Best Casement Air Conditioner Reviews: Our Top Picks & Buying Guide
Casement window air conditioners are an effective solution for cooling your home air, designed to fit perfectly in a narrow casement window. The best casement air conditioners are powerful, energy efficient, versatile, and durable – and the products we’ve included in this article were chosen precisely because they possess these properties.
Our top recommendations for the best casement window air conditioner vary in price, BTU, capacity, and features so that you can find the perfect product that matches your budget and specific needs. We have also prepared a handy buying guide which goes over the factors you might want to consider when choosing the best casement unit for your home.
- Best Overall: Frigidaire FFRS1022R1 Slider/Casement Room Air Conditioner
- Best Value for Money: Arctic King EWL08CRN1BJ9 Energy Star Rated Slide Casement Window Air Conditioner
- Most Energy-Efficient: Koldfront CAC8000W Casement Air Conditioner
- Best Budget Option for Large Rooms: PerfectAire 3PASC10000 Window Air Conditioner
1. Best Overall:
The Frigidaire is recommended for anyone looking for a long-term investment for medium-to-large sized rooms.
Our top overall recommendation for a casement window air conditioner is the Frigidaire FFRS1022R1, thanks to its high cooling capacity, versatile features, energy efficiency, and durability. The Frigidaire is recommended for anyone looking for a long-term investment for a window in a medium-to-large sized room. This air conditioner also has a strong dehumidifying capability, which makes it a great choice for individuals living in humid climates.
Pros:
The Frigidaire is a very powerful casement window air conditioner, and it cools the air in rooms quickly and evenly. Its 10,000 BTU allow it to cool a room of up to 450 square feet, and its 4-way air direction design circulates the air evenly from the window throughout large spaces. When set at the highest BTU setting, the Frigidaire cools a room at 323 CFM (cubic feet of air per minute), one of the quickest air cooling speeds out of any window product on the market.
The Frigidaire comes with a variety of useful features that make it easy and convenient to use. It has multiple cooling and fan speeds, a 24-hour on/off timer, and a full-function remote control. Fine-tuning the AC for your specific needs is further made possible through functions such as auto-cool, energy-saver, and sleep mode.
The Frigidaire is a great choice for humid climates thanks to its dehumidifying feature. It removes up to 3.4 pints of water from the air per hour.
This air conditioner is also easy to set up in a window, and the window installation kit comes with the package. Plus, it’s easy to maintain, since the air filters are removable and washable. Since lots of debris can come through the window, that’s very handy!
This unit is quite energy-efficient, despite the BTU. Even though this Frigidaire model is not Energy Star certified, it has a high EER rating of 10.4, which signals low energy consumption.
The Frigidaire is a great choice for humid climates thanks to its dehumidifying feature.
Lastly, this product’s solid build makes it a durable choice and it comes with one of the best warranties on the market. The company offers a full warranty for the first two years and a sealed system warranty for years three-five.
Cons:
One of the issues with this unit is that it requires a minimum window height of 21.5 inches, so it’s not recommendable for more compact windows or rooms. Additionally, it may be difficult to store and transport as it’s a bit bulky.
Also, this unit is on the pricier side, so it’s not a good choice for individuals on a tighter budget.
2. Best Value for Money
We recommend this unit for people looking for a decent-quality, budget-friendly option for medium-sized rooms, which is also easy on the environment.
Our top value-for-money pick is the Arctic King EWL08CRN1BJ9, thanks to its energy efficiency, powerful operation, and fairly affordable price. We recommend this unit for people looking for a decent-quality, budget-friendly option for medium-sized rooms, which is also easy on the environment.
Pros:
One of the best features of this unit is its low energy consumption–especially considering the BTU. The Arctic King is Energy Star certified and has an EER rating of 10.9, the second highest EER rating on this list. This makes it an eco-friendly and economical option for your air. In addition to the affordable price at purchase, its energy efficiency per BTU will ensure that it doesn’t bring in steep electricity bills.
The Arctic King is a powerful unit that cools air in rooms evenly and effectively in about 20 minutes. It’s rated at 8,000 BTU, which makes it an ideal choice for rooms of up to 350 square feet.
For its price, the Arctic King comes with a variety of settings which add value for your money. This unit has both cooling modes and fan-only modes (for more energy-saving) in three different air speeds, which can be selected through a fully-functional remote control. Additional features that are hard to come by in units in this price range are the sleep mode and the on/off timer.
The Arctic King is a powerful unit that cools rooms evenly and effectively in about 20 minutes.
The Arctic King is also very easy to install and maintain in your window. Its 14” width makes it a space-efficient choice that can fit in smaller windows, while the window installation manual is simple enough so that you won’t need help from a professional to set it up. Plus, the air filters are easily removable and washable, which makes regular maintenance less of a hassle.
