The Best Portable Air Conditioner in 2024

If you’re tired of having to hunker down in your basement to hide from the summer heat, you probably aren’t alone. Central air conditioning usually costs thousands of dollars to install and since Canada doesn’t get super hot most of the year, many people would rather not make that hefty of an investment. 

All that being said, there is a way that you can escape the dreaded summer heat without hiding out in your basement or shelling out thousands of dollars for central air conditioning. A portable air conditioning unit can be a great compromise – you’ll be able to stay comfortable in someplace other than your basement without paying a ton for a traditional indoor air conditioner unit. 

Now here comes another problem – there’s a lot of portable air conditioners out there. And of course, you want to find the best portable air conditioning unit for your home.  So, that means having to compare a bunch of different portable air conditioners until you find one that’s just right. Sifting through countless portable air conditioner reviews probably isn’t your idea of a good time, though. 

Not to worry though – we’ve already gone through a multitude of portable air conditioner reviews and selected the top available portable ACs on the market for you to compare. Whether you’re looking for a tiny portable air conditioner or a powerful portable air conditioner, you’re sure to find the best portable AC unit for your home in this guide. 

While everyone’s idea of the perfect portable air conditioner will vary, there are still a few common things to consider about every unit that you come across. 

Portability – It seems pretty obvious, but you should consider whether or not a particular unit is portable in your own specific circumstances. Some portable air conditioning units can get pretty large and heavy – if you’re not capable of moving your unit to where it needs to be, there’s no point in purchasing it. Some portable air conditioning units have wheels which help make them easier to move around. 

Decibel Rating/Noise – Portable air conditioners definitely make some noise, regardless of the model or size. Make you sure you take a look at the decibel rating for any portable air conditioners you’re considering – you don’t want to be stuck with one that makes enough noise to keep you up all night on a hot summer’s night. 

BTU/British Thermal Units and Coverage Area– Simply put, the BTU rating on your portable air conditioning unit tells you how powerful it is. If you know the BTU rating of a portable air conditioner, you’ll be able to approximate how much of an area it can cool down. Lowe’s has a helpful approximation of what BTU rating you should look for based on the size of the area/room you want to cool down as follows: 

• 150 to 350 Sq Ft: Look for a 5,000- to 8,000-BTU unit 
• 350 to 550 Sq Ft: Look for an 8,000- to 12,000-BTU unit 
• 550 to 1,050 Sq Ft: Look for a 12,000- to 18,500-BTU unit 
• 1,050 to 1,600 Sq Ft: Look for an 18,500- to 25,000-BTU unit

Price – Even though purchasing a portable AC is much cheaper than installing an air conditioning system, it still can be quite expensive. Some portable ACs come with basic features while others have more advanced characteristics. A small basic portable AC would cost around $300, but for the one that would have more features like high energy efficiency, smart connection to your phone, and dehumidifier, be prepared to spend closer to $1000.   

Fan speed – Most portable air conditioners come with two fan speeds (although some have more), so you could control how fast the room cools off. For instance, slow speed is ideal for keeping the temperature steady during colder days, while medium speed can maintain temperature during hot days, and high speed is made for cooling off the room as fast as possible. 

Built-in timer – Having a built-in timer in your portable air conditioner is not only convenient but can also help to save on electricity costs. A timer on a portable AC provides you with the freedom to set it up and leave the house without worrying it will run for hours unnecessarily. 

Portable air conditioners don’t come cheap and with so many options out there, you don’t want to risk spending a lot only to find out the unit you bought wasn’t so great. We’ve spent over 10 hours comparing and selecting the best portable air conditioners via considering verified customer reviews as well as tester analysis from trusted sources, such as Consumer Reports.

For this buying guide, we chose the best available portable air conditioners regardless of the price for the most part. Portable air conditioners are a little bit of a pricey investment, so we feel it’s worth it to spend a little more to get a unit that works really well and that has all the features you need. 

We also considered features that go hand in hand with air cooling – for example, dehumidifying functions can help a room feel more comfortable by reducing mugginess. We went through over 20 portable air conditioners and only took into consideration portable air conditioners with a rating of at least 4.0 stars on online retailers for our top picks. 

What is a portable air conditioner? 

It’s pretty much what the name suggests – portable air conditioners are air conditioners that are mobile. For the most part, they have wheels so you can easily take them to whichever room that needs cooling. 

How do portable air conditioners work? 

