Whynter ARC-1230WN 14,000 BTU (12,000 BTU SACC) NEX Inverter Dual Hose Cooling Portable Air Conditioner, Dehumidifier, and Fan with Smart Wi-Fi, Up to 600 sq ft in White

UPDATED The ARC-1230WNH 14,000 (12,000 BTU SACC) is a beast! One of the most efficient and quiet portable units on the market. Has an excellent remote and is also WiFi enabled with an app that senses when you leave or return to your home. Use this feature to automatically setback the Heat when you leave and automatically increase the Heat when you return. You set the distance (I set mine to 10 miles). Works for Cooling too by lowering the temperature when you cross the set threshold and returns to normal cooling temperature when returning home. A real hands-free cost savings tool. Unit is easy to install and setup. Very quiet and the built quality is second to none! I couldn't be happier. In all aspects a great design with easy-to-use features in a well-engineered compact package. If I dare say, the Rolls Royce of portable AC/Heater units. (I am not affiliated with Whynter!!!! I just know quality when I see it.) UPDATE - ONE WEEK LATER I live where winters reach -10 F. I have natural gas forced air heating with the furnace in the basement. Because the Whynter Arc-1230WNH input temperature range for heating is above freezing using the window air input in sub-freezing temperatures doesn’t allow the heat pump to operate efficiently. However, my basement, no matter how cold outside doesn’t fall below 50 F which is within the operational range of a heat pump. To overcome this input temperature limitation, I dump the unit’s exhaust air into my basement using one of my air return wall registers. I modified a return register to accept a 5.9” hose coupling. I purchased a separate 5.9” inch exhaust hose from Amazon (Portable Air Conditioner Hose 5.9 Inch Diameter, AC Hose Exhaust Vent up to 80 Inches) and connected exhaust outlet to my new register coupling creating a one hose system with the input air using the units room input duct. I also purchased an insulation hose cover. Between the insulation cover and exhaust duct I ran two drain lines, one for the heat pump and the other for the unit drain. At the register coupling I drilled two 7/8” holes to accept the water drain lines which are routed to the basement drain. This serves two purposes 1) allows continuous drain of the heat pump and 2) eliminates the “vacuum effect” of a “one hose” system as the replacement home air is retrieved from the furnace output wall registers in the same volume the exhaust air is entering the basement through the return register. This modification allows my furnace to remain operational during extreme cold conditions when the Whynter isn’t quite capable of heating my home but still allows furnace use during conditions that often tasked my furnace to adequately heat my home. On these occasions I plan on furnace use to bring the house temperature to 70 F and then turn it off and use the Whynter to maintain the temperature. My hope is to save money by minimizing natural gas usage and believe the electric usage of the Whynter will be far less than that required for furnace fan’s operation. My natural gas bill during winter runs around $120-160/month. With the forecast rate increases I hate to hazard a guess this winter's bill but double that amount seems reasonable. I believe I’ll save the Whynters purchase price just from lowered natural gas use this winter. Changing the subject, a feature I really like is the remote control has an iSense button that uses the temperature sensor located inside the remote to control the operation of the unit as long as you're within 25 feet of the unit. Finally, I’m so impressed with the 1230WNH I purchase a second unit!

I have three portable air conditioners, and this one is outstanding. I like all three for different reasons. This one I have in my bedroom and it is very quiet. Perfect for cooling down a 14 x 14 bedroom. I also like the timer. The auto function also works very well. It’s pretty easy to set up, comparable with others. The hoses seem more durable than others that I’ve tried in the past. When I have bought cheaper ones, the hoses can tear or are flimsy to assemble. This one is very good. I highly recommend this one!

24 hours in to using the 14000 BTU smart model A few notes: - Installation is pretty straightforward. If you have narrow hung windows, you’ll want a small handsaw that can cut plastic - The instructions were a little unclear about the optional “air outlet adapter”. I think I should have used it and it might have made installation a little easier - Took ~10 minutes to set up, including cutting the plastic window panels with a 12 inch hand saw. Assembly is only 3 plastic parts which snap together. Not difficult, but I recommend watching the video on Amazon which demonstrates this - It works very, very well. I’m using it to cool ~750 square feet in 85F-90F weather with high humidity. It took ~90 minutes to cool the space to 75F - It can be noisy on full blast, but no noisier than one would expect - It’s very silent once it gets close to the desired temperature - The app is very simple and works very well. Pair it with Bluetooth to provide it with WiFi info (may require a 2.4G SSID, most IoT doesn’t support 5G) and then it works great through some cloud broker. You can disconnect the Bluetooth at that point and control it remotely from anywhere over the Internet I’m very happy with the purchase

