I've had this for almost two months now, having made an "emergency" order during the middle of one of our Summer 2012 heat waves in Chicago when my bedroom window unit finally gave out. It has fully met my expectations, but expectations are the key concept. You must understand certain things about these units before ordering:
1. They are noisy. All the mechanicals are now inside your room, not outside your window. I got used to it and have no trouble sleeping, but I am not a light sleeper. Consider your own sleeping styles.
2. Many of these units require drainage or emptying a water collection tray. This unit does not. It has a great way of evaporating the moisture it collects back out through it's exhaust. I have never had the unit stop due to it being full and it runs 24x7.
3. You must have a way to vent the unit by connecting the hose to the supplied window insert. I had just enough room left above my existing window A/C to insert the supplied frame for the exhaust hose. This configuration takes up space. Plan for the unit and the hose setup to take up room!
4. As many other buyers have pointed out, you cannot compare BTUs of these units with that of window units. I took the advice of others and bought a unit one capacity level ABOVE what I thought I needed and I am very glad I did. If I had bought the unit that said it will cool a room the size of mine, I don't think I would have been satisfied. Yes, they are expensive, but buy big or be unsatisfied.
Installation:
Installation was ridiculously simple. The box was structured such that after cutting the straps, the whole box top and sides lifted right off of the unit. Once out of the box, the pre-affixed wheels made it easy to just wheel it into the bedroom. The hose and window insert were easy to install. There is one design flaw though, inherent in these units. They place the fresh air intake right by the exhaust hose exit in the rear. This means the unit competes with itself to cool the air, because that hose gets HOT!. Simple solution though. Buy insulated duct wrap at the same time you buy the unit and wrap the hose in it from the back of the unit to the window. Or as a temporary measure, wrap the hose in bath towels, especially close to the unit intake, to reduce the heat produced by the exhaust hose.
Operation:
I turned the unit on after plugging in and it fired right up, producing cold air. It's not freezing cold, like older window A/C's, but it is cold. It took about an hour to take the room from 87 and 60% humidity to 76 and about 40% humidity. Like other buyers, I do find the limited movement of the air output louvres to be annoying. You can only move the airflow form side-to-side, not up and down. If you have a high bed, you'll want to consider raising the unit up onto something, preferably something very sturdy. It has three fan levels, but I usually keep it on low. The remote works well, but no light so you may have to use a flashlight at first until you memorize the position of the buttons by just feel.
One thing I haven't tired yet that I do plan on is running it as a fan in the winter. I like to have background noise when I sleep. You can run the unit in fan only mode without the exhaust hose being connected. It's the dehumidify and cool functions that require exhaust to the outside. The fan alone, without the compressor, is actually very quiet but just noisy enough for steady background noise.
Efficiency:
It claims to be energy efficient and uses an environmentally safe refrigerant. I have to say that it does cool well (as long as you understand you probably need one unit size larger than recommended) and it does seem to efficiently evaporate all the moisture it collects out through the exhaust (there is a fan that stays on constantly to ensure this). But when I got my first electric bill after running 24x7, I knew it was efficient. My energy usage declined by about 25% year over year, with this unit plus another window unit running versus two window units. And that was during a month when it was hotter this year than last.
So all in all I am very happy with my purchase. But understand how these units differ form window units and buy one size larger.
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Color: Silver
Brand: Whynter
Floor Area: 400 to 500 ft²
Refrigerant: R-410A
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From the manufacturer
This unit features the patented auto drain technology, which uses and recycles moisture collected during the cooling process to produce cool air.
This unit can cool up to a 400 sq. ft. space (ambient temperature and humidity may influence optimum performance).
Whynter 12000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
With this CFC free, lead free and high energy efficiency portable air conditioner, you can stay cool while keeping with better environmental standards and reducing energy consumption. The Whynter ARC-12S portable air conditioner is extremely mobile and can be easily setup in almost any indoor location and are most commonly used in computer / server rooms, bedrooms, classrooms and garages / workshops.
Features
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CFC-free refrigerant and lead-free RoHS compliant componentsNon ozone-depleting refrigerant: R410a. Power consumption: 1080 W / 9.5 Amps. |
Design & Performance
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Hassle-free operation
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| ARC-102CS | ARC-101CW | ARC-12S | ARC-148MS | ARC-148MHP | |
| Customer Reviews |
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| Price | $315.99 | $368.00 | $389.99 | $459.45 | $495.00 |
| Operational modes | Cool, Dehumidify, and Fan | Cool, Dehumidify, and Fan | Cool, Dehumidify, and Fan | Auto, Cool, Dehumidify, and Fan | Auto, Cool, Dehumidify, Fan & Heat |
| Dehumidifying Capacity | 68 pints/ day | 70 pints/ day | 91 pints/ day | 71 pints/ day | 71 pints/ day |
| Temperature Range | 62°F – 86°F | 61°F - 89°F | 61°F - 89°F | 62F - 88°F | 62F - 88°F |
| Drain Options | Continuous and Manual | Continuous and Manual | Continuous and Manual | Continuous and Manual | Continuous, Manual, and Auto Pump |
| Noise level | < 51 dBA | < 55 dBA | < 52.5 dBA | < 55 dBA | < 55 dBA |
| Air Flow (at high speed) | 350 m3/h / 206 CFM | 264 m3/h / 145 CFM | 320 m3/h / 188 CFM | 497 m3/h / 292 CFM | 497 m3/h / 292 CFM |
| Power consumption | 1110W / 9.8A | 1000W / 9.4A | 1080 W / 9.5A | 1300W/ 11.3A | 1300W/ 11.3A |
| Unit dimensions | 14″ W x 14.5″ D x 28″ H | 19″ W x 13 ½” D x 29 ⅛” H | 17" W x 15.5" D x 31" H | 18.5" W x 15.75" D x 30.25" H | 18.5" W x 15.75" D x 30.25" H |
