Total Home Supply
The Black+Decker BPACT14WT is loud and clumsy, yet it’s your best bet for a cheapish portable air conditioner that will actually get the job done. In previous years, we had limited our search to models with an energy-efficiency ratio of at least 9 and a seasonally adjusted cooling capacity of 7,200, and this Black+Decker model just made the cut on both metrics, with an EER of 9.86 and a SACC of 7,500. However, it’s also the most affordable option we’ve tested that meets those standards; plenty of more expensive models didn’t even reach our threshold for power and efficiency.climatisation In our tests, the Black+Decker BPACT14WT’s condenser started at 64 dB with the fan running low—about 8 decibels louder than the Midea Duo at its loudest. Even with the condenser off, the Black+Decker still emitted about as much noise as the Midea and the Frigidaire GHPC132AB1 at their absolute top volume. It also produced the most uneven range of frequencies: We measured peaks around 100 Hz (like the low end of a guitar) and then again at the high range of 4,500 Hz, 5,500 Hz, and 9,000 Hz (like a bunch of cymbals and sibilant “s” sounds). This is great if you think you might enjoy listening to an amateur White Stripes cover band with a snake on lead vocals, but it might not be the best if you want to sleep or get any work done. Full disclosure: When I was measuring these frequencies with the Black+Decker running in a small, closed room, I got a headache after 15 minutes. The Black+Decker isn’t hard to set up or maintain, but you do need a screwdriver to install the window panel or remove the filters; this isn’t terrible, but it’s also not as easy to deal with as the installation for the Midea and Frigidaire models we tested. The haptic control panel is easy enough to use, as you can just touch the buttons instead of pushing them, although they give no real feedback as to whether you’ve actually activated them. They also look like push buttons, and if you follow your instincts to push them—or if you’re not sure whether they responded to your tap, and you push a little more just to triple-check—the whole control panel bows down slightly along with your fingers. At 68.3 pounds, the Black+Decker was the second-lightest model we tested. It has rough, bumpy casters that felt cheaply made to us but work well enough. What to look forward to In 2023, Frigidaire introduced the Frigidaire FHPH142AC1, a slightly larger version of the FHPW122AC1 that also adds a heat pump for year-round air conditioning. We had initially dismissed the FHPW122AC1 simply because we thought the Frigidaire Gallery Cool Connect GHPC132AB1 was a better deal for just $100 more. Now that the Cool Connect has been discontinued, however, the FHPH142AC1 is looking like an enticing replacement. In addition to the heat pump, the FHPH142AC1 also has a built-in air ionizer as well as the option to add a high efficiency MERV-14-rated filter, which meets the CDC’s recommendations for reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne viruses. We plan on testing this new model soon.