Only Buster Poindexter - in his 1987 song “Hot, Hot, Hot” - relished a room on fire. The rest of us crave a room that’s cool, cool, cool. But when the central air isn’t giving its all or on days when the temperatures are climbing out of the stratosphere, a portable air conditioner is often the best answer.
Mind you we’re not talking about window units; these are cooling machines that can be rolled from room to room and quickly installed to vent the hot air out the window while simultaneously blasting a much-needed arctic chill into the indoor inferno.
Here are three portable units we think can help you chill out on even the hottest days.
Of all the units we’ve used over the years, this 12k BTU model really impressed us with its ability to cool off a hot room lightning fast. We set it up quickly and painlessly and felt the room chill down in minutes. Better yet, it’s quieter than others with this capacity. Instead of feeling like you’re in a wind tunnel, the Ukoke unit purrs along at a reasonable 53 dB level. Turn it on and off with a start phone, tablet or have Alexa do it for you. When you need to relocate it to another room in the house, the four wheels on the bottom allow you to make it a one-man moving job.
