Best Window Air Conditioners of 2024
Top choices for small, midsized, and large rooms from Frigidaire, LG, Midea, and more
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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.
And while it may seem like window ACs change very little, a few relatively recent innovations help them cool your room more efficiently.
- 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. But these units can be tricky to install and simply don’t fit in some windows.
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 AC 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 current ratings 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.