Climate change has been well documented as one of the major issues that is playing a key role in the world today. This means that in the next few years, more and more people will start looking at the options of buying energy efficient air conditioners and window ACs. The demand for these products has been increasing in the recent years, and as a result, a lot of companies have started making new products. Some of the best window ACs are highlighted in this article to help you choose the right product to buy. Also, the article highlights the best window air conditioners with an average price of Rs.15,000.
Window air conditioners have been around for decades, but they’ve evolved a lot since their introduction. Before, they were called wall air conditioners because they had to be mounted on a wall. These days, they’re often called window air conditioners because many are small enough to fit through a window.
If you live in a part of the world where the temperature regularly breaks the high 40’s Celsius, you know how hard it is to keep cool in the summer. If you wish to stay cool during the hot months, you need to find an air conditioner, and you need to find the best air conditioner possible. There are different types of air conditioners, such as window air conditioners, portable air conditioners, and central air conditioners. Each is more or less efficient, and each requires cleaning and maintenance differently. There are many of the best ACs for the money.
(CNN) –
A reliable air conditioner is cheaper and more convenient than a central air conditioning system, and a big step up from an oscillating fan that only blows warm air. Although they all look the same on the outside, window air conditioners have many nuances. Even those with the same cooling capacity (measured in British thermal units) differ in terms of room cooling time, features offered and ease of installation.
For a month, we tested six of the best models on the market (all with a cooling capacity of 8,000 BTU – ideal for a medium-sized room). With all the aforementioned nuances, there were ultimately two that stood out above the rest:
The U-shaped design of the Midea is not just a nice aesthetic choice. This not only makes it easy to install the unit, but also allows you to leave the compressor outside, and the window acts as a sound barrier, so it operates much more quietly than other air conditioners we’ve tested. Not only did it cool the room faster than any other air conditioner we tested, but it was also more efficient thanks to a motorized fan that automatically moves the cool air into the room. While Midea is not the cheapest option, it proved to be the best of the air conditioners we tested by a long shot.
The LG LW8016ER is a pure device. No fancy design or clever functionality here. It simply performs the basic function of any air conditioner: It cools a medium-sized room quickly and competes with much more expensive units. Priced at $279.99, the 8,000 BTU air conditioner is the perfect option for those looking for a classic air conditioner that is easy to use and cools the room efficiently.
The best window air conditioner in the world: Midea U-shaped window air conditioner ($359.99; amazon.com)
Midea’s U-shaped design, while it may seem a little gaudy at first glance, is actually an effective improvement on the classic box-shaped air conditioners we’ve seen on windows for years. This design is not just aesthetic on the surface: This also reduces the noise level and makes the situation worse.
The installation is much less cumbersome than any other window air conditioner we have installed. As with most standard air conditioners, however, you’ll need a partner to lift this 55-pound unit into place. But with Midea, you save yourself a little effort by not having to drill the traditional left and right side into the window. Simply screw the T-bracket to the bottom of the window frame, then install the unit by centering the Midea on the bracket, closing the window and installing the included insulation on each side. (Midea got bonus points for having more shapes and sizes of insulation than any air conditioner).
Because the window can be closed further and the compressor is outside, the Midea is noticeably quieter indoors; the high fan mode makes about as much noise as the low fan mode of the other air conditioners we tested. It’s simple: Reduces the input window (pun definitely implied) of sound into the room. You will hear it, but it is a slight hum at best, which is much better than the roar of most devices when the compressor is on. And to make sure our ears didn’t deceive us, we measured all the air conditioners with a decibel meter, and Midea registered the lowest value.
We were able to cool a room from 80 degrees to 68 degrees for 45 minutes in automatic mode. Most other air conditioners we tested, including our budget choice, took an hour or more to reach this level. They didn’t have to wait long for Midea to start cooling the room. This is a big plus, especially on humid nights when you don’t want to wait a minute to cool down. The compressor starts almost immediately, while with others it may take several minutes.
Cooling the Midea is facilitated by the main ventilation, a motorized damper that automatically raises and lowers to cool the entire room. It’s like being in Space Odyssey, but the cooling is more efficient because the airflow isn’t static.
Pressing the Wi-Fi button on your device will pair the Midea with a corresponding app. This is the best we’ve tested and works on both Android and iOS. Through the app, you can control the temperature, set the mode, and adjust the top airflow valve. You can even sync Midea with Amazon Alexa. So if you have an Echo or Alexa-enabled smart speaker, you can ask the Amazon assistant to turn on the air conditioner or raise the temperature.
A runner with a classic design: LG LW8016ER ($279.99; homedepot.com)
The LG LW8016ER may have an outdated housing design – no frills here – but it has everything you need in an air conditioner.
The installation is a classic window air conditioner: You install the left and right sides with four screws (two on each side), then lift the LG LW8016ER into place. Like any air conditioner, they weigh about 50-60 pounds (this LG weighs 58 pounds), so again we recommend a team lift. And you have to hold the air conditioner when you close the window from above.
Once installed, this LG air conditioner performed just as well as the smarter, more expensive air conditioners we tested. When we tested all the air conditioners, we let the room warm up to 80 degrees before turning on the air conditioner. The LW8016ER took about an hour to reach 68 degrees in automatic mode. Although this LG cools down a little slower than the Midea, it doesn’t fall short of the other models we tested.
