan — and a 24-hour timer. It’s also the only dual-hose model on this list. We chose it for its 4.2-star average rating from more than 10,500 Amazon reviews, more than any other dual-hose portable air conditioning unit we could find.
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner $ at Amazon
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner $ at Wayfair
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual-Hose Portable Air Conditioner $ at Walmart
Related: Dehumidifiers reduce humidity and indoor pollutants and help preserve building materials.
How portable air conditioning units work
When you hear the word “air conditioning unit,” you probably think of a window AC, which is typically situated in your window for a few months every summer. A portable air conditioning unit, by comparison, sits on the floor with a vent that you can snake through a window or the wall. “Portable air conditioners draw in ambient air from either the room in which they’re located (single hose) or from outside (dual hose),” explained Carl Prouty, a technologist at appliance retailer Abt. “They cool that air down, then send the cooled air back into the room, while the hot air produced is vented outside through an exhaust hose.”
Free-standing air conditioners are a pricier alternative to window units. However, they’re much easier to install and are typically more compact, so you can move the unit from room to room without much effort, noted John McKeon, MD, CEO of Allergy Standards — an organization that certifies products as “asthma and allergy-friendly,” among other things.
What the heck are British Thermal Units, or BTUs?
An air conditioner’s cooling ability is typically measured in British Thermal Units, or BTUs. The higher the BTUs, the more powerful the air conditioner is. On average, an air conditioning unit needs about 20 BTUs per square foot of space to keep things cool, said McKeon. It’s important to find a model that’s efficient for your space, but keep in mind that more BTUs isn’t always better.
Cooling up to 250 square feet: 5,000 to 6,000 BTUs
From 250 up to 350 square feet: 7,000 to 8,000 BTUs
From 350 up to 450 square feet: 9,000 to 10,000 BTUs
From 450 up to 550 square feet: 12,000 BTUs
“Using an AC with the right amount of power is extremely important,” Prouty said. “A unit that is too powerful will cool the room too quickly. This is bad for two reasons: it won’t do an efficient job of dehumidifying the room and it will cycle on and off too frequently, causing undue stress on the AC, which will cause it to break down prematurely.” On the other hand, a unit that’s not powerful enough won’t cool the room down — it’ll just run continuously, meaning your energy bill will be much higher than it would have been had you bought a portable AC that was the appropriate size, and it’ll break down early, too.
According to Prouty, if you plan on putting your portable AC unit in a sunny space, you should add about 10% to the ideal number of BTUs based on the room’s size. If the room gets little to no sun, you’ll need about 10% less, he added. If there are more than two people typically occupying the room, you’ll need to add 600 BTUs for each additional person, and if it’s going in a kitchen, you’ll need to add 4,000 BTUs to “counteract the additional heat [that] kitchen appliances produce,” Prouty noted.
EnergyStar, a federal program promoting energy-efficient products, has its own guidelines to help you choose the right model. As BTU capacity increases, the weight and size of the model typically will, too.
How to shop for a portable air conditioning unit
Once you’ve figured out how many BTUs a room will need, McKeon recommended considering the following:
Portable air conditioners typically run between $250 and $500, depending on the size and amount of features.
Portable air conditioners either come with a single hose or double hose. Single hose models, which are more common, pull stagnant air from inside your room, cooling and recirculating it throughout. Dual-hose units, on the other hand, have one air exhaust hose and another that pulls fresh air from outside.
According to Prouty, dual-hose units are louder and more expensive. They also require more work: Prouty told us that pulling air from the outside produces condensation, which is stored in a bucket within the unit that you’ll have to empty. (In some cases, he said, you can have a hose run to a floor drain so you don’t need to empty the bucket.)
Some portable air conditioners equip smart technology and can be controlled via smartphone, though these models will typically cost more.
Certain models come with added built-in features, like a dehumidifier, heater or air purifier.
You may also be able to set a timer to turn the unit on or off at specific times to reduce energy consumption.
Most units are self-evaporating, which reduces the need to drain water regularly from the unit.
Keep in mind your portable air conditioner needs proximity to a window and electrical outlet. These models also require some simple maintenance, including draining the water from the unit as needed and replacing the air filters every couple of weeks. This will help avoid mold growth in your unit, which can decrease your room’s air quality, said McKeon.
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