Portable air conditioners are usually what people turn to in hot weather conditions, but for apartment or condominium dwellers, window or central air conditioning systems may not be plausible due to size or cost constraints.  As such, finding an efficient way to stay cool in the summer may seem like a daunting task.  However, with the advent of the portable air conditioner, you can now experience cooling comfort without having to permanently install an air conditioning unit or even have to pay sky-high energy bills that come along with these traditional cooling systems.

Portable air conditioners, much like central or window air conditioners, produce a cooling effect via the refrigeration cycle.  Room air circulates over cold evaporator coils to dehumidify the air, while the room air also flows over the hot condenser and is exhausted outdoors.  However, portable air conditioners and window/central air conditioners differ somewhat in design.  Instead of having to be permanently installed, a portable AC simply requires venting of the exhaust with the help of an included window kit and a collapsible duct similar to a clothes dryer duct.  In fact, portable air conditioners can even be vented out of a drop ceiling or wall if windows aren’t available.  For mobility, casters are usually built into the unit so that you can move the portable AC from room to room with ease. 

With that said, there are a number of portable air conditioners available, and of course, some cool a room faster than others and the more advanced units even come with additional features such as air filters and evaporative technology.  Because summer is quickly approaching, our product team has been hard at work trying to review the best portable ACs out there, and we recently came across the NewAir ACP-1400E.  To simulate typical usage, we situated the NewAir ACP-1400E in the 300 square foot bedroom of our product editor’s home on a recent sunny Southern California afternoon, and here were our findings:

Design and Style

Upon first glance, we were most impressed by the ACP-1400E’s modern style and design.  It was lightweight, easy to maneuver between bedrooms, and featured a white body with silver accents.  Its unique cubic shape was different from all of the other portable air conditioners we’ve seen, and this made it perfect for our slightly cramped testing area.  The LCD control panel provided extremely clear contrast, while the buttons were large and quite intuitive.  We also noticed that the unit’s louvers were fully adjustable and this helped us control the airflow to our needs.  Furthermore, we found that the telescopic window kit included with the unit was easy to install and that the exhaust hose was fully extendable.  In fact, in just minutes, we were able to get the ACP-1400E portable air conditioner up and running.

14,000 BTUs of Power

When shopping for a portable air conditioner, you’ll find the term “BTU” commonly used.  As an acronym for “British Thermal Units,” this refers a portable AC’s cooling capacity and can range anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 BTUs.  Therefore, the higher the BTU value, the stronger the air conditioner.  The NewAir ACP-1400E boasted 14,000 verified BTUs of cooling power, and we were extremely pleased at how cool our bedroom became.  In fact, we unknowingly had it set on the lowest setting initially and we were even amazed at the cold blasts of air that came from the unit. 

Works as a Dehumidifier

Due to the refrigeration cycle, all air conditioners will act as dehumidifiers, and the NewAir ACP-1400E is no exception.  In fact, when not in air conditioning mode, the unit worked as a dehumidifier/air circulator.  The ACP-1400E also utilized advanced auto-evaporative technology which eliminated the need to empty water buckets in ideal conditions. 

Complete Air Purification

In addition to powerful cooling abilities, the NewAir ACP-1400E portable air conditioner helped clean the air with its ionizer, but it also had one feature we’ve never seen in any other unit before: a germicidal UV light.  UV light technology has been commonly used in the water purification industry to remove harmful microbiological impurities, and in air purification, this technology works similarly.  In other words, light generated by a powerful UV lamp oxidizes contaminants such as mold, viruses, and bacteria.  Thus, with the NewAir ACP-1400E, you stay cool and breathe easier.