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 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 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.
• Also have a look at RefrigerantHQ’s guide on 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. If you feel like I missed something please feel free to reach out to me by clicking here to let me know.

The Best 8,000 BTU Window Air Conditioners

The 7,000-8,000 BTU range window units are meant to cool rooms at around two-hundred and fifty square feet upwards to three-hundred and fifty square feet. These sized rooms are your typical master bedrooms or living rooms. In my home our master bedroom sits above our garage. While this makes for a larger than usual master bedroom it also makes for atrocious heating and cooling. We have a window unit right in this range for our bedroom and it works quite well.

Our Good, Better, Best picks for this BTU range are as follows:

• Good – GE AHM08LW  8,000 BTU
  • GE’s AHM08LW is a low priced option for those of you who need more power but don’t want to spend a fortune on a new window unit. This product comes with a digital temperature display and is Energy Star certified with the EPA. (Remember, Energy Star certified means that it is more efficient and will cost less per month to run.) The big selling point on this unit is the price. It is not easy to find an 8,000 BTU at this price point.
• Better – LG LW8016ER 8,000 BTU
  • The LG LW8016ER unit is a step up from our previous but still comes in at a great price point for an 8,000 BTU system. This system is also Energy Star certified with the EPA. You get the digital temperature display, a remote, and a 24 hour on/off timer that allows you to program the air conditioner in advance. A big selling point here is that this unit is rated at 12.1 in Energy Efficiency Ratio. The EPA’s baseline is 10.0 and most other air conditioners fall in line at 10.0 or 11.0. This is the first 12.1 unit I have come across.
    

    

• Best – Frigidaire FFRH0822R1 8000 BTU
  • The Frigidaire FFRH0822R1 is substantially more in price then our other two models. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again though folks, remember that we are looking at the best of category now and with quality comes a higher price. The big thing that jumps out to me with this unit is that it comes with a heat pump as well. What that means is that you actually get a heater along with your air conditioner. All built into one. Along with the heat option you get all of the other standard options such as digital temperature display, eight way comfort control design, three cooling speeds, twenty-four on and off timer, and a whole lot more. Just be wary folks of the price on this unit. Yes, it is expensive but again, you are paying for top quality as well as paying for a heater.

Conclusion

If you find that the 8,000 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.