With much of the country experiencing the first heat wave of the year before summer has even officially begun, many people are rushing to invest in products that can help them cool down, whether that’s a water bottle, a tower fan or a cooling mattress. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of installing an air conditioner, one way to avoid overheating during the day is with a portable air conditioner, which requires little to no set-up and gives you the flexibility to cool whichever room you’re in. And many popular portable ACs are on sale now — some of which even double as humidifiers and fans. To help you stay cool this summer, we’ve rounded up some portable air conditioners on sale at popular retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and Lowe’s.
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Best portable air conditioners on sale now
Honeywell 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
This powerful portable air conditioner from Honeywill is at the lowest price it’s been at Best Buy in at least three months, according to Honey. With 14,000 BTUs, the brand says it can cool a room up to 700 square feet in size, and it works as a dehumidifier and fan as well as an AC. You can control it with a remote control or connect it to the WiFi and use voice commands with an Amazon Alexa device.
Frigidaire Cool Connect Smart Portable Air Conditioner
With a 4.3-star average rating from 76 Walmart shoppers, this highly rated portable air conditioner is a great option if you’re looking for a smart AC. According to the brand, the 13,000 BTU unit can cool a room up to 600 square feet in size and you can control it with your smartphone using Frigidaire’s Smart Appliances app.
BLACK+DECKER 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
This versatile portable AC from BLACK+DECKER is an air conditioner, dehumidifier and fan all in one. According to the brand, it is 10,000 BTUs and can cool a room up to 250 square feet in size.
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Costway Portable Air Conditioner
A popular pick on Walmart with a 4.5-star average rating from 365 reviews, this Costway air conditioner unit is the lowest price it’s been since March, according to Honey. With 10,000 BTUs, the brand claims it can cool a room up to 230 square feet in size, and it also works as a dehumidifier and fan.
Airemax Energy Star Portable Air Conditioner
Equipped with a remote control and programmable timer, this 10,000-BTU AC unit can cool a room up to 300 square feet in size. Like many of the other models on this list, it also has dehumidifier and fan functions. According to Honey, the Airemax Portable Air Conditioner is the lowest price it’s been since February.
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How to shop for a portable air conditioner
As we explained in our guide to portable air conditioners, an air conditioner unit’s cooling ability is measured in British Thermal Units, or BTUs. The higher a unit’s BTUs, the more powerful it is, and units with higher BTUs are better equipped to cool down larger rooms. Experts previously told us that you should look for about 20 BTUs per square foot.
While you’re shopping for a portable air conditioner, you might come across a specific type of BTU that measures the Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity, or SACC. In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE), introduced new labels for portable air conditioner units in order to more accurately reflect how well an AC can cool a room. As Edgestar explains, SACC “is a rating in BTU/hour that represents the weighted average performance of a [unit] in a number of test conditions.” BTU ratings per the new DOE standards are typically lower. Previously, all of the models were tested using standards created by ASHRAE. For the sake of consistency, all of the units in our round-up include the ASHRAE rating.
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