Should you buy the $229 Aldi portable air conditioner?

On this page:

• Are portable air conditioners any good?
• Should you buy the Aldi portable air conditioner?
• Is $229 a good price for a portable air conditioner?
• CHOICE verdict on the Aldi portable air conditioner

Extreme temperatures are predicted to continue across Australia this summer, and if you’ve been breaking out in a sweat worrying how to keep yourself and your home cool, you may be enticed by Aldi’s cheap offer on portable air conditioners.

The supermarket chain is selling a 0.9kW portable air conditioner as a Special Buy this Wednesday 19 November. 

But is this a hot deal you should grab or should you cool your heels? CHOICE experts share their take on portable air conditioners and things to consider before picking up this Aldi buy. 

Are portable air conditioners any good?

There are various pros and cons to consider before buying a portable air conditioner. They’re relatively cheap to buy, but they are an inefficient way to cool your home, and anything you save on the purchase price can show up in increased energy bills down the track. 

They can be a useful cooling option if you aren’t lucky enough to have reverse-cycle air conditioning installed in your home – for example, if you’re in rented accommodation or you can’t afford the upfront costs associated with installing this more efficient type of air conditioning.

Portable air conditioners are also easy to install, simple to use and you can move them from room to room, but they can be quite noisy, especially when used on a higher fan setting. 

Should you buy the Aldi portable air conditioner?

How does it perform?

While we can’t give away all the details from our expert review of this Aldi portable air conditioner (full reviews are available for CHOICE members), we can reveal that it scored the same, and even outperformed, other models that cost hundreds of dollars more.

Overall, most of the portable air conditioners we’ve tested haven’t blown us away and our experts rate them as only ‘OK’, and others as ‘Borderline’. Only one model scored well enough to be recommended, and it costs more than three times as much as the Aldi model.

What are its specifications and features?

The unit being sold by Aldi is a portable heat pump air conditioner, which means it comes with a large flexible ducted tube that exhausts air outside via a window. 

Most portable air conditioners of this type, including the Aldi model, come with a ‘window kit’ which is an adjustable panel that helps you seal the ducted tubing into your window with minimal leakage. So the first thing you need to check is that you have enough space to place the portable air conditioner next to a suitable window. 

The Aldi model comes with cooling, fan and dehumidifying features which are common to most of these types of portable air conditioners. It has an LED display control panel, 24-hour timer and a remote control. 

Like most portable air conditioners, it comes on four castor wheels so it can be moved around (but keep in mind that these models can be quite bulky and heavy and will need to be placed next to a suitable window to operate). 

What size room is the Aldi portable air conditioner good for?

It’s important to note that its cooling capacity of 0.9kW is very low, which means it’s only suitable for cooling a 5–8 square-metre room – a small bedroom, for instance, but not a living room.

For a room that’s up to 15 square metres, you’d need a portable air conditioner that’s 2.0–2.5kW. See our size guide in our portable air conditioner buying guide. 

Is $229 a good price for a portable air conditioner?

Generally the greater cooling capacity a unit has, the more it will cost to buy and the more it will cost to run.

We do not have any other 0.9kW models in our portable air conditioner review, but models in the 2–3kW range are priced from from $249 up to more than $800, so the Aldi model is definitely at the lower end of the pricing spectrum. 

On top of the purchase price, the running costs for this type of appliance can be significant. As part of our reviews, we look at energy efficiency and performance.

We have calculated that the average running cost for a 1.2–3kW unit used for four hours per day over summer is $132* and the average price of a unit for this size is $585.

Using the same formula, we have estimated that the Aldi model will cost roughly $83* to run for the same period over summer, which means its running costs are below average for units of this approximate size.  

Consider performance and how long the product will last

The price of an appliance doesn’t always indicate performance, and there are certainly cheaper models that outperform more expensive models in our testing. 

When an appliance is sold for such a low price, it’s worth considering the customer service that may or may not be available to you should something go wrong with the product, and also how long it will last. 

A cheap product could mean it is made with cheaper components that may make the unit harder to repair later in its life. One benefit of the Aldi model is that it comes with a three-year warranty. Most of the 45 products in our portable air conditioner review come with a one- or two-year warranty; only 11 models come with a three-year warranty.

But you’d still want your portable air con to keep running for longer than three years, so the quality of customer service after that point is worth considering.

CHOICE verdict on the Aldi portable air conditioner

Although we’re not fans of portable air conditioners in general due to their inefficiencies, we know that for some people, they’re the only option to beat extreme heat. And, they’re easy to install and cheap to buy, which are both bonuses if you find yourself in need of a cooling solution, fast. 

This Aldi portable air conditioner is a tempting buy due to its low price tag and the fact it scores relatively well against other models that cost significantly more. 

If you intend to pick this appliance up in the Special Buy sale, keep in mind that these units can be very heavy (almost half the portable air conditioners in our review weigh 30kg or more and some weigh over 40kg), and they are quite bulky, so you’ll likely need a large car or van and someone to assist you. 

And if you’re trying to decide whether the Aldi model is worth buying, or whether you’re better off spending a little more on a higher-performing model, log in or sign up to read our full portable air conditioner review, which compares almost 100 products.

*We calculate the approximate cost of operating portable air conditioners at maximum capacity for four hours per day for three months in hot weather, based on 40c/kWh.

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Pru Engel

Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.  She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.  Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.  Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney. Find Pru on LinkedIn.

Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.  She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.  Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.  Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney. Find Pru on LinkedIn.