AC-Reviews.com – Your Source for Air Conditioning Reviews

Even though it’s officially summer, it seems like everyone is trying to find ways to shave off their cooling bill.  After all, who’s not trying to save money nowadays?  I have a few friends who are trying to tough out the summer heat without using their air conditioner, but when temperatures creep into triple digits, it’s not that easy to keep the AC off.

As you may already know, I’m a big proponent of spot cooling with portable air conditioners.  Using a portable unit to cool just the room you’re in is a smart choice because it prevents you from cooling your entire house using your more costly central system.  Furthermore, a lot of portable air conditioner manufacturers are doing what they can to design more energy-efficient models in this energy-conscious age.

In any case, while looking through my local energy company’s website the other day in order to find a rebate for a refrigerator, I found out that they also offer incentives for purchasing energy-efficient portable room air conditioners.  For purchasing a qualifying model on their list, you get a $20 rebate.  The portable air conditioners they recommend all have an EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) of at least 11.9, which is considered excellent for a portable air conditioner.  Take a look at the list here.  Judging from the list Southern California Edison provided, it looks like the only brands that qualify are DeLonghi, Sunpentown and NewAir right now.

After doing some additional research, I’ve found that Pacific Gas & Electric up in Northern California has a similar program, as well as well as conEdison in New York.  So before you go shopping for your new portable air conditioner, check with your local electric company to see if they’re giving out rebates on qualifying units.

Nowadays, there are so many different brands of pretty much every appliance. How do you know which one is the best? Thankfully, in our current time in history, we have arguably one of mankind’s finest inventions – the internet. Here is what I found on how to find the perfect air conditioner for you, courtesy of the guides from Air & Water and Air-Conditioner-Home.

• Find out how much physical space you have. This step is crucial because you will need to know the type of air conditioner you need according to where you’re going to place it. If you don’t have much room, but you still want to cool down larger areas, you will need a portable AC with a higher BTU rating. Similarly, if you want to cool down smaller areas, you can get either a window AC or a portable one. Of course, you can always use a central air conditioner, but those cost more to install and maintain.
• Find out what your budget is. Depending on the brand you want and the size you need, you’ll have to pay a different price. As previously mentioned, the cost also depends on the type of air conditioner you buy. Don’t forget about maintenance costs, either. Normally, central ACs can be a pain to get fixed, while portable ACs can be much more economical.
• Find out how much area you need to cool down. Simply find out the square footage of your room, home, garage, or even industrial workshop and check out the portable air conditioner BTU chart. From here, you can tell how many BTUs your air conditioner should have. If you miscalculate or simply get the wrong size, you can be wasting a lot of money operating a unit that isn’t right for your personal space.

Websites such as Air N Water (where I’m getting this information from) have special layouts on their sites to guide you through the process, as well. On the sidebars, you’ll see that they have separate categories for BTUs, brand, type, and even cost. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

As we often mention in our posts, portable air conditioners shouldn’t just be cool – they should also be functional. Personally, I prefer the units that have more than just one function so I can use them year round. This is best because it saves me money. Rather than having to buy a different appliance for every season, I’ve got one that works throughout the year! Before, I discussed the benefits of the Soleus LX-120. But recently I found an even better model: the NewAir AC-12000H.

At first glance, the AC-12000H doesn’t seem too different from the Soleus unit. In fact, it really isn’t. However, it actually does most of the same functions better than the LX-120. The NewAir portable air conditioner, like the LX-120, cools down rooms with its 12,000 BTU cooling capacity. It also operates quietly. But where the NewAir model surpasses the Soleus one is its functionality. The AC-12000H features 4-in-1 technology that includes an air conditioner, a dehumidifier, a fan, and a space heater.

Additionally, the NewAir portable air conditioner is much more eco-friendly than the Soleus LX-120. Instead of using the old R22 refrigerant, the AC-12000H relies on the R-410A refrigerant that uses less energy and causes no ozone damage. As a result, the power consumption for cooling decreases from 1350 W to 1141 W. It also uses auto-evaporative technology, which reduces the amount of condensate and eliminates the need to constantly empty the tank! This is mostly convenient for people who, like me, hate getting up and wasting energy every half hour to remove the condensate.

The only downside to the AC-12000H is its price. It costs $439, which is a little pricey. But I guess the price isn’t really that bad, since you end up saving tons of money throughout the year from the energy-saving benefits. Plus, you get to protect the environment from ozone and pollutants!

You can easily find the NewAir AC-12000H on Air & Water’s website.

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.com.

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!

When one thinks of Sharp, we often think of televisions, semi-conductors, and other electronics that implement the latest technologies. Recently I looked into the specs of their most current air purifiers, and found them listed on their website. The first thought that crossed my mind upon reading the descriptors was “What is this Plasmacluster business?”

The site offers video testimonials and plenty of information on their products. If you search up Sharp purifiers you may come across this comprehensive informational site. Unfortunately, my audio was not working and all I could look at were its informational pages. I learned a lot reading on Sharp air purifiers, and I part my knowledge here for the average consumer:

* Sharp air purifiers use a Library Quiet technology that is as low as 41 dB. In comparison, 41 dB is about the same noise level as a whisper quiet library, and normal conversations at 3’-5’ away are 60-70 dB.

* Sharp air purifiers monitor, cleans, and treats your air.

* Plasmacluster is actually a fancy name for an ionizer. I know, you might be thinking, “Oh but it’s really awful for the ozone!” But Sharp air purifiers also produce positive ions, not just negative!

* Uses true HEPA filtration, so all those nasty pet dander fluff is gone.

