Frigidaire FFRA1222R1 12000 BTU Window Air Conditioner
Today we will be doing one of our product reviews and our featured product is Frigidaire’s FFRA1222R1 12,000 BTU window air conditioning unit. Depending on where you are in the world and how hot your summers get the idea of an air conditioner may have never crossed your mind. But, if you are like me and live in the heart of Kansas then I can assure you that air conditioning is a necessity. The best thing about window air conditioners is that they give people a much cheaper alternative to the traditional split AC systems found in most homes today.
Here’s the question though, is the Frigidaire FFRA1222R1 the right air conditioner for you? Or, should you be looking at a different product? Let’s find out!
Now before I get into the actual details, Pros, and Cons of a product I always like to take some time and look at the company behind the product. After all, the manufacturing company can say a lot about the quality of the product. Brand names have power. Don’t believe me? Just ask Coca-Cola or Toyota.
Frigidaire
The Frigidaire company was my runner up for best brands in window air conditioners. If you haven’t heard of the company Frigidaire before I have to ask where have you been? You’ll see this brand name all over your house. I don’t care if it’s on your refrigerator, your dishwasher, or your laundry machine. These guys are into every home appliance you can imagine.
The Frigidaire company knows exactly what they are doing with air conditioners and refrigeration units and have been around for over one-hundred years. Frigidaire was a pioneer in the refrigeration and cooling industry. They invented and began commercially selling the first self-contained refrigerator all the way back in 1916. Think about that for a moment. Over one-hundred years ago and Frigidaire was around and selling refrigerators.
In fact one of their principal investors was William Durant, a founder of General Motors. GM went on to develop the first ‘Freon’ refrigerant in the 1930s while they were partnered with DuPont. This company has a solid history in the air conditioning and refrigeration industry. I can assure you that you are getting a great product when you purchase under the Frigidaire brand name.
Product Features
The Frigidaire FFRA1222R1 is rated at 12,000 BTUs. BTUs are the traditional measurement unit of heat. In the air conditioning world BTUs are a measurement of the cooling capacity of your window air conditioner. The bigger the number of BTUs the more powerful and the higher cooling capacity of your A/C unit. As a standard measurement an air conditioner needs around thirty BTUs for each square foot of living space that you wish to cool. In this case 12,000 BTUs is rated to cool four-hundred and fifty square feet upwards to five-hundred and fifty square feet. That could be the size of a large living room, a great room, or a small sized apartment. It also dehumidifies a room at up to 3.8 pints per hour.
This unit comes with a one-hundred and fifteen volt plug in. While this may seem like an odd thing to mention it is worth noting that larger BTU window units make as witch over to a two-hundred and twenty volt outlet. These types of outlets are the ones you find in your home for your oven or your dryer. With this one-hundred and fifteen volt outlet you are good to plug it in in any room without worry. The power cord on the FFRA1222R1 extends to six and a half feet. That should be more than enough space to reach the nearest outlet, but worst case you can always use an extension cord.
This window air conditioner will fit windows between twenty-three inches up to thirty-six inches in width. While the height doesn’t really matter as most windows are taller than the air conditioner this unit comes in at fifteen and a half inches. Please be sure to measure your window before purchasing so you don’t accidentally buy the wrong sized product. It also comes with side curtains and insulation strips to prevent any leaks or air from coming in from outside. It does not come with an outside mounting bracket but it is not needed as the unit only comes in at sixty-eight pounds.
This unit uses the HFC R-410A for it’s refrigerant. This is a VERY common refrigerant that is found in most offices and homes across the country. If you do need a repair down the road you don’t have to worry about finding or paying an arm and a leg for a refrigerant refill.
Something else to take into consideration when it comes to air conditioners is if they are Energy Star Certified by the Environmental Protection Agency. When a product is Energy Star Certified it means that that product has met strict energy efficiency guidelines set fort by the US EPA. A Energy Star certified unit will have higher seasonal energy efficiency ratios as well as having improved energy efficiency ratios.
The FFRA1222R1 is NOT Energy Star Certified with the EPA.
This Frigidaire unit comes with two turn dials that allow you to set the temperature and the fan speed of the unit. You do not get a digital temperature display on this unit but for those of you who are on a budget and aren’t concerned about all the latest and greatest features then this product may be just for you. For an example of the turn dial knobs reference our picture to the right.
Pros
The most satisfying part about this Frigidaire unit is the price point. As I write this, the price of this unit in the three-hundred dollar range. (Prices are subject to change at any time.) That is quite the bargain especially when you look at other 12,000 BTU units on the marketplace today. You also get the Frigidaire brand name that has a century of reputation behind it.
The FFRA1222R1 comes with basic settings such as sleep mode, energy saver mode, exhaust control, twenty four hour on/off timer, a remote control that comes with two triple a batteries, and varying fan speeds. While most of these modes and options are pretty standard I am going to point again to the price point on this unit. For an 12,000 BTU with these features at this price you are saving a lot of money while getting all the basic features that you would need.
The last feature I’ll mention on this Frigidaire unit is that it comes with a one year manufacturer warranty. This is a great insurance policy if for whatever reason your new unit doesn’t last the year. There are always outliers out there and having this warranty to back you up ensures you that your investment is protected.
Cons
As far as the Cons on this Frigidaire window unit there really aren’t that much to go through. There are few main things that I want to make you aware of before you purchase. A lot of these are ‘bad luck’ type of situations but I would be amiss if I didn’t make you aware:
- This is an 12,000 BTU window air conditioner. I mentioned this above in our product features section but you should be aware that this unit is rated to cool a four-hundred and fifty square foot room to five-hundred and fifty square foot room. If your room is bigger than that then you should look at getting a larger BTU unit. If you are unsure of what sized unit you need please check out our window air conditioner buyer’s guide which can be found by clicking here.
- Remember how I said that this Frigidaire product is not Energy Star certified with the EPA? Well folks, there is a reason for that. The EPA bases their certification on the Energy Efficiency Ratio of the product. The EPA’s baseline EER rating is 10.0. The FFRA1222R1 comes out at 9.8 in Energy Efficiency. It is just shy of the EPA’s standard, but I would say that it is still not going to cost you that much. Remember, in the Pros section and in the picture to the right we can see that it costs about ninety-nine dollars per year. While that it is higher than other window units out there it still isn’t a bad expense per year. It works out to be about eight dollars a month.
- When buying things online there is always risk of damage from the transport carrier. This is moreso when you are dealing with a machine with a lot of moving parts like an air conditioner. While most people who order this item receive it in fine condition there is still the risk of the unit arriving to your home damaged. If this does happen then I would recommend filing a complaint with Amazon on your order. If you aren’t having any luck in that avenue then you could file a claim on Frigidaire’s website under their one year warranty.
- The last complaint that I have found in my research is that through usage and the passage of time the fan can become loosened and begin rubbing up against other components of the unit. While this isn’t a big deal mechanically it does result in a larger noise when the air conditioner is running. So, if this happens to you you may have a noisy unit to contend with. While this may not matter during the day it may make it difficult to sleep with if the FFRA1222R1 is in your bedroom.
Conclusion
Overall, I would say that the Frigidaire FFRA1222R1 is a definite buy if you are looking for a price point air conditioner to cool your apartment or living room. The reviews on Amazon.com are overwhelmingly positive and as I said above the only negative complaints that I could find throughout my research was related to shipping of the product.
If you find that your room is too big or too small for this unit then I would recommend checking out our official RefrigerantHQ Window Air Conditioner Buyer’s Guide by reading this article.