Best Window Air Conditioners of 2025
Top choices for small, midsized, and large rooms from Frigidaire, LG, Midea, and more
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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.
Living in southern Arizona, where temperatures can hit 120° F, I know firsthand that reliable air conditioning isn’t just about comfort—it’s essential for health and safety. While these appliances might look similar year after year, recent innovations have made some models more efficient and user-friendly.
- Best Windows ACs for: Small Midsized Large Rooms
- How CR Tests Window ACs
Best Window Air Conditioners for Small Rooms
These units cool rooms from 100 to 250 square feet.
Best Window Air Conditioners for Midsized Rooms
These air conditioners cool midsized rooms, from 250 to 400 square feet.
Best Window Air Conditioners for Large Rooms
These powerful window air conditioners cool rooms between 350 and 550 square feet, but the bulk and weight may make these models awkward and difficult to install.
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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