Noise Level: I'm most impressed with how quiet the compressor is on this unit. I'm used to the older tech where every time the compressor turns on, it makes this really loud BOOONNNNNNGGG / humming noise. Traditionally, the compressor has been the source of most of the noise coming from the unit. With this Whynter unit, you barely notice the compressor has engaged as it only makes a slight, high-pitched noise. All the noise (which can be considerable) comes from the speed of the fan BUT, you can control that to your preference. I leave my unit on auto and it rarely runs at high fan speed but YMMV depending on your situation. Cooling Performance: Cooling is much more efficient with the dual hose design. My old unit with a single hose was running more often to keep the room cool and I believe this is specifically due to the dual hose design. If anything, this unit tends to cool my room TOO much and I've been trying to strike the right balance, which for me has been 73 full auto with "i sense" enabled. I'll discuss "i sense" in the physical remote section below. Features: I would say this product is fully loaded with all the features you want and some extras too. I am not using the wireless app to control the device but, it does have some app-unique features such as setting schedules, check function (which is a self-diagnosis test for the health of the machine), boost mode (max cool / max fan speed), express run (this is where you can program and activate a specific mode, temp, and fan speed with 1 button), and of course, the convenience of controlling the unit remotely. Physical Remote: the physical remote is simple and easy to use but, it's range is finicky which is the only negative thing I have to say about this unit overall. For example, on the remote, there is a button labeled "i sense" which uses the remote as a temperature sensor / thermostat. This is a feature I have on my old unit, and I was glad to see it included with this Whynter unit. The way it works is that the remote reports back its temperature sensor reading every 3 minutes back to the main unit which reacts appropriately. The key here is making sure the remote has a clear line of sight to the main unit and isn't too far away. Max range of the remote is 8 meters / 26 feet and the remote needs to be pointing DIRECTLY at the main unit. I've found that it's very easy for the remote to fall out of communication with the main unit so, I test by placing the remote where I want it to sit and then hitting the temp up or down button to make sure the main unit reacts. It's quite sensitive to line-of-sight issues so, test communication thoroughly when relying on "i sense." If the remote cannot communicate with the main unit after 7 minutes, "i sense" automatically disengages. At least there is a small icon on the remote (which is shaped like generic person’s head and shoulders) indicating the feature is active. Window Kit: The unit comes with a VERY large set of panels for window installation. I have a 36 inch wide window which was the perfect, wrong size. My window was too big for only using the panel with the cutout for the dual hose so, I added the extension panel. But the extension panel was too big as it covered 70% of the exhaust cutout when fully ended on a 36 inch wide window. I read the manual and it said to cut the extension panel to size…which I easily did using a circular saw after measuring. You will need to be prepared to cut the extension panel to size if your window width is larger than 28 ½ inches but smaller than 42 inches. This is a VERY common range for window sizes so, be prepared to cut the extension panel. Overall: I love this air conditioner and can attest to the increased efficiency of the dual-hose design. It cools very well and operates well by setting a temp and then using the auto features. Worth the extra cash money for the quiet compressor / dual-hose design.

This unit has been an absolute game changer. It works incredibly fast, and is quieter than the last one I had. I'm able to lower the temp in my room 10 degrees in under 2 hours, which only adds to the energy efficiency. It's admittedly a bit pricier than some of the budget units, but in my experience it is worth the premium long term. It's a bit heavy if you need to carry it up stairs, but the wheels roll smoothly. The dual hose helps keep the hot air flowing out. The only drawback is the hose length is not the longest, and with the dual hose means it's a bit harder to lengthen. Due to the short hose, it's difficult to mount to my window and keep the hose clipped in - while it stays clipped, it's not super secure and is easy to dislodge and create a gap.

Very strong performer. I have a 600SqFt (4,800 Cubic Feet) first floor and used this unit as my central AC is down (have used three other units and all besides this would struggle in 400SqFt. This unit does a great job of cooling it off in high heat. My test was in 96-98 degrees external over a four hour span in a high humidity climate. Baseline was 96 degrees outside at 1:30pm on a sunny day (July) with a starting interior temperature of 79 degrees. Over three hours, exterior temperatures gradually raised to 98 degrees but the unit cooled the room from 79 to 75 degrees in 1 hour, and then 1.5 degrees each of the next two hours. This was excellent as the exterior heat went up, sun was shining bright, and it reduced the interior temp by 7 degrees in just a few hours. I am sure this would perform even better if I started it early in the day before the heat picked up. Overall a great unit that is strong and quiet, well worth the cost. Pros: Very strong AC, air comes out in the 27-31 degree range (others were between 35-50) with strong air flow, cools a room very quickly (first hour shows the biggest drop). Quieter than most others (Drio may be slightly quieter but is better for small rooms), App works well, intuitive and has good options based on needs. Inverter helps spread through a large room. Humidity: Didn't even use the dry setting, but on cool it helped clear up the muggy humidity inside (lots of rain lately). Exhaust: The 2-in-1 dual hose is amazing. The exhaust is a hose within the inflow, so having a second layer significantly reduces the heat leakage from the exhaust vent (lukewarm feel vs HOT on others). Cons: Size: This thing is bulky and heavy, not an issue for many rooms but unfortunately I need it in my kitchen and it hangs slightly over the sink (though this makes it easy to leave drain pipes in 24/7. Sensor: As others mentioned, internal sensor is off (mine showed it ~7-8 degrees colder than the house was), easy fix if you use iSense on the remote so that can be placed in a central area as the thermometer. Used: Mine had some minor usage (a few bent condensor coils, adapter had residue from sealant), product still works great but don't love that it was refurbished rather than new.

