Like all other air conditioner types, portable AC units are sized according to their BTU cooling capacity, and some units have 15 000 BTUs of cooling power.
Air conditioner sizes are measured by the British Thermal Units (BTU) of the unit, which is the cooling capacity or power that the unit has to cool off a space of a particular size.
The size of your room needs to be calculated in square feet, and this will guide you in choosing an air conditioner with the right BTU to cool that specific room.
Different types of units have varying BTU sizes that can only cool rooms that are suitable for their respective sizes or cooling capacities. Portable air conditioners also have different BTU sizes.
BTU sizes of portable air conditioners
Like all other home cooling systems, portable air conditioners come in varied sizes that can cool different room sizes too. Window units start from around 5 000 BTUs and they can go up to 24 000 BTUs for cooling significantly larger rooms.
If you are thinking of getting a portable air conditioner, you should know their size ranges and how big they can be can help to ensure that you choose the right size portable AC for your space.
What is the highest BTU for a portable air conditioner?
Portable air conditioners are cooling (and sometimes heating) units that can be placed anywhere in the room, as long as their exhaust hoses can be vented through a window.
The exhaust hose needs to disperse all the hot air outside that is extracted by the unit from a room’s humidity in order for it to release cooler air into the room.
Portable air conditioners range in BTU sizes and you can find units that range from 8 000 BTU to 14 000 BTU.
While portable air conditioners can reach 14 000 BTUs in cooling capacity, there are two units that stand out from the rest, as they both exceed 14 000 BTU. These units are both 15 000 BTUs, making them the largest portable air conditioning units you can find.
Denbig 15 000 BTU portable air conditioner
The Denbig brand is not popularly known, but it has been discovered by some buyers on Amazon that have rated it a 4 out of 5 stars, overall. The unit provides fast cooling and has a quiet sleep mode function.
This AC also has a three-in-one design that combines energy-efficient cooling, 3-speed fanning, and dehumidifying operations.
The unit claims to have a bucketless dehumidifying capability, which means that in the dehumidification process, the moisture self-evaporates.
Black+Decker 14 000 BTU portable unit with a heater
The brand with the largest range of 14 000 BTU portable air conditioners, Black+Decker, is one of the cheapest portable AC units that also comes with a heater.
The heater heats spaces with up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit and its 14 000 BTU cooling capacity can cool rooms of up to 350 square feet, which, though it is not that big, is perfect for an office and bedroom space. Its four-in-one energy-efficient modes include cooling, fanning, heating, and dehumidification.
Black+Decker is one of the most reliable large portable air conditioner brands, and this particular unit comes with a decent energy efficiency rating of 9.7.
The Delonghi 14 000 BTU portable air conditioner
You can enjoy cooling at reduced noise levels of up to 50 decibels at its maximum speed while in cooling mode, and a programmable timer and motorised airflow allows you to set your portable unit to turn on and off after a set period of time to save on energy.