Honeywell’s Contempo Series Portable Air Conditioner Will Chill You

Air conditioning is a boon to those suffering from hot days in summer, as well as offering relief to allergy sufferers due to its filtering of the air. The one negative is that having to cool a house can incur a high electricity cost, due to this “all or nothing” approach. That’s where portable air conditioners come in: they can be placed where cooling needs to be done and so, as a result, save energy costs. Not that every portable AC is alike, because differences exist that can massively affect their performance. Honeywell’s Contempo Series Portable Air Conditioner Model #HL14CHESWW is a self-contained compact unit that checks the right boxes but, more importantly, will provide the cooling relief whenever and wherever it’s needed.

For the AC to function correctly, it needs to vent heated air out of the room (modern tech also enables moisture to be vented automatically without user involvement, except in the case where very high humidity is present). For the Honeywell this consists of a window kit which requires placing a plastic slat into the window between it and the wall. Honeywell’s kit gives you two parts that fit together to contain the space of a typical window although if the window is larger then optional additional slats will be needed (unless insulated tape is used to messily close up the openings). The kit’s hose has one end securely locking into place on the vent at the back of the AC, with the nozzle at the other end doing the same into a cutout on the slat. Unlike other nozzles seen on portable ACs, the ACs nozzle has been made with a firmer grip on the slat and is of a more robust size and design for staying in place. The slat can be used horizontally or vertically, and in the case of swinging out windows, then the nozzle end of the hose can be placed so that it vents the hot air outside. Wheels at the bottom make maneuvering it simple.

Having plugged it in, the AC does a short startup sequence wherein the vent at the top opens to reveal itself and then closes again. This, and a small red light on the control panel at the top, lets you know it’s powered and ready for use. Activation can come from a top-mounted touch-panel or the remote; in either case its rating of 14,000 BTU’s means that it can comfortably cool a space of up to 700 square feet (this isn’t hyperbole either as it had no problems cooling a large bedroom with cathedral ceilings, so a thumbs up there). Sound output partly depends on where one is positioned relative to the AC and the fan’s setting (3) when the compressor goes into action. Overall it is more akin to sounding like a refrigerator functioning than not — it quickly becomes a “white noise” that won’t impair ones reading or television viewing.

The HL14CHESWW also adds a “Sleep” mode to the obvious and expected manual and automated controls for both the AC and heating. In the case of AC, you set the temperature desired and the unit raises it by one degree (C or F) after an hour has passed (is that you snoring?). Then it stays there for 5 hours before giving that degree back on the 7th hour. It stays there till the 10th hour and drops a further degree and then disengages the mode. If activated for heat, “Sleep” mode here behaves in a similar fashion: dropping 2 degrees after the first hour, dropping another 2 after the second hour and then staying there for 5 hours. The seventh hour sees a 2 degree rise in temperature followed by 2 more degrees on the 10th hour before shutting the mode off. This mode does more than provide an economical alternative to straight usage as it also aids in providing a comfortable environment for the sleeper.

The Honeywell Contempo Series Portable Air Conditioner Model #HL14CHESWW also adds convenience to its positive features (examples here being thermal/overload protection, an environmentally friendly refrigerant, dual filtration, the AC cable wrapping around the back for storage/moving around and the closing of the vent keeping out dust when not being used). In fact there’s really only one minor annoyance, in that the somewhat large remote doesn’t have a corresponding slot for placement on the AC — it’s very old-school what with not having a back-light for its fairly large LCD panel (but on the other hand this means that the batteries will last a longer time). Of course one shouldn’t discount that this Honeywell also functions as a dehumidifier, a heater that works by cleverly transferring heat from the outside into the room and as a stand-alone fan. But for many its most important function is that it cools effectively and efficiently and right now because it’s needed. That’s the main reason for why it will be purchased and for why it will be applauded.

For more about the Honeywell AC line, go to https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/E69A3F74-0E68-40E1-A5ED-B2BA62DE1E89?channel=MK2019