Whynter NEX Inverter Dual Hose Smart Portable Air Conditioner, ARC-1230WNH

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great AC, but the factory window vent design needs improvement I purchased the Whynter ARC-1230WNH 14,000 BTU and I am now very happy with its cooling performance. However, I believe the factory window vent system could be designed much better. The opening to the outside is quite large. My first concern was that insects — and potentially small pests — could enter through the opening. I was also concerned about rain being blown into the vent during bad weather. To improve the installation, I purchased an exterior louvered vent with a screen from Home Depot for about $25. I also built a custom plywood window panel behind it. Although Whynter includes plastic window panels with the unit, I reinforced my installation with wood, sealed the joints carefully with HVAC aluminum foil tape, insulated behind the wood, and painted the exterior white to match my existing window frame. The finished installation looks much more like a permanent part of the window. Then I discovered another important issue. After installing the exterior vent, some of the very hot exhaust air was circulating directly back toward the fresh-air intake. The exhaust hose became extremely hot, the AC became noticeably louder, and the unit had to work much harder. I even had to lower my temperature setting from 72°F to 65°F to get the cooling I wanted. I removed the exterior vent and built a physical divider to completely separate the hot exhaust side from the outside-air intake side. I carefully shaped the divider around the openings and sealed the separation with HVAC aluminum foil tape so the hot exhaust could not cross over into the intake. That modification made a dramatic difference. Now I can go outside and clearly feel very hot air blowing strongly from the exhaust side, while the intake side is no longer pulling that hot exhaust air back in. Inside the room, the exhaust hose is no longer extremely hot, the AC runs much quieter, and my room stays very comfortable at 72°F. The ARC-1230WNH itself is a powerful and impressive air conditioner. My main criticism is the factory window vent arrangement. For a premium portable AC, I believe Whynter could provide a better outdoor vent solution that offers more protection from rain and insects and better separation between intake and exhaust airflow. If you already own this unit and feel that it is running too loudly, the exhaust hose is extremely hot, or it seems to work too hard without cooling efficiently, check the airflow outside before returning the machine. Make sure the hot exhaust is not being drawn back into the intake. After improving and sealing my installation, the difference was night and day. The machine is now quiet, powerful, and cooling extremely well. I am very happy with the AC itself — I just wish the factory window vent system had been designed better.

UPDATED The ARC-1230WNH 14,000 (12,000 BTU SACC) is a beast! One of the most efficient and quiet portable units on the market. Has an excellent remote and is also WiFi enabled with an app that senses when you leave or return to your home. Use this feature to automatically setback the Heat when you leave and automatically increase the Heat when you return. You set the distance (I set mine to 10 miles). Works for Cooling too by lowering the temperature when you cross the set threshold and returns to normal cooling temperature when returning home. A real hands-free cost savings tool. Unit is easy to install and setup. Very quiet and the built quality is second to none! I couldn't be happier. In all aspects a great design with easy-to-use features in a well-engineered compact package. If I dare say, the Rolls Royce of portable AC/Heater units. (I am not affiliated with Whynter!!!! I just know quality when I see it.) UPDATE - ONE WEEK LATER I live where winters reach -10 F. I have natural gas forced air heating with the furnace in the basement. Because the Whynter Arc-1230WNH input temperature range for heating is above freezing using the window air input in sub-freezing temperatures doesn’t allow the heat pump to operate efficiently. However, my basement, no matter how cold outside doesn’t fall below 50 F which is within the operational range of a heat pump. To overcome this input temperature limitation, I dump the unit’s exhaust air into my basement using one of my air return wall registers. I modified a return register to accept a 5.9” hose coupling. I purchased a separate 5.9” inch exhaust hose from Amazon (Portable Air Conditioner Hose 5.9 Inch Diameter, AC Hose Exhaust Vent up to 80 Inches) and connected exhaust outlet to my new register coupling creating a one hose system with the input air using the units room input duct. I also purchased an insulation hose cover. Between the insulation cover and exhaust duct I ran two drain lines, one for the heat pump and the other for the unit drain. At the register coupling I drilled two 7/8” holes to accept the water drain lines which are routed to the basement drain. This serves two purposes 1) allows continuous drain of the heat pump and 2) eliminates the “vacuum effect” of a “one hose” system as the replacement home air is retrieved from the furnace output wall registers in the same volume the exhaust air is entering the basement through the return register. This modification allows my furnace to remain operational during extreme cold conditions when the Whynter isn’t quite capable of heating my home but still allows furnace use during conditions that often tasked my furnace to adequately heat my home. On these occasions I plan on furnace use to bring the house temperature to 70 F and then turn it off and use the Whynter to maintain the temperature. My hope is to save money by minimizing natural gas usage and believe the electric usage of the Whynter will be far less than that required for furnace fan’s operation. My natural gas bill during winter runs around $120-160/month. With the forecast rate increases I hate to hazard a guess this winter's bill but double that amount seems reasonable. I believe I’ll save the Whynters purchase price just from lowered natural gas use this winter. Changing the subject, a feature I really like is the remote control has an iSense button that uses the temperature sensor located inside the remote to control the operation of the unit as long as you're within 25 feet of the unit. Finally, I’m so impressed with the 1230WNH I purchase a second unit!