The answer varies slightly, depending on if you have a single hose portable air conditioner or a dual hose air conditioner. A single-hose portable air conditioner will pull still air from inside a room, cool the air and distribute it through the room. In addition to this, single-hose portable air conditioners take excess warm air and moisture and funnel it outside through a window via the hose. Dual-hose portable air conditioners essentially function the same, except one hose pulls in air from outside to cool and distribute in the room while the other hose is used to funnel excess warm air and moisture outside through a window. 

What are the main portable air conditioner benefits?

A portable air conditioner has plenty of benefits that can make your life more convenient during hot seasons. Firstly, you can use it in an apartment/rental house where installment of window AC is prohibited. That also means that, unlike a window air conditioner, a portable AC would not block sunlight.  

Secondly, they take very little space. Most portable ACs are compact in size and they look slick and minimal enough to fit well into any home interior. A portable AC is also easy to install and most importantly it is affordable to run for it does not draw too much power. And lastly, a portable AC is an ideal choice for an RV or a trailer when you need efficient cooling during travelling.   

Do portable air conditioners work? 

If installed properly and used in an appropriate environment, portable air conditioners should definitely work to cool whatever room you’re in. This guide should give you a good idea about if a portable air conditioner is right for you and how effective it’ll be in your home. 

How do self-evaporating portable air conditioners work? 

Whenever you use your portable air conditioning unit, you’ll probably notice that your unit needs to be drained of water occasionally, through emptying a water tray or through a drain hose. This is because air conditioners remove warm, moist air from the room they’re cooling. While they’re cooling this air, moisture is also removed from the air and it condenses into liquid water. Self-evaporating portable air conditioners will empty any collected water out through the vent hose, saving you the hassle from having to empty the water out yourself. 

What is the best portable air conditioner on the market? 

The best portable air conditioner on the market will mean something different for everybody. Some people might want a portable air conditioning unit with the most cooling power possible, while someone else may want a portable air conditioning unit that has additional features such as self-evaporation and dehumidifying. However, in general, our Top Picks list has what we at Product Reviews by EnergyRates.ca think are among the best available units out there.  

Are portable ACs and evaporative air coolers the same thing? 

A ventless air conditioner (or a portable air conditioner without hose) isn’t actually an air conditioner– it’s an evaporative cooler. However, it serves the function of making a room cooler, though by a different method. Evaporative coolers essentially pass air over a wet pad and the water from the pad evaporates into the air, which cools it. 

Portable AC with or without hose: Which one is the best? 

When you’re trying to decide between a portable AC unit with a hose or an evaporative cooler (sometimes called a portable air conditioner without hose), consider the humidity of where you live. If you live in a very humid place, chances are an evaporative won’t work too well since it adds moisture to the air and can even lead to problems with mould growth. However, if you live in a climate that has little humidity, using an evaporative cooler could be beneficial since it adds moisture. 

On the flip side, if you live in a place with a lot of humidity, making use of portable AC units is a smart idea, since they remove moisture from the air.  

How to install a portable air conditioner? 

In general, most air conditioners will come with a window adapter kit, since one of the most common places to vent an AC unit is through a window. It’s usually as simple as securing your portable air conditioner’s hose(s) through a window or a door and plugging in your unit. Note that you may have to purchase extra materials (such as plexiglass) if the kit that comes with your portable air conditioner doesn’t have enough materials to fill in the gap in your open window or door. Whenever possible, you should follow the installation manual that comes with your portable air conditioning unit. 

How to find the quietest portable air conditioner? 

If you’re concerned with finding a quiet portable air conditioner, many of them come with a decibel rating that indicates how loud they are. As you can imagine, a lower decibel rating means a quieter portable air conditioner. For reference, normal conversation is around 60 dB while a lawnmower is about 90dB. 

How do portable air conditioners drain water? 

Some will have a water tray that you’ll need to empty out while others will have a drain hose. Self evaporating portable air conditioners will empty out any water that collects through the vent hose of your portable air conditioner. 

How effective are portable air conditioners? 

Generally speaking, it depends on a few things, such as whether you have a single hose or double hose air conditioner and the size of the area you want to cool. However, you should note that portable air conditioners are generally going to be less effective at cooling than central air conditioning or a window air conditioning will be, in exchange for being a fraction of the price. 

What are window kits for portable air conditioners? 

