My first impression of this unit is I was surprised at how small it was. It takes up a very small footprint and fits into almost any nook and cranny (allowing about a foot of air space around it.)
The assembly and installation are very straightforward, but you need to use the manual and look at the pictures carefully. I say this because I installed the window spacer backwards and then couldn’t figure out why the exhaust tube wouldn’t fit. After referring to the manual, I immediately saw my mistake and made the correction – then everything worked fine.
The build quality of the unit looks very substantial. Nothing cheap about the way this A/C was put together. The controls are top-mounted, easy to understand and use, and respond to a finger touch. The thermostat is easy to read and can be set to whatever temp you want the unit to maintain. I wished it also had an ambient temp readout – just so I’d know the surrounding temp and the difference between the ambient and the thermostat setting.
About the BTU rating . . . My opinion? This is another industry attempt to de-rate the effectiveness of a portable unit as compared to a centrally installed AC. Of course, the portable isn’t going to provide the same level of cooling effectiveness (at the same BTU rating) as the centrally installed AC. Just understand that the lower rating is a very conservative measurement that can be used to determine how effective the unit will be in cooling a specific-sized space. I’ve always used the rough rule of thumb that an 8000 BTU unit will cool 400 square feet that is insulated and has an eight-foot ceiling. A poorly insulated space with air “leaks” will need a higher-rated unit with more cooling capacity.
I have installed this unit in my garage – one of the most difficult spaces to cool due to the lack of insulation and typical air exchange through openings around the garage door. For comparison, my garage is 440 square feet with an 8-foot ceiling and a 16-foot uninsulated metal door. Starting from a temperature of about 101 degrees (measured during mid-July in Tampa, Florida), the unit brought the temperature down to 85 degrees in three hours, and that was with a hot car being put into the garage at the same time the unit was turned on. Another hour brought the temp down to 79 degrees, which was way beyond my expectations.
Another feature of this unit is that it automatically recirculates the moisture back into the air, reducing the necessity of constantly changing out the condensate water. There is a short (3 ft) condensate line included, and the unit will auto-shutoff if the reservoir fills up, but so far, after three days of running about six hours a day, I haven't needed to empty it.
It comes with a remote control – is easy to use, and if you install the unit in a living space, it will save you a few steps. You can also use your smartphone to program the unit (by downloading the app), but I did not need it for my application, so for me, it was not important.
Overall, this little AC really puts out the cold air. It is quiet, easy to use, and easy to install. It is also easy to move around (it is on wheels), and for the price, it provides a lot of cooling power.