5 Best Portable AC Heater Combos For Year-Round Comfort (2024)

Written By

Josh Mitchell

Expert Reviewed By

Holly Curell

Last Updated On

May 20, 2024

I can confidently say that SLACHT108 SLPAC is one of the best portable air conditioner and heater combos I’ve come across.

With a 10,000 BTU (British Thermal Units) rating, SLACHT108 efficiently lowers the temperature in medium-sized rooms to the low 70s.

More impressively, it heats the same space less than 30 minutes to 80-82 degrees.

(And it's 12,000 BTU big brother does an even better job.)

Also, the SLACHT108 is energy-efficient. Its EER isn't the highest I've seen, but it's more than good enough for regular use, and it shouldn't add more than $12-15 to your monthly electricity bill.

It's better than models like the Black+Decker BPACT14HWT portable air conditioner but lags slightly behind the Vremi VRM050520N.

After reading countless reviews, I noticed many people complaining about the noise levels, but in my experience, when running the fans on low, this portable AC won’t exceed the manufacturer's noise levels of 52-56 dB.

Another great feature of the SereneLife air conditioner is its compact design.

This thin unit has solid design features, such as cable hooks on the back, for seamless cable management.

Setting the whole thing up takes less than 5 minutes, including unpacking.

You'll get a window kit you can mount both vertically and horizontally, which means it will fit essentially every window.

Also, the hose is excellent. It'll keep its shape no matter how many times you extend it and put it back.

Also, I can't tell you how happy I was that I got batteries for my remote, even though the remote control doesn't have the best range.

Finally, you can rest assured that you'll be covered with a 1-year warranty.

I've read about a few instances in which people got their unit replaced within two weeks, even if it was just slightly nicked during delivery.

Overall, I really can't say I dislike anything about this product in any way, shape, or form - especially at this price point.

My runner-up is the Vremi VRM050520N, with 12,000 BTUs of cooling ability.

This means that Vremi can cool spaces larger than SereneLife portable air conditioner can, and it can do it slightly faster - despite the Amazon listing stating otherwise.

I tested Vremi in a 400 sq. ft. room, and the temperature drop was immediately noticeable. My thermostat would show low 70s in about 20 minutes of running the Vremi at 67 degrees.

One thing I noticed is that the heating mode output isn’t as efficient.

While it will blow hot air into the room, I haven't been able to warm up my room to 80 degrees, so it would struggle to keep a larger apartment sufficiently warm during harsh winters.

My guess is that since this one has vents and the thermostat on top, they kind of interfere with one another, which makes the AC “think” that the temperature is higher than it actually is, so it will pause earlier than it should.

So, running it on "Auto" is probably not the best if you plan on warming yourself up.

On a more positive note, the timer, remote controller, and all the adjustable settings and modes (cool, fan, dry, and sleep) work great.

The remote is good, and you won’t have to come close to the unit to turn it on or change the temperature.

Another thing I love is you can easily remove and wash the air filter.

While this won’t save much money in the long run, it will do a lot for air quality, which is more important if you ask me.

Once again, theinstallation process is quick and hassle-free, and you can set this one up in any room with a horizontally accessible window in less than 5 minutes.

The built-in casters allow you to move the portable air conditioner unit from the living room to the bedrooms (although even in "Sleep" mode, I couldn't entirely phase out the sound during the night).

Finally, this one has a "Dry" mode, a dehumidifier feature, but it isn't as good as the one on SereneLife or Whynther ARC portable air conditioner.

First things first, the Black + Decker BPACT12HWT portable air conditioner, with its 12,000 BTU capacity, won't effectively cool up to 500 sq. ft. - despite what the listings say.

Instead, I found Black + Decker BPACT12HWT more efficient for 350-400 sq. ft. spaces.

To be fair, it heats and cools more effectively than the SereneLife SLACHT108.

From my measurements, it will spew out 43-44 degrees air when you put it on high, so it will be at most 20 minutes before the room is nice and cool.

On the other hand, heating isn't as impressive, but it will warm up your space to 75-76 degrees in most cases. I just wouldn't rely on it during really cold months.

For those freezing months, I'd probably have you go with a 14,000 BTU version of this Black + Decker or pick the TURBRO Greenland, which may be the best portable air conditioner with heater.

What I'll sometimes do with portable air conditioners is set a two-hour timer to fall asleep in a chilly room, but I honestly couldn't do it this time.