Window kits are usually included with most portable air conditioners. In most cases, you’ll be putting your air conditioner’s hose(s) outside through a window. A window kit will include everything you need to secure the hoses in your window and fill in the open space in your open window so that warm air or insects don’t come in from the gap. 

What is the best air conditioner for apartments? 

Apartments usually have limited space, so we’re inclined to say portable conditioning units that don’t take up much space. However, it really depends on what you’re looking for – for example, you might care more about cooling power than the space taken up by a portable air conditioner. With what you want in mind, this guide should be able to give you suggestions on what portable air conditioner is right for you.  

Where can I find portable air conditioners in Canada? 

A pretty good bet would be in any home improvement stores or home hardware stores. Some places where you’d probably be able to find portable air conditioning units would be: Costco, Amazon, Kijiji, Home Depot, The Brick, Walmart and Canadian Tire. 

These products didn’t quite make the cut as the top portable air conditioning units, but they’re still quite popular among consumers. 

LG Portable Air Conditioner (LP1417GSR, 14000 BTU)

This LG portable air conditioner can cool areas up to 500 square feet and features auto-swing air vent technology and angled slats so that there are no hot spots in whatever room it is cooling. It also comes with an auto-evaporation feature, so you don’t need to constantly empty the unit of water. However, many reviews state that this unit is noisy and that some people may have issues with tripped breakers.  

Honeywell Portable Air Conditioner (HL Series, 14000 BTU) 

Here’s another 14,000 BTU portable conditioning unit you might be taking into consideration. In particular, reviewers like that this unit was easy to install and that this unit comes with dual filtration for improved air quality. 

Some common complaints associated with this unit are that the exhaust hose is too short and limits the placement of this unit and that this unit doesn’t come with a self-evaporation feature. 

However, this unit seems to be difficult to find in Canada so this probably isn’t the best option for someone who needs a portable air conditioner immediately.  

Honeywell MN10CES Portable Air Conditioner (10000 BTU, 115 Volt)  

In comparison to other portable air conditioners, this model is an older one but still does a solid job of cooling your home. With a rating of 10,000 BTU, this unit will effectively cool spaces of up to 350 square feet. It’s also on the lower-middle end of pricing – you can buy it for $459.99 at Home Depot. However, some common complaints concerning this unit are that it’s bulky and noisier than some people would be able to tolerate. 

Tosot 10,000 BTU 3-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner

Here’s another option to consider if you want to cool a small area (up to 300 square feet.) Something worth noting about this Tosot portable air conditioner is that it has a sleep mode function with a decibel rating of 49 dB – that’s approximately the same amount of noise as the hum your refrigerator makes. If you need to run your portable air conditioner throughout the night, this unit can be a good, quieter option in comparison with other units. 

Garrison Portable Air Conditioner (8500 BTU)

With a rating of 8500 BTU, this Garrison portable air conditioner should be able to cool areas of up to 350 square feet. As far as portable air conditioners go, this unit is fairly basic, with only a few features such as a 24-hour timer and auto-swing louvers for multi-directional airflow. At a price point of about $429.99, you could probably find a portable air conditioning unit with more features and more cooling power. 

Noma Portable Air Conditioner (NOMA 9,000 BTU 3-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner)

Although this portable air conditioner has a low noise level (50-52 dB) and comes with features such as dehumidifying and multi-directional airflow, the reviews are quite mixed. In particular, it’s worth noting that a lot of customers find that this portable air conditioning unit is only able to cool a room down by a few degrees. 

Arctic King Portable Air Conditioner 

This 8000 BTU air conditioner might be on your list of considerations if you’re looking to cool a space under 400 square feet. While it comes with features such as auto-restarting after power outages and air direction control, the reviews for this model seem pretty mixed. While some reviewers are impressed with this unit due to its reach, other reviewers dislike how noisy it is. 

In combination with the fact that this portable air conditioner unit seems to be difficult to find, you may be better off looking at other portable air conditioners for better availability and more consistent reviews.  

Zen Cooler

Zen Cooler portable AC reviews are pretty sparse, but there’s one thing you should take note of first and foremost. It’s actually an evaporative cooler and not so much an actual air conditioner. It has a water tank on the side that you need to fill up periodically and uses a USB charging cable for power. In essence, it cools the air by evaporating water. While it’s light (740g) and doesn’t have a hose that needs to go outside, it cools a much smaller area than most portable air conditioners. And since it relies on the evaporation of water for cooling, it might not work very well for you if you live in a humid area.