Credit:
Reviewed.com / Kevin Oliver
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Credit:
Reviewed.com / Kevin Oliver
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You'll barely hear this AC unit as it quickly and efficiently cools your room. It also features smartphone and smart speaker compatibility. Read More
A unique, N-shaped design allows this smart A/C to sit more deeply along a window’s sill. It performs well and works best for small spaces. Read More
This unit cools a room without putting up much of a sweat. Like other newer LG units, it also features smartphone and smart speaker compatibility. Read More
This design focus of this air conditioner doesn't detract from its incredible performance which beats out many of its competitors with higher BTUs. Read More
Midea's AC unit can cool a room quickly. It also has features the big names offer at a higher price, like smartphone and smart speaker compatibility. Read More
While most window air conditioners pretty much look the same, their ability to help you survive the summer heat can vary greatly. The best window AC units can cool a room quickly and quietly—without skyrocketing your monthly power bill.
We’ve tested dozens of window air conditioners over the years. Most of the units presented here are 8000 BTU air conditioners, but that doesn’t mean they’re equally as good at cooling a room.
Plus, there’s more to a good air conditioner than cooling abilities. When testing air conditioners, we factor in ease of installation, noise during operation, energy efficiency, and more.
After evaluating the best air conditioners in our climate-controlled testing labs and in real-world settings, we chose the GE Profile Series PHC08LY (available at Amazon for $349.99) as our favorite. This 8,000 BTU window air conditioner offers an agreeable balance of cooling performance, energy efficiency, modern tech integration, and stylish design.
This reliable, feature-packed air conditioner from GE earned our top honors during testing.
The A/C in our testing setup. More than half of its height hangs below the window’s sill.
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Design centric
Powerful performance
Easy to install
Variety of styles and options when ordering
None that we could find
Cools a room quickly
Smartphone and smart speaker compatible
Easy to install and weather-proof
None that we could find
Quiet
Easy to install
Smart Features
Not the most attractive design
Also has heating
Intuitive controls
Easy installation
Sleek design
Quiet
Effective cooling
Difficult installation
Cools rooms quickly
Smartphone and smart speaker compatible
Energy efficient
Heavy and cumbersome
Requires two people for installation
We used a variety of temperature, humidity, and electrical usage sensors to test the air conditioners in this guide.
I’m Dave Ellerby, the Chief Scientist at Reviewed, and I've personally tested the most recent batch of window air conditioners. In the New England climate, summers can get especially hot, so I have a lot of experience using them. Our other testers include Kevin Oliver, a reviewer for sites like Reviewed, BGR, Freshome, and TechRadar, and Lindsey Vickers, a former sleep writer at Reviewed.
To make sure we were fair in our evaluation, we put the AC units (ranging from 5,000 to 14,500 BTU) through their paces in the same testing chamber—a custom-built, airtight room with its own window brace. We also take into account the expected rate of cooling for each unit.
We install each air conditioner in the climate-controlled room, making sure the temperature is as close to 80°F as possible, before turning the AC unit on at full max. Using temperature and humidity sensors we hang throughout the room, we see how long it takes the room to cool down to 70°F—both while empty and with someone in the room.
A noisy unit can be a deal-breaker for bedroom use, so we measure the noise level at the center of the room using a decibel meter while the window units are running. The decibel meter is set to the dBA weighting, a corrected form of decibel measurement in which low, often imperceivable frequencies are reduced, making it a more accurate measurement of what the human ear perceives as loudness.
In addition to collecting hard data, we evaluate the air conditioners on a subjective basis, including how easy it is to install, replace its filters, understand its manual, and use each unit. We also take weight, general awkwardness, ease of storage, and portability of each unit into account. Since no one wants an AC unit that excessively ratchets up their power bill, we measure power consumption, as well.
BTU, essentially a measure of an air conditoner's cooling strength, stands for British Thermal Unit. A BTU is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The higher an air conditioner’s BTU rating, the more heat it's capable of removing from the air.
The square footage of the room you’re trying to cool should be taken into consideration when choosing an AC. The Energy Star website provides a helpful chart that shows how many BTUs per hour are needed to cool rooms of different square footage. For example, according to Energy Star, a 8000 BTU air conditioner would have enough capacity to cool a room that is between 300 and 350 square feet.
Most of the AC units included in this roundup are Energy Star certified. A more prestigious honor is Energy Star’s Most Efficient list. Another thing to consider is CEER, or Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio. The higher the CEER, the more efficient a window air conditioner is.
Based on the units we tested, the average window AC unit puts out around 52 decibels. At this level, most air conditioners emit a low hum similar to that of a running refrigerator, which isn’t too noticeable. However, you may prefer something even quieter if you are sensitive to sound or will be sitting close to the AC unit when it’s in use.
As the name implies, window air conditioners are designed to fit most windows. However, it never hurts to measure the size of your window opening to ensure an AC unit will fit seamlessly into the window sill. Also, if you have casement windows or sliders, you may need to consider an AC unit designed for those types of openings.
You also may want to consider the weight of the window air conditioners since these heavy, boxy appliances have to be installed by hand. In general, you install a window AC unit by first opening the window, resting the unit on the window sill, and lowering the window down to trap the unit in place. You can then lock the window in place to secure the unit with an included kit or a spare L-bracket.
As air conditioners have evolved, many are Wi-Fi enabled so you can control the AC with an app, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or some other smart technology. Other features that you might find include quiet and sleep modes, timers and a remote control.
Kevin Oliver is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.
Lindsey writes about sleep, lifestyle, and more for Reviewed. In her waking hours, she likes to spend time outside, read, cook, and bake. She holds a master’s in journalism from Boston University and bachelors' degrees in English Literature and Anthropology from the University of Utah.
David Ellerby
Chief Scientist
Dave Ellerby is Reviewed's Chief Scientist and has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester. He has over 25 years of experience designing tests and analyzing data.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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