* “When the lights are green the air is clean” simple motto that helps you determine when your air’s clean. Let the system work for you!

All in all, it seems like Sharp has done extensive research and development in their air purifiers. I am thoroughly impressed with its presentation, but I’d like to throw out a question the consumers out there to the e-world, “Have you guys tried a Sharp air purifier?” and “Is it really as good as they present it?”

Costco is one of the most popular places to buy appliances, home goods, and food. Portable ACs is popular with young couples and students, as well as older folks in homes that may not have the latest state-of-the-art air conditioning installed. Some apartment homes have old AC units or none at all, which creates a need for alternative, cheap cooling.

Costco offers an array of different units. Haier is a brand of portable ACs that is familiar to AC reviewers and those in the AC business. Their units are typically solid but the quality of build has been an issue to some customers. Costco offers the Haier CPN10XC9 at under $300. Many reviewers, including myself, share the view that this unit may not be user friendly. My friend purchased this Haier a few days ago, and this is what he essentially wrote to me:

“Really noisy, and installation can be bothersome. Had to call Haier customer service and they weren’t as helpful as I hoped. Couldn’t sleep with the unit on so we suffered a few nights before we just got used to the heat. Good price for the unit though, but I really think I could’ve saved more elsewhere. It didn’t seem to cool the room much, though.”

After researching their problems I realized that they did not properly exhaust the unit outside the window. In truth, for some reason they totally forgot about it! If you are not sure of how to properly vent their portable AC, you can watch a video on YouTube here.

Once my friend properly ventilated his unit, he was much more pleased at its performance. It was still noisy according to his tastes, but he was now able to sleep a but more soundly. I would recommend the CPN10XC9 as a “quick buy”, but there are many more resources other than customer reviews that can help you decide which AC to purchase. Buying a $300 appliance takes a lot of research and contemplation, as your comfort is often the most important thing during hot days!

The general consensus among experts is that window air conditioners are more efficient. However, window installation isn’t an option for some homes, condos, and apartments, so a portable air conditioner may be the only choice.

Portable ACs often serve as an alternative to window or wall air conditioners or as a supplement to central cooling systems. They’re ideal for apartment buildings that don’t permit window units or for homes with windows that cannot accommodate permanently installed window AC units. Installation doesn’t require any heavy lifting, and because these portable AC units are usually mounted on rolling casters, you can theoretically move them from room to room. Nonetheless, installation does require that you place the unit close to a window because you’ll need to run the exhaust hose outside.
Despite a large number of units on the market, we actually found relatively few portable AC reviews and comparisons. Most credible reviews actually come from owners.

My parents were actually shopping around for a portable air conditioner for my brother’s dorm room a few months back. They were able to find quite a few models under the $500 range, but there was little to no reviews on many of the products we saw. They eventually settled on the DeLonghi PAC A110L and bought it Lowe’s based on the few reviews they did find.
So far it works fine and looks great, but it was a little bit on the pricey end (a little over $500 with tax). I really wish there were more consumer resources for portable air conditioners on the lower end.

Energy costs are rising, especially in my native CA where it can get quite dry and sunny. When I was in college, I had to come up with rather creative ideas to stay cool while spending as little money as possible. Many homes are investing in portable ACs for the simple fact that they do not cool the whole home, but cool where you need it most. Here are several factors why portable ACs are useful:

1. Spot cooling: If you spend most of your day in the living room, then chances are that you don’t need other areas (let’s say…like the kitchen) cooled off at your expense.

2. Minimal installation: Portable ACs are not permanently installed, so if you need to move the unit to another room at the end of the day, you can.

3. Energy-saving: Again…why cool the whole house when you only need your bedroom cooled at night? Also, many portable AC units come with thermostats or timers to cool when you need it, when you want it. You can save plenty of money with this summer strategy.

4. Price: Installing a permanent AC system can run hundreds. A good portable AC is often under $400, and some are even less than $200. Plus, if you live in an apartment lifestyle (as many young adults do), portable ACs can come with you.

So consider these facts when purchasing your own portable AC. Of course, it’s not for everyone but it can be a great choice for those looking to save a little cash, stay cool this summer, and keep their lifestyle a bit more eco-friendly.

My girlfriend has a smallish apartment that, for some reason or another, was designed to face the sunrise. She loves the sunshine but constantly keeps the blinds closed in fear that it’ll heat up her studio home. During the summers, as I found last year, it gets hot, really hot. It doesn’t help to add that she lives in the Inland Empire, away from my comfortable Orange County tastes, and her apartment complex doesn’t offer the conventional central AC that I’m used to. I spent many weekends with her in hot sweltering heat…and my only condolence was to go to the public pool.

Since her apartment was already small, we wanted to purchase something that would compliment her living space. Other portable AC units are pretty huge and the footprint is often sizable. We went to Target online and had a Haier CPRB07XC7 shipped to us. Unfortunately, the Haier unit requires a working remote to program and it wasn’t working right out of the bat. We made a trip to Target that day to inform them of the non-working unit, and we went through a pretty extensive process to get what we needed: a working AC unit…which we needed out of the box!

30 days later we received the new remote, and finally put the CPRB07XC7 to use. Although it’s a nice unit, I found that the 30-day wait was really unecessary. On the Target online store, I’ve read that many other customers have had the same problem with the remote…and at first I thought that it was just one of those things that “wouldn’t happen to me”. Perhaps Haier should rethink a remote-less design for convenience! Thankfully, it’s still working as of today. Just hope the remote doesn’t break again.

I have heard that nowadays they ship the unit with two remotes…who ships any appliance with two remotes? Must be a very dire sign that even the company doesn’t have much confidence in their product…