The main reason most people should feel encouraged to get an air conditioner in their house is that it freshens up their living space, and never allows it to feel stale. If you just have one room that you strongly feel requires air conditioning, then you could go with a window air unit. If you’d instead want to be able to move your unit around from room to room, then a portable air conditioner like the Whynter ARC-12SD dual hose portable air conditioner might be worth checking out. It’s got a decent cooling power of 12000 BTU, which allows it to serve a room area of about 400 square feet. Is it the best dual hose portable air conditioner around? Well, that depends. Get to the end of this review to see if it would fit your needs. We’re sure you’ll also feel more comfortable after you compare it with other popular air conditioners.
Why We Like It – Whynter ARC-12SD
The Whynter ARC-12SD portable air conditioner is a stand-out option for anyone looking to get an AC unit that’s compact yet powerful. The 12000 BTU Ashrae unit comes with a window kit included, and is easily capable of providing your 400 sq ft room with nice cool air. This unit is pretty similar to the Whynter ARC 122DS Elite model which also has a cooling capacity of 1200 BTUs.
- Carbon air filter
- Dual hose system
- Eco-friendly refrigerant
- No sleep mode
Performance
The Whynter model ARC-12SD is a dual hose portable air conditioner, meaning that it’s got a separate intake and exhaust hose. This makes for better cooling efficiency, and with three operational modes to boot, it compares well to the Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner. The Whynter portable air conditioner is also capable of functioning as an air conditioner, a fan, or even a dehumidifier. The fan has up to 3 different fan speeds for you to choose from, and boasts of a dehumidifying capacity of up to 96 pints/day. This unit shares these great features with its sister model, the Whynter ARC-143MX dual hose 3-in-1 portable air conditioner.
Energy Efficiency
With a cooling capacity of 14000 BTU, your electricity bills can get out of hand if you’re not careful about how you use the ARC-12SD Whynter portable AC. Fortunately, it features a 24-hour timer that you can use to decide when exactly you’ll need it to work, so you can set it up to function during certain hours of the night. The 14000 BTU dual hose portable AC, unfortunately, doesn’t have a sleep mode, and this is one of the few things that sets it apart from the LG LP0817WSR.
Filtration
Similar to the Whynter 11,000 BTU Dual Hose, the Whynter ARC-12SD comes fitted with a carbon filter that helps eradicate any bad odors from the air. This happens during filtration, and is also not the only filter that you’ll find inside the unit. There’s also a mesh filter inside there that prevents the entry of dust particles, so that the air that gets distributed throughout your living space remains fresh and clean.
Durability
The Whynter ARC-12SD comes backed by a 1-year warranty that covers both parts and labor, as well as a 3-year warranty on the compressor. The compressor gets a longer warranty period because it’s the most important part of the AC unit. You shouldn’t worry so much about the durability of the unit as it’ll last close to 10 years with proper care and good maintenance.
Value
The fact that you’ll get a remote control with the Whynter ARC-12SD is not a surprise, but its eco-friendly CFC-free refrigerant on the other hand is worth pointing out. The eco-friendly CFC-free green R-140A refrigerant is not in any way harmful to the air and is not something that you’ll find in most portable air conditioners. There’s also a window kit included to make for easy installation, but we would recommend that you keep the window kit length in mind, as it varies between a range of 20-46 inches.
Whynter ARC-12SD Wrap Up
With the many positive customer reviews that the Whynter ARC-12SD has, it’s easy to see why the unit is a buyer favorite. It’s one of the many dual hose units that you can get for under $1000, and it will efficiently cool your living space.
