The Best Portable Air Conditioners - Reviews by YBD

Our reviews are never sponsored, but we get a commission from retailers if you buy through our links.

The Whynter - ARC-122DS Elite is the best portable air conditioner for blazing summer heat waves.

The LG 12,000 BTU is the best portable air conditioner for more moderate climates.

We spent three summers researching and testing eight different portable air conditioners. We used them in bedrooms, living rooms and offices. We tested in controlled conditions using space heaters, and also in real summer heat waves.

Many of us can’t install window units, though, either because we have slider windows or because of fire code. If you’re about to suffer through one more increasingly hot summer without relief, a portable unit can help.

Index:
1:41 - Why should you get a portable AC?
3:02 - Single vs. dual-hose units
4:57 - How many BTUs do you need?
6:32 - How we selected finalists to test
7:17 - How we tested
9:05 - The best single-hose portable: LG - 12,000 BTU
10:36 - The best for heat waves: Whynter - 12,000 BTU
11:53 - The bottom line

Our picks for the best portable air conditioner:

When purchasing a portable air conditioner, the top features to consider are:
• Performance: portables aren't as efficient as window units, so make sure you're getting something that works for you
• Noise: monster-sized 14,000 BTU models are better at cooling a room, but they can be unbearable to sleep beside
• Portability: We also picked models that are lighter and easier to move around
• Controls: remotes, sleep modes, and timers go a long way to helping you use an AC more efficiently

Our team for this review included:
Video production: Cara Brown
Video editor: Cara Brown
Writer and host: Daniel Jackson
Managing editor: Bryan Vu
Photography: Daniel Jackson, Kimberly Lostroscio

[YourBestDigs]

Our picks for the best portable air conditioner:

[ShadowBurn]

I live in Orlando FL, so it gets over 90 in January. One trick I did to help it was wrap insulation around the exhaust duct, that way the radiated heat could get out better.

[Inhumanefool]

Bit of a cop out to just update the name to 2020 when your released it in 2018

[Thefireslove]

We bought a Heir portable AC in 2008. It is still going strong 11 years later.

[pblais]

I have a dual hose unit and I slipped a length of duct insulation over the exhaust hose to eliminate the radiated heat coming from it. Now the room is that much cooler then before. It's amazing what a little inginuity can come up with especially when the unit is not close to the window thus exposing a lot of heat generating exhaust hose.

[raul]

Thank you for your work. Every single person that wants to buy a portable unit, should watch this video.

No wonder my portable device did not work. Here we get above 90 degrees almost the entire summer. It only cooled the spot where cool air comes out, but the rest of the room was same or even hotter than outside. Here we get up to 110 sometimes.

[tjray]

This video was enlightening and made me scientifically understand why my portable AC didn't seem to work as well as expected - just in time to return it!

[W.Vanderbilt]

Just bought an haier 14, 000 BTU. it cools up to 700 sqft and works really good. It was $519 @ Lowes.

[preston]

Insanely helpful and thorough. This channel needs more support.

[UgoTzMaiL]

This was very helpful thank you. I was afraid I was gonna waste my money buying something that wasn't gonna work but now I'm gonna go with the LG

[KozmoDyne]

Only halfway through and this is the hands-down best review video of portable ACs I have seen after seeing at least a dozen.

[CoupedUpGenny]

watching this because its dumb hot outside in ny. i cannt afford these, but thinking about how cool my room could be is where im at rn

[electednes]

Loved this video! I was spending hours sifting through inconclusive customer reviews which was getting me nowhere for the most part. But this video gave me actual real world results from extensive & non-bios testing. Thnx! ^^

[TaylorExchange]

I like how at the beginning of the video you told which is the best one. Nonetheless, I stayed for the whole video because it was clearly well thought out and put together.

[andrewfreeman]

Just bought the New LG (White) unit 200sq for a small room. Great price @ $299 looking forward to using it!

[RaoulEvilD]

Very clear and complete enough explanations, very well though test setup and procedure, very well organized presentation, I am suprized by how satisfied I am at going through this video. Thank you very much!

[Koioseter]

We live in Minnesota, where last summer we hit 100 on June 1st. In addition, we have horrible humidity and dewpoints (many days dewpoints are 65-70 deg). We moved into an 850 sq ft house and last summer was our first here. We've no central air so we decided to get the LG 14, 000 BTU unit. We moved air through the house with 2 box fans. If you're going to get one of these, you can get a lot more mileage if you wrap the exhaust hose with reflective duct wrap. Also, since there's so much humidity that gets pulled, you'll need an automatic condensate pump to get rid of the water. This did really well for us, and only struggled on the hottest of days.


This year we'll have a window unit, but we'll put the LG in our bedroom for nighttime use.

[frankification]

People complain about single hose units being trash and all I gotta say is I have a 14000 btu single hose unit and it’s a beast in the summer

[DoritosResidue]

A little tip insulate the hose.i use reflectix insulation. Amazon, home depot or Lowes

[YaaanX]

"The Best Portable Air Conditioner of 2020" Video was made in 2018. Can you look into the future?