Best Window Air Conditioners of 2024

Top choices for small, midsized, and large rooms from Frigidaire, LG, Midea, and more

By Allen St. John

Updated July 10, 2024

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LG LW6023IVSM Air Conditioner Frigidaire Gallery GHWQ083WC1 Air Conditioner, Midea MAW12V1QWT u-shaped Air Conditioner — Window air conditioners from LG, Frigidaire, and Midea (left to right) are among the models that top CR's ratings in various size categories.

When summer approaches, a window air conditioner can be your best friend, an easy and relatively inexpensive way to transform your room from a sauna into an oasis.

While it may seem that window ACs have remained relatively unchanged, a few recent innovations help them cool rooms more efficiently.

In this article

Best Windows ACs for a: Small Room Midsized Room Large Room
How CR Tests Window ACs

U-shaped units from companies like Danby, Frigidaire, Midea, and Soleus allow you to raise and lower your window while the air conditioner is installed, taking advantage of a cool breeze or insulating your room from the heat and noise outside. Many of these models performed very well in our lab tests and can be found in this roundup of top-rated units. But note that U-shaped ACs can be tricky to install and simply don’t fit in some windows.

For a Small Room

100 to 250 Square Feet

For a Midsized Room

250 to 350 Square Feet

For a Large Room

350 to 550 Square Feet

How CR Tests Window Air Conditioners

At Consumer Reports, we test room air conditioners in a special climate-controlled chamber in our labs in Yonkers, N.Y. We adjust the size of the chamber based on the space—small, medium, or large—each air conditioner is designed to keep cool. We crank the temperature in the chamber up to 90° F, then measure how long it takes the AC to lower the temperature by 10° F.

We also gauge how well the air conditioner holds the set temperature. And because noisy air conditioners can be annoying, we measure how loud each unit is on its lowest and highest settings. We test for ease of use, which determines how simple a model is to install and operate. We also take energy efficiency into account, giving higher scores to more efficient models.

In addition to our performance tests, we ask CR members about the room air conditioners they already own. Our current ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, available to members, are based on results for 6,209 room air conditioners purchased new between 2012 and 2022. Read more in "The Most and Least Reliable Room Air Conditioners.” The survey data becomes part of the unit’s Overall Score.

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Need a new A/C? Keep cool—we’ve got you covered 🥶. See the best window air conditioners of 2024 through the link in our bio. #hometok #airconditioner #airconditioning #summer2024
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Allen St. John

Allen St. John has been a senior product editor at CR since 2016, focusing on digital privacy, audio devices, printers, and home products. He was a senior editor at Condé Nast and a contributing editor at publications including Road & Track and The Village Voice. A New York Times bestselling author, he's also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Montclair, N.J., with his wife, their two children, and their dog, Rugby.