To test the portable air conditioners, we heat a room controlled by the climate at 92 degrees. Once the part has reached 92 degrees, we turn off the fire and lit the portable alternating current unit in cooling mode, with a medium fan speed and a set temperature of 68 degrees. We execute the unit for 2 hours and 30 minutes and repeat the same test twice per unit AC. We then use the data collected during tests to measure two things:
- How regularly the portable air conditioner keeps the room less than 5% of 68 degrees
- How much he has regularly kept the room at less than 5% of the lowest temperature in the AC unit
Once we have this information, we compare the results between the units to see which have maintained the temperature defined during the longest period. We also examine which units have maintained their lowest individual temperature for the longest. We did so that if a unit does not reach 68 degrees in the allocated time, we have always been able to follow how much he kept the lowest temperature he reached. The higher the percentage, the better the unit.
When you look at the performance, it is important to note that the units we have tested do not have identical specifications, so direct performance comparisons are not the only thing we consider when we arrive in our list of the best Portable air conditioners. We also examine the features of a unit and other options in reference to its price and specifications to determine its overall value.
We also do not make direct performance comparisons when we examine very different sizes and capacities, for example, the 12,000-BTU MAP14HS1TBL against the frigidaire of 5500-BTU FHPC082AC1. For this reason, we compared the performance results in two groups according to the coverage area. More specifically, we compared the small MIDEA, Black + Decker, fridge, Whirlpool and GE (which all have coverage areas of up to 350 square feet). Whynter, Haier, LG and MIDEA (which have coverage areas from 500 to 550 square feet) with each other.