I am in a major renovation in my home and the heating and air conditioning has been delayed. Naturally now it got hot. So I bought this unit. Figured it was a good purchase as it’s large enough to also be used in a workshop area I have in my garage. So far I absolutely love it! Here is what I love about it. - I love the hose inside the hose. It’s only one connection. And the exhaust hose is inside the intake hose so there is not the heat transfer through the exhaust hose wall into the room other units have. - This is a dual intake / exhaust unit. This means the condenser coil receives airflow from the outside through the outer hose and heated air is exhausted through the inner house out of the house. Units like this are not using inside cooled air to cool the condenser and then blowing it outside. They are bringing in outside air much like a window unit would, without the hassle of using a window unit. - I have screens in my windows. For now I left the screen in place see how it works. The screen does reduce airflow as I tested it lifting the screen. But it also keeps bugs out of the unit. So testing it with the screen. - it comes with 3 window panels and some attachments to adapt it to sliding windows. I have double hung windows. I only needed the one main panel. But I did need to trim the length of the main panel by about an inch for my 27 inch wide window tracks. It’s soft plastic so it was an easy cut with a circular saw. Once cut it fit right in and I closed the window on it and it held fine. It came with all kinds of foam to insulate around it and came with some security pieces you can screw in above the window to keep it from being lifted. I’m only using this temporarily in the house so so I didn’t bother with all that. Just the closed window holds it fine. - the hose is large. But it was easy to manage. I pulled it up straight to expand it and then bent it over as needed to go to the window. I have the unit about 2 feet from the back to the wall. And my window is about 2 feet off the floor. - I love that it is an inverter style so it can throttle up or down as needed. - I love how the hose is permanently installed on the back of the unit so when storing it the hose can just be collapsed and stored. - The remote seems to work very well. - all of these units now have a new department of energy rating. They are rated in factory btus which is the size of the cooling /heating unit. But they are also rated by the doe with an actual delivery capacity. This rating is the usable effective in operation capacity. Of all the units I compared this one was the best. 14,000 Btu size with a 12,000 Btu effective usable rating. - my house is 600 square feet. I am well insulated in the walls, and reasonably well insulated in the ceiling. I have new windows but a lot of window area. Today when I installed the unit the house was around 95 inside. It cooled down to 70 in about an hour and a half and now has throttled down. - so far no problem with water building up and needing to be emptied. Usually the dual hose that get intake air from the outside do not have a problem with water needing to be emptied as the excess water is evaporated on the condenser and sent outside. The advantage of this as as the water is evaporated it helps cool the condenser using evaporative cooling making it more efficient. - time will tell how the reliability is. - power draw. I tested the unit. It draws around 1300 watts on startup and that seemed to be the upper limit. So this could run off a 2000 watt generator if needed. A nice option if power is out. - the remote works well. Seems to be able to control all the functions. I did not connect it to my WiFi. - the units with the heat function come with two long zip ties and a package of thin foam sheet. It took me a while to figure out what that’s for and then realized that’s to wrap the hose so if you are using it for heat the cold intake air coming from the outside would not be transferred into the room. Couple things I knew going in that are negatives. - it’s heavy. 76 lbs I think I read. I used a hand trick with a strap the stair belts on the back to move it up the stairs to my house. It was fairly easy to move with the hand truck. But it is a good lift up the stairs. - it’s fairly loud on high. There is a lot of air moving through the evaporator into the room and in to the condenser from the outside intake and back out through the exhaust. It moves a serious amount of air around, which is awesome! And the air moving through accordion collapsible hose is never quiet. But once it get to temperature and throttles down it gets significantly quieter. All in all the unit is very well designed to keep it as quiet as possible for a unit this size. - only other negative was while it was well packaged and the packaging was well designed to make removing the unit easy, the packaging was pretty banged up on arrival. But everything inside was perfectly protected. There is some tape and such to remove.

We've only had it about a week, but it was easy to set up and it cooled off the room very quickly. Since then, it's kept a comfortable, even temperature, which is notable especially since it's a room without a door that opens into a larger space. It's relatively quiet when it's running and has very good air flow. One of the reasons I bought it was due to the Whynter's reputation, and it seems well built. I also bought it because not only does it have a dual hose (which is recommended for portable units), it is unique in that they are combined into a single hose. We haven't had to drain it yet, but my husband says that he will have to disconnect the hose from the window so that he can roll the entire unit to our deck. That is the only reason why I took off one star. Otherwise, I'm very happy with this purchase.