Cons:
This unit is not a good choice for larger rooms, as it doesn’t have the BTU capacity to cool them evenly or efficiently.
This unit doesn’t have a long warranty. It comes with a 1-year warranty for parts and labor.
3. Most Energy-Efficient
We recommend this unit for small-to-medium sized rooms in areas with humid climates.
The most energy-efficient casement window air conditioner on this list is the Koldfront CAC8000W. Its low energy consumption also makes it one of our most economical and eco-friendly recommendations for your window. The Koldfront comes at a highly affordable price and has versatile features, including a window dehumidifier. We recommend this unit for small-to-medium sized rooms in areas with humid climates.
Note: This model is designed to fit casement windows which slide left-to-right only, and will not fit windows that slide up-to-down.
Pros:
The Koldfront is the most energy-efficient product on our list. This Energy Star-rated product has an EER of 11.0 (in energy-saver mode). This makes it both an eco-friendly and an economical choice for your window.
In terms of eco-friendliness, this model meets the requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which guarantee low energy usage. Another thing that makes the Koldfront an eco-friendly choice is that it uses R-410A, a refrigerant that doesn’t contain bromine or chlorine (two ingredients that are harmful to the ozone layer).
The Koldfront’s energy-efficiency also makes it an economical purchase, as it will never surprise you with a high electricity bill. Paired with its low price, the Koldfront’s efficiency makes it quite a budget-friendly option.
The Koldfront is the most energy-efficient product on our list.
This unit is very easy to use. It has both a digital display on the body and a remote control, so you can operate it through whichever is more convenient for you at a given moment.
The Koldfront has the power to effectively cool the air in rooms of up to 300-350 square feet in size, thanks to its 8,000 BTU rating.
The Koldfront CAC8000W also comes with a variety of features that are rare in its price category and which add value for your money, since they are eco-friendly. These features include multiple air cooling and fan speeds, auto mode, sleep mode, filter-checking alert, thermostat-controlled operation, and energy-saving mode.
The dehumidifying feature of the Koldfront makes it a great choice for controlling the air in humid climates.
This unit comes with a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer, longer than most products in its price range.
Cons:
This unit is not a great choice for larger rooms, as all the eco-friendly, energy-efficient settings don’t make for exceptionally high cooling power. It earns a relatively low BTU rating.
Another downside of the Koldfront is that you can’t use it on vertical sliding windows.
4. Best Budget Option for Large Rooms: PerfectAire 3PASC10000 Window Air Conditioner
This casement window air conditioner has enough power to cool larger rooms, and at the same time, it costs less than other units with the same capacity.
The top budget-friendly recommendation for larger rooms is the PerfectAire 3PASC10000. This casement air unit has enough BTU power to cool larger rooms, and at the same time, it costs less than other units with the same BTU capacity. This versatile air conditioner is a great choice for people looking for an affordable air cooling solution for medium-to-large rooms. Its dehumidifying function also makes it a good choice for people living in humid climates.
Pros:
The PerfectAire is a powerful window unit that comes at a great price-quality ratio. While other air conditioners in this price range have lower cooling capacities and BTU ratings, this window unit’s 10,000 BTU can cool spaces of up to 450 square feet. Satisfied customers have reported time and again that this unit is very powerful in cooling and circulating air in rooms.
The PerfectAire has an eco-friendly edge on the competition, as it uses the same eco-friendly refrigerant as the Koldfront model.
Another reason why this model offers good value for your money is its variety of features. The AC comes with three cooling and fan speeds, a dehumidifier (dry mode), auto mode, sleep mode, and energy-saver mode.
The PerfectAire also has a more accurate cooling response to the air temperature inside a room than competing window models. This is thanks to the unit’s portable thermostat, which measures the temperature within the room rather than next to the window and the unit.
This AC unit is also easy to install and easy to maintain in your window. The product is compact and comes with a window mounting kit. It’s suitable for both horizontal-sliding and crank-out windows. In terms of maintenance, the air filters are easily removable, which makes regular cleaning simple and easy.
The PerfectAire has an eco-friendly edge on the competition, as it uses the same eco-friendly refrigerant as the Koldfront model.
Cons:
This product is not the most energy-efficient option amongst our window recommendations, with an EER of 9.5.
Additionally, this high BTU unit can get quite noisy, especially after long hours of operation, which may make it unsuitable for bedrooms and working environments. It’s best for a window that’s relatively far from you.
Lastly, this unit also doesn’t have a great warranty, as it lasts only 1 year.
