AC-Reviews.com

Although is coming to a close, certain parts of the country are still warm enough for air conditioner. One of the most recent air conditioners I came across was the NewAir ACP-1000E. It’s one of the least expensive portable air conditioners on the market, and it receives a number of recommendations from owners posting reviews to retailer websites. This 10,000 BTU portable AC unit can cool a small room or area of up to about 200 square feet (roughly the size of a typical bedroom) and includes a remote control, dehumidifier function, built-in air purification system, and digital thermostat. Although this unit does utilize auto-evaporative technology, it will still need to be vented out of a drop ceiling, window, or wall. When testing it in my small office, I found that it actually worked quite well (although perhaps a bit noisy). But for its price point, it was a solid air conditioner. With that said, if you need more cooling power, consider the Soleus LX-120 (est. $400).

The NewAir ACP-1000E was purchased from Air Conditioner Home.

It seems that Sunpentown portable ACs have been priced just right for consumers looking for an economic way to keep themselves cool…however as I go along looking for reviews on Sunpentown brands I find a common demoninator, you either love it or hate it.

Take the reviews on Target’s online store, for example. One reviewer raves about how a Sunpentown AC had lasted him 2 years and another is simply “not impressed“. Overall the Sunpentowns have several outstanding reviews and one with three stars or less. It must be either great or unsatisfactory, and one way to uncover the true quality of the brand is to simply research the company.

Sunpentown is an international company that specializes in home products, from portable ACs to infamous bidets. While Googling Sunpentown company information I stumbled across a website that gave more information about the company than its own webpage did! However, I was still left with several questions:

• Where is Sunpentown from?
• Do they have great quality in any product in particular? (Like how Mitsubishi makes electronics versus cars)
• Why is it cheaper than other brands?
• What makes them bad or great?

With a little more research I used the chat function on the above website and was pleasantly pleased that they wrote perfect English.

After that brief chat, as you can see, their products are from China. Not to down the Chinese, but the bidet and body massage mechanisms should’ve been enough to convince me! Most Sunpentowns are not advertised as “Made in China” due to the bad reputation Chinese-made appliances have accumulated over the years. However, this could definitely explain the love/hate reviews its products have been receiving. Most Chinese products are inconsistent in quality. On one hand, you’d get a great product that could last you years, but on the other hand some factories that manufacture its products may not abide with the strict regulations it needs to follow.

So there you have it, Sunpentown is made in China and imported to our shores. Consider how much you will use your portable AC and how much you are willing to invest in one!

I picked this Royal Sovereign Portable Air Conditioner at a SEARs while planning my pre-emptive measures for the hot summer months. My apartment doesn’t have a central AC unit and has forced me to use less conventional methods. Last summer I kept wet bandanas chilled on my neck, as it was a Boy Scout survival technique I learned when I was 8. I do have an older window AC unit with the apartment, but after awhile it shut down and I was not willing to hassle the management for it (since they did a “wonderful” job on my heater…it smells like old clothes).

I researched a lot of units and decided on this simple AC unit because it had high markings. I turned it on and left it on for an afternoon while I went grocery shopping for the week…and when I returned it was ice cold in my apartment. I was very pleased. My mother actually asked me to bring it over already…to help her clean out her hot attic. I hated cleaning the attic as a kid, and for some reason or another my mom would always choose summer to do it. I suppose it’s because the day care kids are gone, and that summer is the “slow” month for my mom’s business.

I turned the AC on for about an hour before I went to work in the attic a few weekends ago. I dare say…I wasn’t so upset about helping her out anymore! Eventually I was comfortable enough, and the attic was clean enough, to pull out my old sleepingbag and take a nice siesta..!