It’s not as loud as some of the other units in our test setup, but it’s certainly not quiet, as you can hear the fan and compressor running. In our tests, it also rattled the window and frame, increasing the noise. We recommend using Eco mode at night as it is more conservative with fan speed, although it does not significantly reduce noise. As with Midea and the other air conditioners we tested, we measured the noise level with a decibel meter. LG was on the low side, but still caused more noise than Midea.
Without built-in smart features, the device’s operation is limited to a series of buttons on the LG LW8016ER or the small remote. Several modes are available, including a timer. The remote is infrared, so it has to be pointed at the air conditioner, but it’s actually pretty handy and gives access to the main controls. This is perfect if you don’t want to get out of bed to make adjustments.
Although the LG doesn’t have motorized ventilation, the main ventilation has two buttons that allow it to be adjusted up and down or sideways. It’s lighter and more flexible to use than others, allowing you to make small adjustments where air flows through: old-school functionality at its best.
Once the test group for window air conditioners was chosen, we focused on developing a test protocol based on real-world use cases. All the units we tested had 8,000 BTUs, so we could compare apples to apples.
We have divided the categories as follows:
Configuration and installation
- Packaging: We paid attention to the quality of the packaging of the air conditioner, with proper padding and tape to prevent damage during transportation. We have also made sure that the grille is properly attached and protects the filter. We have found that most blocks contain all the necessary aspects of good insulation – including foam blocks, foam rollers and side vents.
- Instructions: What struck us was the level of detail in the user manuals and quick start guide. How easy is it for them to successfully install the air conditioner in your window and insulate it properly? If the air conditioner has Wi-Fi, does that explain the app setting?
Design
- Hardware design : We have checked the design and materials used in all air conditioners we have tested. Does it look like a solid metal construction or a mixture of materials? Was it easy to grab and lift the air conditioner for installation? Did the brackets feel sturdy and not wobble after installation?
Cooling
- General cooling: Perhaps the most important part of an air conditioner, we have paid particular attention to how each air conditioner cools the room. To establish the standard, our test room started at a temperature of 80 degrees each time, and we measured the time it took for the room to cool to 68 degrees. We used different thermometers at the air conditioner ventilation and sensors in the room.
- Modes : Does the air conditioner offer different models to choose from for cooling? Was there a custom setting?
Noise level
- Volume: We measured the sound of the air conditioner in different modes and at different fan speeds with a decibel meter and an audio recorder. We also tried turning on the air conditioners before bed or at night.
- Compressor sound : After the compressor was turned on for proper cooling, we measured again (with a decibel meter and an audio recorder) to determine the noise level.
Administration
- Physical Buttons: We have listed the positions and settings that can be made directly on the air conditioner itself. Was the normal digital LED screen big and bright enough? Is there a delay between pressing the button and the change?
- Remote control: We tested the included remote at different distances, either by pointing it at the corresponding sensor or not. We have also drawn attention to the existence of delays.
- Intelligent control: If the air conditioner offered smart features, we tested them on multiple devices (Android and iOS). We also tested all AC connections with larger smart ecosystems like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit.
Warranty
- We checked the length of the manufacturer’s warranty and what it covers.
LG LW8017ERSM ($379.99; amazon.com)
The smart version of our economical version has proven to be excellent. It did offer control via LG ThinQ for Android and iOS, including all basic functions and even programming, but no integration with smart home ecosystems like Midea. Even this new step did not lead to faster cooling or noise reduction.
Frigidaire FFRE083wa1 ($329.99; amazon.com)
Like the other Frigidaires air conditioners we tested, the FFRE083wa1 proved to be a compact window air conditioner with an old-fashioned design. The fan is relatively centrally located, with an accessible filter under the front grille and a compressor at the rear. It’s a modest design, but we preferred the LG’s smaller fan control. The Frigidaire FFRE083wa1 was also very noisy, making it difficult to concentrate on anything else when the appliance was on in the room.
Frigidaire FHWW083wb1 ($299.95, originally $359.99; amazon.com)
The FHWW083wb1 features the Frigidaire app for Android and iOS for smart control. The installation took longer, but in the end it was an easy way to control the air conditioning, even if it took a while. The FHWW083wb1 did not undercut the cheaper Frigidaire by cooling our test room from 80 degrees to 68 degrees in about an hour and 15 minutes. For that price, you’d be better off forgoing the smart controls and going for a quieter LG unit, or spending a little more for a better Midea unit.
Frigidaire GHWW083wb1 ($415.28, originally $449; homedepot.com)
This Gallery model from Frigidaire was the most expensive of all the models we tested, and it was able to cool the room quickly, with a time close to that of the Midea. It works with the same intelligent ecosystem as the other Frigidaire models and has a slightly richer design with softer plastic. Like LG and Midea, there is a multi-directional main vent that pushes air in one direction. And while Frigidaire claims to be the quietest appliance, LG and Midea have proven to be even quieter. It seems like you have to pay the price for a brand name with some new features, but in our test, the Midea U-verse outperformed this model in almost every area.
Read the rest of the CNN Underscored practice test:https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/24/travel/best-window-ac-reviews/index.html For years, we’ve been told to get our windows cleaned. But if you’re like most people, you have a hard time finding a reliable service to keep your windows free of mildew and dirt, without spending a ton of money.. Read more about best window air conditioner and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most reliable window air conditioner brand?
The most reliable window air conditioner brand is LG.
Are portable ACs better than window?
Window ACs are better than portable ACs because they are more efficient and can cool a larger area.
Which window should I put my AC in?
The AC should be placed in the window that is closest to the outside.
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