Conclusion
The best casement window air conditioner is the Frigidaire FFRS1022R1 Slider/Casement Room Air Conditioner, thanks to its high cooling capacity, range of features, energy efficiency, and durability. We consider the Frigidaire FFRS1022R1 Slider/Casement Room Air Conditioner to be the best casement air conditioner on the market. This powerful AC unit can quickly cool rooms of up to 450 square feet without wasting too much electricity, thanks to its low energy consumption. Plus, this air conditioner model features a powerful dehumidifier, which makes it a great choice for humid climates. This model also has the best warranty on the market, so you know that the company stands behind the unit’s quality and durability.
Although it’s worth the money, the Frigidaire does come at a steeper price. So, if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly AC unit for a window in a larger room, the PerfectAire 3PASC10000 Window Air Conditioner is the way to go. Although this is one of the cheapest casement air unit on the market, it has the capacity to cool as much space as the Frigidaire, and it provides a more accurate response to the temperature of the room thanks to the portable thermostat. There are fewer features, though, but you get the basic fan speeds.
Yet, the PerfectAire isn’t the most energy-efficient recommendation on our list. If you are looking for something with high energy efficiency, the Koldfront CAC8000W is a product which is both economical and eco-friendly. In addition to having the top EER rating on this list, which will cut your electricity costs, it also comes at a very affordable price. This air conditioner is a perfect choice for rooms of up to 350 square feet. As the Koldfront is not suitable for windows that slide up-to-down, another energy-efficient option for casement windows is the Arctic King EWL08CRN1BJ9 Slide Casement Window Air Conditioner. This unit is also quite energy-efficient and affordable, plus it has the same room-cooling capacity as the Koldfront.
If you’re still unsure about which casement window air conditioner is the best choice for your needs, read onto our buying guide, where we go over the different features and factors you might want to consider before making a decision.
How To Choose The Best Casement Air Conditioner For You
Budget
Consider how much you are willing to spend on your new casement air conditioner when choosing the best model for you. Keep in mind that the energy efficiency of a given AC unit will also have an effect on your budget in the long run. Additionally, the price of the models varies based on the warranty offered and their cooling capacity.
Keep in mind that the energy efficiency of a given AC unit will also have an effect on your budget in the long run.
Capacity
The BTU (British Thermal Units) of an AC determine its capacity in terms of how much space it can cool. While AC units with a higher BTU of 10,000 can cool rooms of up to 450 square feet, AC units with 8,000 BTU are a great choice for rooms of up to 350 square feet. Make sure that the cooling capacity of your new AC unit matches the size of the room you want to cool.
Make sure that the cooling capacity of your new AC unit matches the size of the room you want to cool.
Energy Efficiency
Casement window air conditioners vary in EER (energy efficiency ratio) ratings. The higher the EER, the more energy-efficient an AC unit is. Keep in mind that higher EER ratings and Energy Star certified units have lower operating costs (thanks to the lower energy consumption) and are eco-friendlier than other options.
The higher the EER, the more energy-efficient an AC unit is.
Other Features
Think about which other features are important to you. Some of our recommended models, which are a great choice for humid climates. Some of them are more compact, which makes them a good choice for the narrowest casement windows. There are also different fan speeds and adjustable settings on more expensive models. Expect even the most basic appliance to have at least 3 fan speeds.
Familiarize yourself with these factors before making a final decision. Be sure to measure your window too! If you don’t know what size your window is, you won’t be able to make a smart choice. So, get out your measuring tape and size up your window vertically and horizontally. Window depth is also a good figure to have handy.
Some of our recommended models, which are a great choice for humid climates.
Warranty
A good warranty can give you more confidence in your purchase. A longer warranty may accompany a more expensive unit, and it’s a good sign of the quality and durability of the product.
A longer warranty may accompany a more expensive unit, and it’s a good sign of the quality and durability of the product.
Buyers Also Asked
What can I do to stop bugs from coming through my window air conditioner?
Unfortunately, keeping bugs out of your window air conditioner can sometimes feel like a losing battle. There are things you can do to make it harder for bugs to get in the window, though. This includes proper installation of your unit in the window, sealing the window sash gap with foam insulation, and using vinyl side panels to make the whole window area as airtight as possible.
Do window air conditioners need support?
Yes, most window air conditioners need a support bracket to protect both them and your window.
Should you take down your window air conditioner in the winter?
Yes, you should take it down in the winter. Taking it down from the window and storing it safely will ensure that it is in good condition to use again in your window the following summer.
What’s Next?
Hopefully, you found our reviews and buying guide for the best casement air conditioners useful in your search for a cooling solution in the upcoming summers. To get more information about each of our recommendations, follow the title links to learn their price, in-depth specifications, and customer reviews. We hope we’ve been able to help you choose which window model is the best casement air conditioner for you.
In the meantime, don’t miss our guide to the best air conditioners in every category! It’s the best place to see all your options for convenient climate control. You can also swing by our contact page to drop us a line if you have questions, comments, or any other feedback for us.