Window air conditioners can be a lifesaver in the middle of summer. Sure, I am writing this article in February but I can assure you ladies and gentlemen that I can remember the heat of July and August. You see, I am from Kansas and if you didn’t know it gets pretty darn hot here during the summer. On some of the more severe summers we get four, five, or even six weeks straight of one-hundred degree temperatures. Don’t worry though, at night it falls down to a balmy eighty-five degrees.
Here in Kansas, and I can imagine elsewhere, there is a huge market for air conditioning. I don’t care if it’s in your car, your office, your home, or even your tractor. (Yes, they have that in tractors.) The need for air conditioning is crucial but what do you do if you move into a new home or a apartment that does not support air conditioning? What if the home is so old that there are no central ducts routed in the walls? How do you stay cool then? Well in this particular scenario you have two choices and almost everyone chooses option B.
A) Pay a contractor to retrofit your entire home so that it can handle a central air conditioning system. This involves not only installing inbound ducts but also outbound. They tear apart your walls and make one hell of a mess.
B) The other option is window air conditioners. They’re simple and most of the time they’re cheap, at least when compared to the big central air systems out there. All you have to do is buy the unit, pop it in your window, secure it, plug it in, and presto! You now have cold air and relief from the summer’s sun.
Window or a Portable Air Conditioner
Before you make your decision on rather or not you will be buying a portable air conditioner or a window air conditioner you should first consider the differences between the two types of products. What product are you leaning towards? Which one should you actually get? To be honest folks, these products are really very similar and there are only a few key differences that you will need to think about before making your buying decision. Let’s take a look:
Window Units
- Window air conditioners have to be mounted either through your window or through a make-shift hole in your wall. Once mounted correctly they provide a stable and reliable cooling source. Some people may struggle mounting these units, especially if it is a higher BTU model and is a heavier unit. Depending on the size a proper mounting job may require two people.
- Generally, window units are more efficient then a portable unit. That means that you get more cooling power per BTU and also save on energy bills when compared to portable air conditioners.
- Another benefit to them is that you don’t have to worry about where to vent the exhaust. Window units are designed to be halfway in and out of your house so that there is a space for the exhaust to go right away. The downside here, which I’ll mention further below, is that mounted window units are sometimes seen as an eyesore and depending on where you live you may get complaints.
- If you have decided on a window unit then check out RefrigerantHQ’s guide on ‘What are the Best Window Air Conditioners’.
Portable Units
- Portable air conditioners are just that, portable. That means they are easy to move around your home or to even pack in your truck and take somewhere else. The versatility of this adds a lot of favor to the portable air conditioner side of things.
- A portable air conditioner is much much easier to install. There is no mounting required, no support brackets, none of the hassle that comes with installing a window unit into your home, garage, or office. These units are all about the ‘easy’ button.
- While portable air conditioners are easy to install they also prevent any potential squabble with your home owner’s association. Most HOAs do not allow a window unit hanging out of a home. They see it as an eye sore and will tolerate it. A portable air conditioner can give you a work around as the worst anyone is going to see is a small exhaust tube.
- For RefrigerantHQ’s guide on ‘What are the Best Portable Air Conditioners’.
Considerations
Now when you decide to buy a window unit and you begin looking at the different brands and sizes out there you may begin to feel overwhelmed. There are SO many choices out there. How can you be sure that you pick the right one?
I’m not going to get into every little consideration to make when buying a window unit in this article. Instead, I wrote a window air conditioner buyer’s guide that takes you through the steps of what to look for and how to prepare to buy a window air conditioner. This buyer’s guide can be found by clicking here. This guide should answer any question that you would have on air conditioner.
Best 15,000 BTU Window Air Conditioners
The 13,000-15,000 BTU window units are designed to cool rooms ranging between five-hundred and fifty to seven-hundred square feet. Here is where we really begin to get into apartment or condominium living. There could also be a scenario where you are looking to cool a few bedrooms on the second story of your home. Just keep in mind that you don’t want to buy something with too little power as then your unit will be running constantly day and night and end up costing you higher energy bills. Please follow our square footage guidelines so that you can get the best fit.
Our Good, Better, Best picks for this BTU range are as follows:
- Good – Frigidaire FFRE1533S1 15,100 BTU
- The Frigidaire FFRE1533S1 is our pick for the good category. While the price may seem high for an entry level air conditioner you should know that the higher the BTUs the higher the cost will be. This unit is Energy Star certified with the EPA and has a energy efficiency ratio of 11.8. You get a digital temperature display, a remote control, even a clean air ionizer that removes pollen and other impurities from the room.
- Better – LG LW1516ER 15,000 BTU
- The LG LW1516ER is our pick for better. In fact, there isn’t too much of a difference between this unit and the Frigidaire that we just previewed. The LG is Energy Star certified, like the other. It has an energy efficiency ratio of 11.9, a full .1 higher than the good model. Besides that folks the Frigidiare FFRE1533S1 and the LG LW1516ER are very similar. The LG is slightly more expensive and comes with slightly better features but to be honest I would go with the Frigidaire in this lineup. You save some money and get pretty much the same thing. One last thing to mention is that this unit uses a standard one-hundred and fifteen volt outlet instead of a special two-hundred and twenty.
LG LW1516ER 15,000 BTU
- The LG LW1516ER is our pick for better. In fact, there isn’t too much of a difference between this unit and the Frigidaire that we just previewed. The LG is Energy Star certified, like the other. It has an energy efficiency ratio of 11.9, a full .1 higher than the good model. Besides that folks the Frigidiare FFRE1533S1 and the LG LW1516ER are very similar. The LG is slightly more expensive and comes with slightly better features but to be honest I would go with the Frigidaire in this lineup. You save some money and get pretty much the same thing. One last thing to mention is that this unit uses a standard one-hundred and fifteen volt outlet instead of a special two-hundred and twenty.
- Best – Friedrich CP15G10B 15,500 BTU
(NO LONGER AVAILABLE)- If you haven’t noticed by now the Friedrich brand is the maker of premium window units. So, I wasn’t surprised to see this name come up again for our best category. Friedrich’s CP15G10B is Energy Star certified with the EPA, has an energy efficiency ratio of 11.9, has a digital temperature display, and comes with a fully functional remote. There are many other features with this unit as well, but I won’t get into every little thing. The reason this product is at such a higher price than the Frigidaire and the LG models is that the Friedrich brand name brings quality and workmanship. The best way I can describe it is by using a car analogy. Frigidaire/LG are the Ford models and Friedrich is the Mercury. It basically boils down to what kind of consumer do you want to be? Do you want a Ford or a Mercury? The last thing that I’ll mention on this unit is that it comes with a one-hundred and fifteen plug/outlet. That means it’ll fit your standard plug-in, which is rare for these larger BTU units.
Conclusion
If you find that the 15,000 BTU size isn’t the right size for you then I would highly suggest you visit our latest article titled, “What Are The Best Window Air Conditioners.” This article is similar to the one you are reading now except that it shows suggestions and input for all window air conditioner sizes. Yes, that includes 5,000 BTUs all the way up to 24,000 BTUs. By reading through this article you will get a feel for exactly what sized air conditioner you need.
I hope this article was helpful and thanks for reading folks. Remember to stay cool!