I don't mind white noise, but this was just a bit too loud.

While this one is supposedly running at 52 dB, that is untrue. I found it to be significantly louder, and many have claimed it goes over 70 dB on occasion.

On the bright side - the dehumidifier on this model is very good.

Not only will it handle the moisture in the air, but it auto-evaporates the liquid it pools from the room, so you don't have to drain it or empty the tank, which is pretty neat if you live someplace humid, such as Florida.

Finally, the Black + Decker portable air conditioner is not the most energy-efficient in its price bracket, drawing 1.4 kWh at max.

However, that still shouldn't affect your electric bill much. On average, that'll be like $15-20 per month, depending on usage.

Unlike the single-hose portable units I've covered so far (like the Vremi), the Whynter ARC-14SH is a dual-hose AC and heater.

In other words, Whyther ARC is a solid choice if you plan on heating or cooling your whole apartment (up to 550 sq. ft.).

In the real world, the Whynter ARC-14SH dual hose system will heat the space in as little as 10-12 minutes.

Cooling is even faster. The ARC takes about 5 minutes to refresh the space and about 15-20 minutes to reach the desired room temperature.

From my experience and what I’ve seen other people say, you can expect up to a 10-degree difference in cooling and an 8-degree difference in heating when using this portable air conditioner.

ARC also features a neat feature that recycles the condensation from the drip tray to help produce cool air faster. In other words, you won't have to empty the drip tray or a bucket like with SereneLife.

If you don’t, you’ll have to empty the water a few times a day because the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor air is too large and will cause condensation.

Now, I didn't expect such a powerful air conditioning unit to be quiet, but I was pleasantly surprised.

While the start-up noise levels can reach over 60 dB, the noise drops off significantly after a bit.

According to my measurements, once the ARC settles down and, even with the fan on the high setting - the unit resides well below 60 dB.

Still, this air conditioner isn't quiet-as-a-mouse, and you will hear the portable air conditioner running in the room, but you shouldn't need to make your TV louder or shout to be heard.

I suspect this is the case because when the Whyther achieves the "perfect" temperature, it turns off the compressor (which lowers the noise) and just leaves the fan on to circulate cooled air.

This dual hose system only has a 1-year warranty (with a 3-year compressor coverage), but I've used it for years without incident, so rest assured you won't be spending money on repairs.

With its 14,000 BTU of cooling power and impressive 13,300 BTU heating output, I witnessed a product that can definitely keep you both cool and warm year-round.

I have had my apartment as chilly as 69 degrees with TURBRO Greenland after running it for an hour, with my room temperature dropping to 72-73 from the low 80s in about 20 minutes.

The same thing goes for heating.

As long as your insulation is on point, the TURBRO Greenland will heat up your apartment to comfy 75 degrees by the time you’re done with your morning routine.

All this can be achieved in spaces anywhere from 400 to 600 sq. ft.

However, I'm confident this portable air conditioner could handle even larger spaces, provided they're open-floor.

Now, like with SereneLife, I was delighted when I received the batteries for the remote.

I also received two foam seals in the box, which came in handy when I had to fill up the gaps between the window and the unit’s window kit.

One thing I must say is I was quite pleasantly surprised with the efficiency of this one, especially at this price point and for such a high BTU model. It still rates low for overall efficiency but its not terrible in any way.

This one draws 1380 kW per hour when running at max, making it objectively budget-friendly for an air conditioner this powerful.

Another thing that took me by surprise was the noise, or better yet, lack thereof.

I kept my TURBRO unit around 6 feet from where my head rests when I sleep, and it didn’t bother me in the slightest. If I had to guess, it was 50 dB at most.

I must say that I'm not a fan of the Auto mode.

This Auto mode switches between heating and cooling, depending on the room temperature, to keep it "where you want it," which I don't necessarily like.

Some of you might enjoy this, and it is supposed to be more "energy efficient."

Still, honestly, I'd rather it just shut off the compressor and keep the fan on to circulate air when the space gets "too cold" - so I just used other operating modes.

The only other thing that bothered me is that this one has no WiFi controls, while a cheaper, cooling-only black model has them.

FAQs

1. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/units-and-calculators/british-thermal-units.php
2. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/guide_to_home_heating_cooling.pdf
3. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230519/Noise-levels-as-low-as-40-dB-can-lead-to-a-decline-in-work-performance-study-shows.aspx