I have a both an in room and window AC for my media room/office I bought for my media room and as a backup for the living room if my main AC went out. IMO you get more for your money and a better produce using a window unit if you can.
I’ve only used the portable unit a little at the beginning of Summer because I have way to much stuff plugged in to my office outlets so when the breaker box got hot with the sun hitting it the AC tripped the breaker when it kicked on. Not the AC units fault I just need more power in there.
The unit seems to work fine and I feel is more efficient since that one room gets hot because of all the electronics equipment but I have no proof it is more efficient. It does vent out the window which is supposed to be better at cooling but understand if it’s vent in one place it must be drawing in somewhere else. Also the vent won’t exhaust the condensation if the window is to high. In my case it won’t vent much to much higher than the unit itself. So if the window is to high it leave you with dumping the tank like a dehumidifier or running a hose to a drain if you have that option. Also most if not all portable units are way loud since the whole thing is in the room with you.
I’ve used window units before and they are much better. More efficient, much less expensive, much quieter, and no condensation draining issues.
I will say that the portable unit did come in handy for cooling my bedroom when my main AC went out at the beginning of summer and I just dragged it over from my media room. BTW, portable is a relative term. Yes much easier to move than a window unit but still a bit of a pain to move and reset in another window.
I can’t recommend a particular brand. Mine is a no name brand called KUL from Lowe’s. I did a lot of research and determined that even the so called best reviewed units had a lot of haters, and the customer service from the manufacturers was universally bad. Generally the user reviewers either loved or hated them, but I wasn’t feeling a lot of love out there.
P.S. Did I mention that the portables are really loud.
