REASONS TO BUY
Dual hose design
Good cooling power
Long power cord
Automatic condensation management
REASONS TO AVOID
High energy consumption
Heavy and hard to lift
Complicated window installation
Whynter ARC-14SH Review
This is a powerful and well-rounded portable AC, but it's an unfortunate power hog
Credit: Brian Walker
By David Wise ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ November 10, 2023
Contributions From: Austin Palmer & Adam Stout
Our Verdict
The Whynter ARC-14SH is a powerful and relatively quiet portable AC that has no trouble working in hot environments or cooling down large rooms. Its main drawbacks are its comparatively high energy consumption, lower-than-average portability, and complicated setup. It weighs nearly 75 pounds with very shallow finger grooves for lifting, making it a chore to move around multi-level buildings and homes. However, if that isn't a concern and you need to cool a large space quietly, this could be the portable AC for you.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The 14,000 BTU Whynter ARC-14SH offers a lot of cooling power and is on the quieter end of the spectrum. It is a solid choice if you look past its above-average power consumption.
The dual-hosed Whynter ARC-14SH provides plenty of cooling capability.
Credit: Brian Walker
Cooling
Running on its highest setting, the ARC-14SH dropped the temperature in our controlled tests from 83.3 to 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit after 60 minutes — and 8.1 degrees drop, which was one of the largest drops of the group, and a noticeable difference standing in the room before and after the test.
The Whynter ARC-14S is one of the few portable ACs with dual hoses, improving its cooling performance.
Credit: Brian Walker
Portability/Install
This AC is easy to roll around, though we found some weirdness with its steering. It only has a small amount of rolling resistance but will pull to one side every so often. Overall, it's one of the best units for rolling around flat spaces no matter whether the terrain is wood, carpet, or concrete. Still, it is also one of the heaviest units out of the entire group, weighing in at a little more than 74 pounds, making it horrendous to carry. The handles are on the small and shallow side, creating lots of pressure on your hands and making this one of our least favorite air conditioners to carry up or down a flight of stairs.
This AC rolls smoothly, but sometimes it veers off course.
Credit: Brian Walker
Initial installation with the window kit takes around 10-20 minutes, depending on your window. We found the ARC-14SH more annoying to set up in the window than most others. The included instruction sheet mentions that you may have to modify the window kit's duct interface panel if your window is too narrow or wide. Ours was too narrow, so we had to cut the panel down to size and then painstakingly work around the large dual hoses to get everything fitted and properly secured.
Noise
The Whynter ARC-14SH did well here, scoring well above average and producing only 59.5 decibels from our sound meter. The unit is quiet overall, with the fan registering a little louder than the compressor in the subjective listening test. Altogether, this scores as one of the quieter units in the review.
The Whynter ARC-14S is quieter than many other portable ACs we tested.
Credit: Brian Walker
Energy Consumption
The 14,000 BTU Whynter ARC-14SH scored below average in energy efficiency, as many of the more powerful units do. This unit consumed 4.9 kWh of energy. Using the unit for 12 hours a day over 90 days, it's projected to use 1382.4 kWh of power and will run up around $223.12 in electricity costs.
The Whynter is a bit of a power hog, according to the watt meter.
Credit: Brian Walker
Convenience
The Whynter ARC-14SH scored fairly average throughout this metric, with no real stand-out features apart from its quality air adjustability. The vents that direct the air have a good bit of vertical adjustability and a slider to direct air horizontally, which is a better design than most units we tested. Other than that, the ARC-14SH has pretty standard controls, modes, and a remote, but no Wi-Fi connectable app for advanced programmability.
The Whynter ARC-1230WN was the only portable AC with a dust cover complete with a designated pocket to stow the manual and remote.
Credit: Austin Palmer
Should You Buy the Whynter ARC-14SH?
Though it has a complicated initial install and costs quite a bit to run, if you live in a scorching climate, you're going to want a unit that can really crank out cold air. This machine is among the best at that.
No slick Wi-Fi connectable mobile app here, but the remote does its job.
Credit: Brian Walker
What Other Portable Air Conditioners Should You Consider?
If you don't live in a climate with frequent triple-digit temps, you may not need this much cooling power. Check out the SereneLife SLPAC10, which is more affordable, energy-efficient, and portable. If you want the best when it comes to cooling power, then we recommend the Whynter ARC-1230WN.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Whynter ARC-14SH versus top competing products:
—David Wise, Austin Palmer, and Adam Stout
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