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Which 12,000 BTU AC should you get? #thisorthat
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Which portable air conditioner is better? #thisorthat
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Compare with similar items
This Item  Whynter ARC-12S 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Dehumidifier and Fan, Includes Storage Bag, Platinum, 400 Sq Ft |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $389.99 | -21% $379.99 List: $479.99 | -14% $299.00 List: $349.00 | $654.99 | $539.93 | $479.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 30 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 30 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 30 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Remote Control | ||||||
| Energy efficiency | ||||||
| Noise level | ||||||
| Sold By | Appliance Home | One Retail Group US | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | MiniSplits4Less | Amazon.com |
| cooling power | — | 10000 btus | 5500 btus | 14000 btus | 14000 btus | 14000 btus |
| floor area | 400 square feet | 300 square feet | 350 square feet | 600 square feet | 550 square feet | 700 cubic feet |
| control method | remote | remote | remote | remote | remote | touch |
| power source | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric |
| number of speeds | 3 | 3 | — | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| special feature | Patented auto drain function fully exhausts all condensate automatically in most environments, with upper gravity and lower drain ports for continuous operation | Portable, LED Display, Wi-fi | Dehumidifier, Portable | Portable | Inverter Compressor, Dual Hose, Heating And Cooling Function, Smartphone Compatibility | Adjustable Humidistat, Dehumidifier, Remote Controlled, WiFi Enabled, Heating And Cooling Function |
| energy star | No Energy Star | — | ✗ | — | — | Not Energy Star Rated |
| model name | Whynter ARC-12S 12,000 BTU | Portable Air Conditioner | FHPC082AC1 | Whynter ARC-1230WN 14,000 BTU (12,000 BTU SACC) NEX Inverter Dual Hose Cooling Portable Air Conditioner, Dehumidifier, and Fan with Smart Wi-Fi, up to 600 sq ft in White | CH-STLS-14AC | WPAC14000h |
Reviews with images
Product has changed for the worse
Sigh.....I first purchased this model (ARC 12S) in 2011. My awesome 2011 model ran perfectly for about six years but started to make a loud whirring noise this spring. It still cools fantastically, but it has gotten too loud to run for more than an hour. So, I decided to buy a new Whynter ARC 12S. MISTAKE!!!! The current model is supposedly identical power wise to my beloved 2011 model. Alas, it is not.While Amazon is still advertising the maximum power wattage as 1080 watts and 9.5 amps (as is my 2011 model), the model I received in April 2017 is a max 1000 watts and 9.2 amps. This may appear to be only a slight difference, but I can definitely tell that the newer model is subpar. My 2011 model could cool my room (400 sq feet) from 85 degrees to 68 – 70 degrees in about an hour when the weather outside was between 85 – 90 degrees. The 2017 model cannot bring my room temperature below 73-75 degrees when it is 80-85 degrees outside. When it is 90 plus degrees outside, the ac cannot bring my room temperature below 80 degrees. It does emit cool air, but there is not enough force behind it. I have to stand one to two feet in front of the unit in order to cool down. The farther back I stand from the unit, the warmer the air emitting from it feels.In addition, if it the weather outside falls below 66 degrees—and my room is still in the high seventies/low eighties—the coils on the back of my ac freeze and the ac stops working until the ice melts. THEN, after the ice melts, I have to drain both drainage points in order to empty the excess water caused by the melt. If I do not do this before I turn the ac back on, water will spurt out of the back vents. This problem also prevents me from running the ac at night. So, I have to turn it off when I go to bed and wake up to a warm room.Unfortunately, I did not realize I had a subpar/defective unit until the 30 day grace period had ended. I did not debox my unit as soon as I should have because I erroneously assumed it would be of the same quality as my 2011 unit.Some early warning signs that I was sent a lemon include the following:1. The return address on the label my item was shipped in was from Amazon Returns Center. Hmmmmmm.2. One of the sides of the unit arrived slightly scratched.3. Some of the screws looked like they had been unscrewed/rescrewed.4. After a few days of running this ac it began to give off a musty smell. My last unit did not start smelling musty until I had been running it almost non-stop for several months.The reason I am giving this ac 2 stars is for the following two reasons:1. It does work okay AS LONG AS the outside temp is below 78 degrees. The ac does not help during the hotter days, but it does help during mildly warm days (and so does a fan).2. The unit does a decent (not good) job of dehumidifying a room on a humid day.If you decide to purchase this unit, please inspect it and run it ASAP to make sure you have a good model. And buy the warrantee!
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Top reviews from other countries
Dyson Queen
Keeps me cool, compact, and it looks nice
Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2021Style: Air Conditioner, 400 sq ftVerified Purchase
Sam
Effective but noisey
Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2020Style: Air Conditioner, 400 sq ftVerified Purchase
Sharon in Vancouver
So far I love it! So easy to install, and not as noisy as I thought it would be.
Reviewed in Canada on April 27, 2018Style: Air Conditioner, 400 sq ftVerified Purchase
Rodrigo A.
It's very very very noisy.
Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2021Style: Air Conditioner, 400 sq ftVerified Purchase
Rodrigo A.
Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2021
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Robert
Product is faulty
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2020Style: Air Conditioner, 400 sq ftVerified Purchase
Robert
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2020
Customer service sent a PDF of the wrong issue, and told me that’s all they have to give
Cookie cutter responses, you won’t get what you need out of their customer service
I wouldn’t even rate one star, the machine is a piece of garbage and CS did absolutely nothing except send PDF to connect control board…
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