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Frigidaire FRA052XT7 5,000 BTU Mini Window Air Conditioner |
  The units are working great – quiet and cool! They are small enough to be removed for winter, too! |
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O2Cool 1086 Cool Box Personal Air Conditioner with Smart Power Technology |
 Brought one about three weeks ago and used it twice. The first time it worked perfect. I used a combo of ice/pre-frozen packs and got the best results. The second time I used it the mister did not work. Plently of water in the tray and you could hear the mister pump , but no mist. I contacted AMAZON for a replacement. The next day when I came home from work I could not believe my eyes. AMAZON over-nighted me a new one. I like the four different sources of power. It’s easy to carry. I like the way the unit performs. |
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Frigidaire 6000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner |
 The Frigidaire 6000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner works very well and is very quiet. Its small size enables it to fit most windows. |
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Frigidaire FRA054XT7 5,000 BTU Window-Mounted Mini Room Air Conditioner |
 Frigidaire’s FRA054XT7 5,000 BTU Window-Mounted Mini Room Air Conditioner is perfect for small size rooms up to 165 square feet. This unit features rotary controls and top full-width air discharge. The antimicrobial filter reduces bacteria, room odors, and other airborne particles for a comfortable environment. And the included pleated quick mount window mounting kit makes this air conditioner easy to install. |
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PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER (YOUR PERSONAL COOLING SYSTEM!) |
 You can barely feel a trickle of a breeze. You’d have to hold this thing RIGHT against your face to feel any coolness. Absolutely useless. Especially since it’s very bulk makes it anything but “personal”, as in something thats comfortabley hand held. Also it’s almost impossible to open the battery compartment (and it would have been nice to know you needed a tiny phillips head to do it), and when we finally did, put the batteries and turned it on it was, of course an utter disappointment. With the frozen water bottle in, is it cooler? Sure…I suppose, but since the cool air isn’t forced out enough to feel it, it’s pointless. Save. Your. Money. This is very poorly designed. |
Top 5 Mini Air Conditioners
Benefits of Buying A Mini Air Conditioner
If you find yourself wishing your apartment or house was cooler, or had better air circulation, or both, then a mini air conditioner may be the way to go. Plenty of people use fans—personal fans, oscillating fans, window fans, ceiling fans—but depending on where you live, this simply might not cut it.
Especially in hot climates (or in places that are at least hot during parts of the year), a mini air conditioning can make the difference between feeling miserable and feeling comfortable. Mini air conditioners, most often, sit in the window of your home. They are meant to cool not the whole house (as central cooling does, if you decide to go with central cooling and live in the Phoenix area as I do checkout this site for Phoenix air conditioning contractors), but a certain amount of space.
When you go to buy a mini air conditioner, you will see that the different sizes of air conditioner are designed to cool, of course, differently sized spaces. Most air conditioners will say on the box (or in the product description, should you be buying online), the square or cubic feet that that particular machine is designed to keep cool.
If you are really concerned with controlling the temperature of a full living space (such as a house or large condo), you could purchase several mini air conditioners to keep throughout the house (keep in mind that the most popular style, the window air conditioner, is not at all portable and cannot be easily shifted to accommodate whatever room you may be in).
But the smarter way to use these appliances is to choose one or two rooms in which they are most important. For most people, this is likely to be a bedroom so they can regulate a comfortable temperature for sleeping. A home office would be another good choice, since this is a room that, presumably, is used regularly and cannot be easily ‘swapped’ to sit in a different room that is cooler.
No matter how many mini air conditioners you decide on, or where you choose to put them, make sure you shop around to find the one that meets your needs not just in terms of output (the space it can cool) but also energy consumption (Energy Star certification means less drain on your power bill), size, and price.
Mini Air Conditioners: What Are The Options?
When it comes to purchasing a mini air conditioner to help cool your home, there are a few basic factors that all of your choices share, but there are also many options to choose between. Here is an overview of the options and differences you will find in the world of mini air conditioners.
- Single unit vs. Split unit. Mini air conditioners come in mostly just these two configurations. Single units generally fit into a window, or through a hole cut into the wall for a more permanent fixture. Split units, also quite permanent, involve an inside vent and controls plus an outside cooling mechanism, attached with hoses in the wall.
- Size / power output. The power of your mini air conditioner will vary depending on the amount of space you need to cool. A small apartment will need a bigger air conditioning unit than a small bedroom will. Measure your square footage before you go shopping so you know what size mini air conditioner to look for (the space it can cool should be listed in the specifications).
- Features. Some units are more high tech and have more functions than others. Almost all new mini air conditioners will come with a remote control. Some models, you will set to a certain coldness level or temperature, and it will put out that level of air consistently until you change it. Others are more sensitive, and will keep track of the temperature and put out cold air as needed to maintain the selection of your choosing.
