Haier Cooling Portable Air Conditioner, 12000 BTU, White (HPC12XHR)

I bought this just before the last humid heat wave of the summer, and have continued to use it through the first truly chilly parts of fall. I have to say, despite everything I had heard about portable air conditioners, I actually really like this thing.I went with this over a normal air conditioner because I wanted to not have to worry about bugs (I can leave the window screen up) or cleaning up the unit after being outside. It's actually a nice-looking appliance, and certainly less of an eye-sore than a box hanging outside the window.A couple things I want to note about my time with this:1) The unit can be a little loud, but it's not that bad compared to other air conditioners, and it's pretty quiet with just the fan on. It will turn the compressor on and off to regulate temperature and manage its water level, so if large changes in volume bother you, I might look elsewhere.2) I personally never had to empty the water out of the unit when using the Cool, Dehumidify, or Fan modes, even in 90% humidity weather (something I had been warned about before purchasing portable air conditioners like these). It sucks water out of the air very well, and the auto-evaporative system seems to do its job. It's like having a dehumidifier you don't have to empty.3) When using the Heat option, you will likely have to empty the unit after extended periods (a few hours) of use. I've gotten into the habit of switching between Heat and Dehumidify right up until it gets to temperature, then I just leave it on Heat - it's usually fine from there. I'm also considering using the external hose hookup to drain water into a larger pan or bucket since that will be easier than lifting the unit to get to the bottom plug (which can be annoying).4) The more humid it is, the less effective it will be. That being said, I've been very happy with its ability to get down to 72 (my default target temp) even with the weather outside being 85 F or more. I'm using this to cool/heat a 350 sq.ft. room.5) Spend some time playing around with the temperatures you like for the Cool and Heat modes. They seem to take readings from different parts of the machine, so 72 on Cool mode may feel different from 72 on Heat mode. Also, it's very localized, so may take a bit for the temperature difference to reach all areas of the room.6) Don't forget to insulate well! I was happy with it before I took insulation seriously, but it works much better now that I paid attention to closing the gaps around the window adapter. I'm also considering insulating the hose, since that seems to radiate a bit of heat and is likely a source of inefficiency.If you're considering purchasing this, I would highly recommend you read over as much as you can about the pros and cons of portable vs. traditional air conditioners. For me though: I'm very happy with my decision to go with this unit.

The noise level of the air conditioner is on the loud side even at low setting. Does not keep the room cool enough even at high setting.

I bought this and am sending it back. It does NOT have full electronic controls other than it is an LED display on the main unit. I would state that technically they are not mechanical, but not what you would expect for this type of unit. Remote is a LOS IR. Timer is basically a delay. IF the unit is OFF and you set the timer it will turn it on. IF unit is ON it will turn it off. These facts make it unusable for my needs.

Just went thru a devastating hurricane and was able to borrow a Haier Cooling Portable Air Conditioner which I used for a 90 year old COPD patient. It worked beautifully. Based on its performance, I bought this as a backup if and when another hurricane comes my way. I live in Florida. I ran the portable air conditioner on a generator. It was very easy to install and the cooling was more than I expected. Would recommend this product to anyone who suffers from power outages.

UPDATE 2 years later and it still runs but does almost nothing to remove humidity and it consumes way too much power for off-grid application. Switching to a separate dehumidifier and small window unit. UPDATE 06/22/2017: After using this in hot and humid weather for a few weeks I can say the efficiency is not that great. I have noticed in 85F+ degree weather the temperature on max cooling is only about 10F degrees cooler than outside. Humidity on cooling mode is only 10% lower as well above 50% relative humidity. In dehumidifier mode I have been experiencing an issue with the lower reservoir filling up even though I have a 1/4" hose installed and run through the floor. After about 30 minutes in 80%+ humidity the whole unit will shut off with the "bucket full" indicator light lit. To remedy this I have applied suction to the end of the 1/4" hose installed in the lower drain or removed the hose completely. The unit is rather loud when run in cooling mode for a long time. By loud I mean there are very abrupt noises like someone slamming a car door when the compressor cycles on and off. I also added insulation to the exhaust hose by wrapping in reflectix, this reduced the heat generated by the exhaust pipe. For reference on max cooling I used an inductive ammeter on the battery to LF AIM 2000watt inverter and read 200amps being consumed by only running the air conditioner in max cooling mode. It is less than that for dehumidifier mode only. I have also tested heating mode and it works but takes between 30~60 minutes to generate decent heat. Overall this heat pump does work, just not as well as in higher temperature and humidity environments.This does exactly what I need for my 150 sq ft space (insulated shed). I bought this based on using Solar power and a large 2K watt LF inverter with a 500Kwh battery bank (4xT105RE batteries). The power consumption on the highest air conditioning (cool) setting will run for a little over 3 hours on my system. The system runs much longer on dehumidifier setting though it seems the fan speed becomes automatic in dehumd mode. I have not used heat setting yet but mainly I am using dehumidifier with a 1/4" O.D. hose in the bottom drain. The top drain is not a 5/8" O.D. hose, but I believe a regular garden hose may screw into the threaded fitting on the top drain. Both drains filled up in 80% humidity in the low 80s (F) after about 10 hours. I have found with a 1/4 O.D. hose screwed into the bottom drain and draining through the floor I don't have to drain the unit after several days of use. I am using a 6" louvered dryer vent tube through the wall and the exhaust hose fits inside the 6" tube with a little room which can be tightened with a 6" hose clam or tie wrap. One reason I bought this besides the good price and Amazon prime option was having had a through the wall A/C unit that lasted 15 years and is still going. I am hoping I get 1/3 of that life out of this portable unit. So far I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to cool a small space.

Price and look is great but that's about it. It doesn't cool a large room and it claims its 1200 Btu's. The vents shoot up rather than forward to a lot of the cool air goes directly to ceiling. Sucks because it looks better than most other portables.

Love it!

Do not cool the room to the desired temperature. The problem is not in the product, problem in design.

After a weekend of use, I'm very pleased.Window kit wasn't completely adequate for my needs though. Will need to get a longer exhaust coil and extender to use in a sliding glass door.

cools well but the water pan is low down, small and difficult to empty