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7 Best Window Air Conditioners (2023): Portable, Budget, Quiet

Posted on July 6, 2023

7 Best Window Air Conditioners (2023): Portable, Budget, Quiet

  • Photograph: Midea

    Best Overall

    Midea U-Shaped Air Conditioner (MAW08V1QWT)

    Window air conditioners usually mean you lose the ability to open the window, but that's no issue with Midea's U-Shaped AC (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It comes with a bracket that balances the AC's weight by leaning against the exterior wall of your home. That lets you open up the window without worrying that the AC will fall out. Per the name, this Midea unit also has a big notch between the front and back, allowing you to pull your window deep into the unit. This helps in a few ways: There's less of a gap around the sides, so your precious cold air won't seep out, and it also means you get better soundproofing. Midea provides lots of foam padding to seal off the few remaining gaps.

    The AC itself is among the quietest we've tested since most of its components are housed in the part of the machine that sits outside the window. It cools down a room pretty quickly and can connect to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, meaning you can turn it on remotely before you get home. It's the window AC we've tested for the longest time (three years) and it has performed exceptionally well with minimal maintenance (Midea's app will even tell you when to clean the filter). The only main kink is the installation process, which isn't as easy to follow along as I'd like. I recommend you ditch the vague steps in the manual and watch this video from the company instead (I found it more helpful).

    Comes in 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 BTU.

    $399 at Amazon
    $449 at Walmart
    $399 at The Home Depot

  • Photograph: GE

    A Budget Window AC

    GE Window Air Conditioner (AHEE06AC)

    The cheaper you go, the fewer features you'll get, and the less efficient the unit will be. For example, the Midea, Frigidaire, and LG AC units in this guide each have a Combined Energy-Efficiency Ratio (CEER) of 15. The CEER measures the unit's cooling capacity as compared to the power input, in both cooling and in standby mode. The higher the rating, the better; 15 is one of the highest ratings you'll find. Essentially, you pay less in electrical bills over time with one of those over this GE model, which has an 11.1 CEER rating.

    Still, your budget might be tight. If that's the case, I've had a pretty great experience with this model over the span of a year. GE doesn't include a bracket, but I still found it easy to install. It's a smaller 6,000 BTU model and can cool rooms up to 250 square feet—it cooled my 150 square-foot bedroom so well (with the door closed) I had to throw on blankets in the middle of the night. You'll notice its effects quickly, but it does take some time to cool the whole space. It's one of the louder window units on this list (around 65 decibels). Annoyingly, every time I turn it on, it forgets my preferred settings. I got around this by connecting it to a smart plug, which made it remember my modes and also let me control the AC with Google Assistant.

    Comes in 5,000 or 6,000 BTU.

    $208 at Amazon
    $208 at Wayfair

  • Photograph: LG

    Powerful and Quiet

    LG Smart Air Conditioner (LW1022IVSM)

    I've been using the 2022 model of LG's Dual Inverter Air Conditioner for more than a full year. The biggest difference over the previous version (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is that it has a higher CEER rating (15), meaning it is slightly more energy-efficient. LG's dual-inverter tech means there are two compressors and two chambers inside; where a single inverter AC would have a compressor that turns on and off, the dual system lets the compressors adjust speed based on the temperature of the room. That makes it quieter, faster, and more energy efficient. It cools my room quickly, and it's pretty quiet (it's a smidge louder than the Midea at 55 decibels). I don't recommend using the Energy Saver mode though, as it will start and stop during the night and it has woken me up. Just lower the fan speed.

    You can use LG's ThinQ app to turn the AC off or on remotely, change the fan speed and temperature, or set a schedule. It can connect to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant too, which is nice. If you have a mesh router that doesn't let you change your Wi-Fi band, you might have a hard time connecting this LG AC to Wi-Fi, as it only works on the 2.4 GHz band. I set up a guest network on my Nest Wifi, which only uses the 2.4-GHz band, and was able to make it work. Installation instructions are clear, though you may need to head to the hardware store to grab some plywood to make your window sill flush.

    Comes in 8,000, 10,000, 12,000, 14,000, 18,000, and 23,500 BTU.

    $449 at Amazon
    $457 at Walmart
    $469 at The Home Depot
    $470 at Best Buy

  • Photograph: Frigidaire

    An AC With an Air Quality Sensor

    Frigidaire Gallery U-Shape Window Air Conditioner (GHWQ085WD1)

    This Frigidaire takes everything about the Midea unit and improves on it, while also commanding a higher price. It has a U-Shape and comes with a bracket, so you can open your window completely without the AC falling onto some poor sod on the street, and I found it easier to install. At 47 decibels, it's almost as quiet as the Midea, too. There's Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support, and you can use the app to remotely control the AC or even schedule when you want it on or off. Just make sure you download the right app. I first downloaded and paired the AC using the Frigidaire app, only for the app to tell me I'm using the wrong one and prompting me to install the Frigidaire 2.0 app (Android, iOS). Weird. This AC can also show you the current temperature of your room via the app, and it did a great job of quickly bringing my bedroom to the target temperature I wanted before bed.

    What I like most about the Frigidaire is that it comes with an air quality sensor that shows what the air is like via the LED strip on the front of the unit. Green means your air quality is good, but red or orange means it detects pollutants. It works! It was red when we had a lot of smog from Canada's wildfires here in New York City, and orange when my wife was cooking up some bacon. Better yet, you can purchase and install Frigidaire's PureAir RAC-8 filter to clean the air of allergens, dust, smoke, and pet dander. You'll need to replace it every three months though. I didn't try the filter, but it's worth noting it's MERV 14-rated, not HEPA-rated, so you probably should still get a HEPA air purifier for the room.

    Comes in 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 BTU.

    $520 at PC Richard & Son
    $651 at Lowe's
    $599 at Frigidaire (12,000 BTU)

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