When summer approaches, a window air conditioner can be your best friend, an easy and relatively inexpensive way to transform your room from a sauna into an oasis.
While it may seem that window ACs have remained relatively unchanged, a few recent innovations help them cool rooms more efficiently.
In this article
- Best Windows ACs for a: Small Room Midsized Room Large Room
- How CR Tests Window ACs
U-shaped units from companies like Danby, Frigidaire, Midea, and Soleus allow you to raise and lower your window while the air conditioner is installed, taking advantage of a cool breeze or insulating your room from the heat and noise outside. Many of these models performed very well in our lab tests and can be found in this roundup of top-rated units. But note that U-shaped ACs can be tricky to install and simply don’t fit in some windows.
More on Air Conditioners
How to Properly Size a Window Air Conditioner
Most and Least Reliable Room Air Conditioners
Quietest Window Air Conditioners
How to Install a Window Air Conditioner
ACs with an inverter compressor can ease up or down depending on the temperature of the room, instead of just blasting on like a conventional compressor, potentially saving you money on your electric bill. They’re generally quieter, too.
Regardless of the technology, though, most of the window air conditioners in our ratings (available to CR members) do a pretty good job of keeping you cool. What distinguishes one from another is how quickly and quietly the unit cools a room—and how easy it is to operate.
It’s also important to get the right size air conditioner for the space you want to cool. And don’t overlook the stuff that comes in the box. The brackets, weatherstripping, and insulating panels go a long way toward maximizing your unit’s performance. “Most new window ACs come with panels you place over the plastic adjustable side panels to boost efficiency,” says Chris Regan, CR’s senior test engineer for air conditioners.
Read on for the top picks for each room size based on CR’s latest tests. For more information on your options, aside from central air, see ourair conditioner buying guide, which covers portable air conditioners, too.
For a Small Room
100 to 250 Square Feet
For a Midsized Room
250 to 350 Square Feet
For a Large Room
350 to 550 Square Feet
How CR Tests Window Air Conditioners
At Consumer Reports, we test room air conditioners in a special climate-controlled chamber in our labs in Yonkers, N.Y. We adjust the size of the chamber based on the space—small, medium, or large—each air conditioner is designed to keep cool. We crank the temperature in the chamber up to 90°F, then measure how long it takes the AC to lower the temperature by 10°F.
We also gauge how well the air conditioner holds the set temperature. And because noisy air conditioners can be annoying, we measure how loud each unit is on its lowest and highest settings. We test for ease of use, which determines how simple a model is to install and operate. We also take energy efficiency into account, giving higher scores to more efficient models.
In addition to our performance tests, we ask CR members about the room air conditioners they already own. Our currentratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, available to members, are based on results for 6,209 room air conditioners purchased new between 2012 and 2022. Read more in "The Most and Least Reliable Room Air Conditioners.” The survey data becomes part of the unit’s Overall Score.
@consumerreports Need a new A/C? Keep cool—we’ve got you covered 🥶. See the best window air conditioners of 2024 through the link in our bio. #hometok #airconditioner #airconditioning #summer2024
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Allen St. John
Allen St. John has been a senior product editor at CR since 2016, focusing on digital privacy, audio devices, printers, and home products. He was a senior editor at Condé Nast and a contributing editor at publications including Road & Track and The Village Voice. A New York Times bestselling author, he's also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Montclair, N.J., with his wife, their two children, and their dog, Rugby.
