Best Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioners Review
Liam McCabe & Tyler created Wells Lynch
This post was made in cooperation with Wirecutter. If the reader purchases wirecutter's own selected editorial recommendation book, you can get an affiliate commission to support the work. Read the full story.
After 65 hours of research, we compare 110 handheld air conditioners and test 11 of the best models before recommending the Whynter Elite ARC-122DS. Keep in mind, however, that handheld air conditioners are stored indoors and are therefore very inefficient and they can suffer from no work at all in very hot weather. Dual hose models such as Whynter are more effective and effective than single hose models. If possible, however, you should use AC on the windows or walls instead. It is usually less expensive and takes up less space.
The Whynter Elite ARC-122DS is the best choice, but we saw this model and others experienced stock issues. If you want to wait longer, you can purchase from back order.
Why does the portable AC not work well?
The air conditioner operates by moving heat from the inside to the outside. Most types of air conditioners are designed to be installed at least partially outdoors so that heat can be released manually. However, since portable AC is installed throughout the room, it is necessary to actively push the heat onto the exhaust hose that is vented through the windows (a kind of clothes dryer). It's a tough battle.
This design has some bad side effects. In the worst case, warm air is drawn into the room through the cracks around the doors, windows and flooring. Another side effect is that the portable AC's exhaust system wastes a lot of cool air. Other types of AC almost completely separate indoor and outdoor air. The room air is cooled as it passes through the evaporator and the outdoor air draws heat away from the condenser. However, portable AC uses indoor air that has already consumed time and energy to be already cooled to draw heat from the condenser and pours it out.
Finally, both the body and the hose release some heat back into the room before being pushed through the vent. The Department of Energy determined that the hoses of the portable AC emit approximately 3 Btu per square foot while the body case emits enough heat to offset approximately 2% of the cooling.
How we picked and tested
OLYMPUS Digital Camera
Portable ACs all use the same technology, but differ in size and shape. Photo: Liam McCabe
We considered both single and dual hose models, but preferred the latter. Together with these huge competitors, we have focused on models with high energy efficiency rates, removing most of those with an EER below 9.0.
We used models with the highest owner ratings because good ratings generally indicate good reliability. The process price of a portable AC with this capability is between $ 325 and $ 400 for a single hose and $ 400 to $ 500 for a dual hose.
In our most recent testing, we purchased and purchased 8 finalists (5 single hoses and 3 double hoses) that were fair and widely available at the time of our study for testing purposes: Honeywell MN10CESWW, Honeywell HL10CES, Whynter ARC-12S, Black + Decker BPACT12WT, LG LP1217GSR, Haier HPND14XCT, Whynter ARC-14S and Whynter Elite ARC-122DS. (We did not test Elite ARC-122DHP - version with heater and drain pump - according to Whynter because the other components are identical to the ARC-122DS.)
For four years we have dealt with portable air conditioners and have tested temperature, noise, humidity, airflow, efficiency and portability. At that time, however, we could not develop a system that could reliably and consistently measure the cooling performance of a given model. This is a generally difficult category to test, and even the energy department acknowledges that there are too many variables that affect AC performance in the final rule on page 122.
In other words, I found a way to measure how much the machine would penetrate into a room. We used a portable anemometer to get the basic wind speed (feet per minute), multiply that number by duct area (square feet), and weighed the results (as described here) to reach a typical infiltration airflow measurement. Cubic feet per minute .
To test the noise, an audiovisual expert and Wirecutter contributor, Geoff Morrison, advised me to connect the calibrated microphone to iPhone 7, launch the SPLnFFT Noise Meter app, and assign a C rating in a slow response.
We also connected each unit to the Kill A Watt electricity usage gauge and measured the advertised energy usage against actual numbers. Finally, we conducted a habitability test. We pulled units around the apartment by comparing the maneuverability of the casters and how smoothly the threshold and the carpet were rolled smoothly. Best Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioners Review
This post was made in cooperation with Wirecutter. If the reader purchases wirecutter's own selected editorial recommendation book, you can get an affiliate commission to support the work. Read the full story.
After 65 hours of research, we compare 110 handheld air conditioners and test 11 of the best models before recommending the Whynter Elite ARC-122DS. Keep in mind, however, that handheld air conditioners are stored indoors and are therefore very inefficient and they can suffer from no work at all in very hot weather. Dual hose models such as Whynter are more effective and effective than single hose models. If possible, however, you should use AC on the windows or walls instead. It is usually less expensive and takes up less space.
The Whynter Elite ARC-122DS is the best choice, but we saw this model and others experienced stock issues. If you want to wait longer, you can purchase from back order.
Why does the portable AC not work well?
The air conditioner operates by moving heat from the inside to the outside. Most types of air conditioners are designed to be installed at least partially outdoors so that heat can be released manually. However, since portable AC is installed throughout the room, it is necessary to actively push the heat onto the exhaust hose that is vented through the windows (a kind of clothes dryer). It's a tough battle.
This design has some bad side effects. In the worst case, warm air is drawn into the room through the cracks around the doors, windows and flooring. Another side effect is that the portable AC's exhaust system wastes a lot of cool air. Other types of AC almost completely separate indoor and outdoor air. The room air is cooled as it passes through the evaporator and the outdoor air draws heat away from the condenser. However, portable AC uses indoor air that has already consumed time and energy to be already cooled to draw heat from the condenser and pours it out.
Finally, both the body and the hose release some heat back into the room before being pushed through the vent. The Department of Energy determined that the hoses of the portable AC emit approximately 3 Btu per square foot while the body case emits enough heat to offset approximately 2% of the cooling.
How we picked and tested
OLYMPUS Digital Camera
Portable ACs all use the same technology, but differ in size and shape. Photo: Liam McCabe
We considered both single and dual hose models, but preferred the latter. Together with these huge competitors, we have focused on models with high energy efficiency rates, removing most of those with an EER below 9.0.
We used models with the highest owner ratings because good ratings generally indicate good reliability. The process price of a portable AC with this capability is between $ 325 and $ 400 for a single hose and $ 400 to $ 500 for a dual hose.
In our most recent testing, we purchased and purchased 8 finalists (5 single hoses and 3 double hoses) that were fair and widely available at the time of our study for testing purposes: Honeywell MN10CESWW, Honeywell HL10CES, Whynter ARC-12S, Black + Decker BPACT12WT, LG LP1217GSR, Haier HPND14XCT, Whynter ARC-14S and Whynter Elite ARC-122DS. (We did not test Elite ARC-122DHP - version with heater and drain pump - according to Whynter because the other components are identical to the ARC-122DS.)
For four years we have dealt with portable air conditioners and have tested temperature, noise, humidity, airflow, efficiency and portability. At that time, however, we could not develop a system that could reliably and consistently measure the cooling performance of a given model. This is a generally difficult category to test, and even the energy department acknowledges that there are too many variables that affect AC performance in the final rule on page 122.
In other words, I found a way to measure how much the machine would penetrate into a room. We used a portable anemometer to get the basic wind speed (feet per minute), multiply that number by duct area (square feet), and weighed the results (as described here) to reach a typical infiltration airflow measurement. Cubic feet per minute .
To test the noise, an audiovisual expert and Wirecutter contributor, Geoff Morrison, advised me to connect the calibrated microphone to iPhone 7, launch the SPLnFFT Noise Meter app, and assign a C rating in a slow response.
We also connected each unit to the Kill A Watt electricity usage gauge and measured the advertised energy usage against actual numbers. Finally, we conducted a habitability test. We pulled units around the apartment by comparing the maneuverability of the casters and how smoothly the threshold and the carpet were rolled smoothly. Best Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioners Review
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