For rooms without central air conditioning, the window air conditioner is a great cooling solution. The best window air conditioner is virtually noiseless, easy to install, energy efficient, and more often less expensive than the central air conditioner.
But before you buy a window unit air conditioner, here are a few things that you need to keep in mind.
- Room size in square meters or feet
- Windows shape and size
- Smart features available with the unit
- Where to channel the water from condensation
- Voltage and position of nearby electrical outlets
Window air conditioners are all rated using British Thermal Units (BTU). It is a measure of energy that essentially tells you how effectively the unit will lower the temperature in a given space. The BTU usually ranges between 5,000 and 14,000. The 5,000 BTU unit works well for small rooms – about 150 square feet or less. If you want to cool a larger room like an office or a small apartment with square footage between 550 and 800 go for units with between 12,000 and 14,000 BTUs.
With that out of the way, here are some of the best window air conditioner units that we evaluated based on ease of installation, cooling power, energy efficiency, and noise level, among other factors.
Best Window Air Conditioner
- Top Pick: HomeLabs 14,500 BTU Window Air Conditioner
- Runner Up: Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
- Best Value: Midea 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
HomeLabs 14,500 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Top Pick: Take your home or office cooling to the next level using this HomeLabs window AC unit. This window air conditioner will comfortably cool any room or space up to 650 square feet. It comes with a flexible window mount so you can effortlessly move it to different rooms. This air smart conditioner is WiFi enabled so you can conveniently control the cooling from your smartphone. This Energy Star-certified air conditioner also works with Google Assistant and Alexa. It is also virtually noiseless, producing about 56 to 61 decibels depending on the fan settings.
HomeLabs 14,500 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Runner Up: Cool your home or office from anywhere, anytime using the Frigidaire 12,000 BTU smart window air conditioner app. This WiFi-enabled unit also works with Google Assistant and Alexa, allowing you to use voice commands to control the temperature and even turn the unit on or off. This unit also comes with 6-way directional airflow and three different fan speeds that allow for optimum air circulation and cooling. Enjoy a cleaner, more comfortable home environment with the Washable Antibacterial Filter. Besides, this unit is Energy Star certified and also features an energy saver mode that adds to the energy efficiency.
Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Midea 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Best Value: For spaces not exceeding 350 square feet, use the Midea 8,000 BTU window AC unit. This AC is quieter than most traditional units, producing an extremely quiet operation – as low as 42 decibels. This AC unit is Energy Star certified, offering more than 35% energy savings thanks to the advanced DC inverter technology.
Midea 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
LG 12,000 BTU Smart Window Air Conditioner
Cool your home or office from anywhere using this Smart LG window unit air conditioner. The unit comes with a ThinQ app that you can use to control the WiFi-enabled conditioner while on the go. You can also control the settings using Google Assistant and Alexa. This unit is also quite quiet producing as low as 53 decibels, so you can go about your business without worrying about noise interruptions. This unit will provide cooling for up to 550 square feet making it ideal for large rooms.
LG 12,000 BTU Smart Window Air Conditioner
LG 18,000 BTU Window Smart Air Conditioner
For more powerful cooling, check out the 18,000 BTU LG smart window conditioner. This powerful unit can provide adequate cooling for rooms up to 1,000 square feet. Like the model above, this unit is amazingly powerful and quiet. It comes with a timer that you can use to create cooling schedules, a remote control, a washable filter, and an auto restart feature that automatically turns the unit back on when power is restored. This unit is Energy Star certified for energy efficiency.
LG 18,000 BTU Window Smart Air Conditioner
Koldfront 12,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
The Koldfront window air conditioner with heat was designed with comfort in mind. During summer, use the Koldfront cooling power to cool up to 550 square feet. You won’t however need a separate heater during the winter months as the AC provides 11,000 Heating BTUs. Additionally, this unit comes with an easy-to-read digital display and a remote control.
Koldfront 12,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
PerfectAire 10,000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Regardless of your window type – whether that’s crank, casement, or horizontal sliding – this vertical window air conditioner from PerfectAire has you covered. Providing cooling up to 450 square feet, this AC unit fits like a glove in many window types, so you won’t have to resort to costly custom designs. Additional features include a full range air direction control, sleep, dry, and energy saver modes, auto restart function, and slide-out filter access. Enjoy perfect climate with the PerfectAire AC.
What to Look for When Buying a Window Air Conditioner
Window air conditioners are designed to provide cooling in rooms that do not have access to adequate cooling. There are many things to consider when looking for a window AC unit including the size, cooling capacity, maintenance, energy efficiency, and so on. Here are some of the top five things to keep in mind when shopping for the best window air conditioner.
- Cooling Capacity: We talked about this earlier but wanted to reiterate as it is an extremely important factor. For the best efficiency, go for a window AC unit that has a BTU level designed to fit your space. Too little BTU power means you will be running the AC continuously trying to cool a large space and this will certainly impact your energy costs.
- Installation: Most of the window AC units are easy to install and are usually designed to fit inside a double-hung window. However, many models can also be installed inside a custom-created wall space using special mounting hardware. This is usually a useful alternative if you don’t have vertical sash windows or if your window’s dimensions are too large or too small.
- Energy Efficiency: Generally speaking, the best window air conditioner is more energy efficient than the central air conditioner. To gauge the AC energy efficiency, look for two things – the Energy Star certification and the Energy Efficiency Ratio which tells you how many BTUs the unit uses for each watt of power.
- Maintenance: Most window ACs will require periodic maintenance, at least a thorough clean once a year. A window AC with a slide-out chassis will make your cleaning efforts a breeze.
- Smart Features: This might seem like a minor thing, but the smart features can have a meaningful impact on how you use and control the AC. Some of the common smart features in today’s air conditioners include WiFi connection, eco modes, scheduling functions, and voice control. Each of these features allows you to personalize your window AC unit experiences.
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This article, "Best Window Air Conditioner to Keep Cool When It’s Hot" was first published on Small Business Trends
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Antony Maina, Khareem Sudlow