- Energy / efficiency. Some models are Energy Star approved because they have been designed and manufactured in such a way that they use less energy in almost any mode. Others have specific energy saving settings, which will alternate between blowing and resting, which maintains the temperature overall without using as much power.
- Heating. Most mini air conditioners are just air conditioners, but some do have the option of including small vent heating units in addition to the cooling function. This is, of course, much more expensive, but can be a good option if the room or small building has no heat or air conditioning and you want to provide both at once.
Four Mini Air Conditioner Tips
If you are using a mini air conditioner to keep yourself cool at home, effectively cooling the space is a bit more complex than just plugging in the unit and turning it on. Here are four tips and suggestions for cooling your room or apartment with a mini air conditioner.
- Choose the right product to begin with. Make sure you think about where you want to put your mini air conditioner and how much space you want it to cool. If you have a small apartment, the unit can probably cool the whole thing. If you have a large house, you should limit your cooling to a room or rooms that can be enclosed (like a bedroom or office, or a living room that can be closed with french doors). Buy a mini air conditioner that is meant to cool the amount of space that you will use it for.
- Don’t leave it on all day. Central air conditioning needs to be left on consistently because turning them on and off takes up more energy than just leaving them on at a moderate temperature. But mini air conditioners are different. Because they cool smaller spaces, it doesn’t take long to feel a big difference. Save energy by turning it off while you’re out of the room for any length of time (more than 15 minutes). The energy savings will really rack up.
- Take advantage of the ‘fan’ mode. Most modern mini air conditioners are like central air: they let you actively cool the air, and they also have a mode for just circulating the air. Once you’ve cooled a room down, you can use this circulation mode (or a standard fan) to keep that cool air circulating; if it gets warm again, turn the unit on cool again for a few minutes and repeat.
- Keep your doors closed. Buying a unit to cool one room then leaving the door open to ‘spread the cool out’ will not effectively cool the rest of your home, and will either prevent your first room from getting cool, or will make the unit overwork to cool the small space. Use fans or additional units to cool large or extended spaces.
How Much To Spend On A Mini Air Conditioner
If you are looking around to compare different options to keep your home cool, mini air conditioners are one way you will probably consider. On the whole, this is a great cooling option for many people for multiple reasons:
- They cost far less than central air.
- They are far more effective than fans.
- They are temporary. (Good for renters and/or short seasonal use.)
As with most products, how much you spend on a mini air conditioner depends on what you are looking for. These systems can cost anywhere from $100-$1,000. Of course, there is a lot of product variation in that price span, and it’s not just the difference between brand name or quality that results in that wide span. Here are some of the things that will impact the price of a mini air conditioner:
- Style. Two main model styles are most common for mini air conditioners: single unit (the type that sits in a window) and split unit (an indoor wall-mounted part connected through the wall to an external outer unit).
- Capacity/power. How much air your mini air conditioner pumps is a large part of how much it costs. The bigger the space you are trying to cool, the more power your air conditioner needs and, therefore, the more it costs. The cooling capacity should be listed in the product specifications, so measure your space ahead of time to make sure you buy the right size.
- Features. The more features, the more you pay, so consider which features you really will use and which you won’t. Most mini air conditioners today come with a remote control. Some have digital temperature control (set it to a specific temperature, and it will regulate automatically to make sure that temperature is always maintained), while others are just set on a coolness level and pump out that level regardless.
The other cost to keep in mind is an unseen one: energy. When buying a mini air conditioner, consider looking for an Energy Star approved appliance. This is certified to be more energy efficient than its competitors, so it will do the same job without costing you extra on your power bill each month.
Getting The Most Out Of Your Mini Air Conditioner
If you’re using a mini air conditioner to cool your living space, make sure you’re using it wisely. A mini air conditioner is often an energy efficient alternative to central air, and is a great option for renters. But make sure that you use it correctly. Following these two most important tips will mean that you not only get your mini air conditioner to work at its coolest, but you will likely save money at the same time.
Scale is everything: The key to choosing a mini air conditioner, and then to using it correctly, is pairing the right unit with the space you are wanting to cool. Different units are built to accommodate different sized spaces; smaller spaces require less power, and larger spaces require more. Most should have footage specifications right on the box.
If you live in a small apartment, you may be able to cool your whole home with just one mini air conditioner. If you live in a large house, you will need to decide where you want to put it, and how much space you want it to cool. For example, if you can handle some warmth during the day, but really need cooler air to get to sleep, consider putting a mini air conditioner in each bedroom, for use only at night.
Closed door policy. When you have a mini air conditioner designated to a certain space, keep it for that space. Depending on how your unit works, opening a door to try and spread the cool air down the hallway may just force your unit to work harder. (This is for units set at a certain temperature, which will adjust their output to maintain it.)
Units that you just set on a level and blast away may have some impact on other parts of the house, but for the most part, the best way to use a mini air conditioner is to close off your small space when you are using it, and let the unit do its job. This will save electricity and will cool down you space a lot faster.