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend, because I wanted to have the option to cool only my bedroom at night rather than cool the entire house with the 5 ton ac system. The compressor and fan are both variable speed, so it will run at full speed when it needs to pull the space temperature down from 80+ degrees. As it begins to reach the setpoint, it will slow down and run almost continuously at a low, quiet speed, which maintains temperature and reduces wear and tear on the unit. One of the nicer features is that the condensate never accumulates to the point that I need to empty a pan- it gets sent over the condenser coil (which cools it and improves compressor efficiency) and then is sent outside. The duct-in-duct design means that it is not pulling conditioned air out of the house and throwing it away like the single duct designs do. I am using this in west central florida, and we are in the hottest part of the summer. It's been getting the job done for the last 5 months or so. I have not used it yet in heating mode, as we have not needed to yet. I didn't know what to expect, but this unit has worked very well for us and I would recommend.

It meets expectations when weighing its cooling ability with its specs; that's to say, it's able to plummet temps quick and easy, provided it's rated for your living space. It's also nice that it comes with a number of accessories to ensure that it will fit your window, leaving zero air gaps. As these are mostly rippable foam tapes, I anticipate buying more each season during setup, but you're provided plenty to start with. The unit quiet enough that keeping it in the bedroom is akin to a louder-than-average white noise machine. The sole drawback, however, is that the smart-enabled functions leave something to be desired in the year 2026. I would like to set custom curves for both the day and night, though it limits you to only one 12-hour curve, branded as the 'Smart Curve.' As the machine can take these types of instructions through the app, I'd imagine it can be improved to enable more broad functionality. Lastly, I've only owned it for less than a month, so I've yet to drain it. As with all A/C units, portable and window alike, I'm sure this will be a pain point, though that's the nature of this equipment, so it would be unfair to dock points.

Is there a zero??? This is not my first rodeo with room or small-space air conditioners, and I have had portables before. So I did my due diligence, reading reviews and anything I could find on brand recommendations and why. Whynter came highly recommended, the best in breed. The alternative at this point was a window unit, but this LOL (little old lady) had concerns about its weight and potential installation issues. My first frustration came in unpacking the unit. The box instructions indicated cutting the straps and lifting the upper portion of the carton where it met the base of the unit. No tipping allowed, it had to be kept upright to store refrigerant properly. EXCEPT some genius undid the box tabs at the base and stapled them to the bottom of the box. I had to remove the staples and carefully slice the box to open it, but it had a couple of 3" tears by the time I was done. Pro's - features. Cons - construction, blower motor, noise level. This was actually installed three times, trying to figure out how to keep it from leaking all over the hardwood floors. At first, I thought it was one of the pups and tried to pin it on them. There are multiple drain outputs, that dispatch to the exterior through a second channel in the air exhaust tube. Only by raising the unit to even with the window opening could we reduce water spillage, but that would also block incoming light. But if it was left rigged to see how the rest of the features worked, and I might seek a replacement. While the air movement was excellent, the noise level was not. The compressor/fan engaged and disengaged constantly, no matter the setting. The low decibel ratings of this device are pure fiction. Needless to say, this was returned. Amazon sent a UPS pickup label, thank you Amazon. The entertainment for all was getting the unit back in the original box. So we taped the box up and tried to repackage. But 1/4 of the unit wouldn't go back in. Cut up another box, make a lid, and two rolls of tape later, it was on its way back to Amazon. My UPS guy is still laughing at the box. For essentially the same price, I ordered two Midea U-shaped units, that installed in 20 minutes each. They are whisper-quiet, and the main unit easily heats the three rooms with shared doorways. All I will need help with is pulling them for winter storage, but it is well worth the effort. In fairness, I don't know if I got a lemon, but I wasn't willing to swap to find out.

5/5 Stars I’ve been extremely impressed with the Whynter ARC-1230WNH. The dual-hose design cools my space much faster and more efficiently than other portable AC units I’ve used, and the inverter technology helps keep noise levels reasonable while saving energy. Setup was straightforward, the Wi-Fi controls are convenient, and the unit does an excellent job maintaining a consistent temperature. If you can’t install a window unit and want a high-performance portable AC, this is absolutely worth the investment.

This is the 4th portable A/C unit I've bought and it's the best by far. Previous units were loud and took MUCH longer to cool. This unit only takes a few minutes to cool my large master bedroom with vaulted ceilings. The installation took longer than previous units, but only because this system has insulation and is a much better design. I pretty much just use the app now, not even the remote. Anyway, back to performance, I have been running this for over a month now and still haven't had to drain it. I was skeptical about their claims because my previous units required nearly constant draining and required me to empty the bucket of water every few days, so this is AMAZING. Like I said earlier, cools and dehumidifies quickly and quietly. This is, by far, the most I've spent for a portable A/C unit, but totally worth the money, I wish I had started with this Whytner unit years ago.

Works great, quiet, thermostat controlled comfort, cools a large bedroom, a great alternative if you have a room that needs additional cooling. Price is Fair. My bedroom now stays a comfortable 68 degrees for sleeping. This is the second Whynter unit I bought. My first unit is still working perfectly after 4 years. In my pics I show how to get a 100% airtight seal in the window. Clean the window tracks with alcohol. Cut the gray foam sticky back to fit. I cut 1 strip down the middle to make an extra thick foam seal on the window slider piece. I used a small cut 1 x 1/2" piece of wood to wedge the window up against the window slider piece (which also serves as lock). I used a power saw to carefully cut the window slider to fit. If you use all three sections and create a but joint (see pic) there is NO GAP. NO Bugs, No HOT AIR GETTING IN. I am going to use silicone tape or glue to seal the Exhaust adapter module. My unit also has heat and that worked great also. Im picky and this unit only has 1 slight issue. The Thermostat reads about 5-6 degrees off. I set it for 72 degrees to achieve 68 degrees. Unit fit right into the corner near my sliding window.

Product arrived damaged but the seller was very responsive to resolve the situation. The unit itself is excellent, quiet and effective.

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