Portable air conditioner reviews

01.Introduction

We review 10 portable reverse-cycle air conditioners priced between $649 and $1399.

• The best performers in our test.
• Which models use the least amount of energy.
• Which ones are easy to use.

On this page you'll also find:

•  Brands tested.

If you’re desperate to cool your home this summer but can’t install a built-in air conditioner, then a portable air conditioner may be the answer. Compared with most built-in air conditioners, portable models aren’t very energy efficient, but a good one can cool a room effectively. You might also want to consider a ceiling fan.

At present, portable air conditioners aren’t included in energy efficiency rating schemes, so you won’t find any with the star rating labels seen on other appliances, such as split-system air conditioners, fridges and washing machines. And for the amount of electricity they consume, these units aren’t as efficient as split-system air conditioners (and can’t cool a room as quickly).

Our test covers 10 portable reverse-cycle air conditioners (including six newly tested models); that is, they have both cooling and heating modes. In this portable air conditioner review, we looked for models with cooling and heating capacities of about 3.5 kW to 4.4 kW.

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Portable air conditioner brands tested

# Convair Climate Master CP12HS
# DeLonghi PACW160HP
# DeLonghi PACWE120HP
DeLonghi Pinguino PACN120HP *
Dimplex GDC12RCWA **
# Hotpoint MAC155
Midea MPM5-12HRN1-QB
Omega Altise APC12RC
# Omega Altise APC14RCVA
# Omega Altise OAPC15RC

# Newly tested. * Discontinued. ** Discontinued but still available in some stores.

Brands not tested

We also tested a Changhong CH36PB1 and a Convair Climate Master CM15HW, but both had such poor performance we suspected they were faulty, so we haven’t included their results. The Convair distributor subsequently checked the CM15HW unit and confirmed it was faulty. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to buy and test replacement samples.

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