Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clean efficiency in a white box, June 17, 2006
This is an excellent high-efficiency budget air conditioner for small to medium sized rooms. The fan speed is adjustable so that the unit can push cold air further into a room at higher speed.
I really like all the options available in the controls. You can have it run as long as you want, or you can set it to run on an internal timer or according to an internal thermostat.
The on/off button is easy to use and the whole control panel responds well to presses. I don't feel ignored by this control panel.
In addition to setting the fan speed, you can set the thermostat from 60 up to 90, or you can set the unit to run the fan only, without cooling the air.
Also, there is an energy efficient mode which turns off the cooling system when the thermostat reads the right temperature, but the fan keeps running for 3 minutes, to continue moving air over the inactive but still-cold compressor. Then at 10 minute intervals the fan turns on for another 3 minutes and continues like that until the temperature goes high enough to activate the compressor again.
There is Clean Air button that turns on a little electric air purifier in the unit. A good bonus for allergy sufferers which I keep on all the time.
There is a sleep button that works with the thermostat settings. When the sleep button is pressed, the unit continues operating. 30 minutes later, the thermostat is set 2 degrees higher. 30 minutes after that again, it is set another 2 degrees higher, so it is more efficient while you sleep. The unit will then operate with the thermostat at that higher level for 7 hours, and then turn off sleep mode automatically, returning to the original thermostat setting, before the sleep button was pressed. I don't know anyone who sleeps a full 8 hours, so the sleep mode can be deactivated with the press of the button.
The unit reminds you when to change the filter by turning on a light. The reusable filter can be rinsed clean, and the button under the filter light can be pushed to reset the timer, which runs for 250 hours of operation before lighting again.
There are two control features that I don't like so well.
First, there is the mode selection button, which controls which of the three modes you are in: "Cool", "Energy Saver", and "Fan Only". I would have preferred two buttons, to go up or down the list, instead of only down. It's a minor pet peeve for me.
Second, I think the controls beep too loud when pressed, and I don't think there is a way to adjust volume.
Another thing I dislike is how the timer can only be set in half-hour increments up to 10 hours, and then 1 hour increments up to 24 hours. I would have liked to select smaller time slices, like 10 minute intervals. That makes it a longer process to program the timer, but gives me more control. However, since I normally use the thermostat mode, this is not really an issue for me anyway.
Be careful about putting furniture directly in front of the plug. The plug itself looks good and the cord comes out the bottom, but the reset and test buttons are not placed deeply enough into the plug box, so they can be accidentally pushed. This may turn off your unit, and the instructions say not to use the test and reset buttons to control the operation of the unit.
The unit seems to generate an average amount of sound. It does not sound any louder or quieter than an average air conditioner.
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81 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than expected from Frigidaire (but don't expect much), June 7, 2007
Frigidaire is not traditionally the best brand of ACs, to put it mildly, and I personally have horror- stories to tell about two(!) $600 Frigidaire ACs. But, I needed a small window unit, my local stores didn't carry any nice brands, and Amazon didn't ship anything else at the time either. So, I read some good reviews and bought it anyway.
The machine is "ok". It cools my small bedroom well, and it uses not too much power doing so. To be specific, it uses about 430 Watts when the compressor is on, and 50 Watts on fan-only (measured myself). My 10000BTU AC uses almost 3 times the current at only twice the cooling power, so this is definitely an efficient machine, which will be as easy on your power bill as possible at this time.
I do find it fairly loud. I realize that is a subjective statement, but I'm sure that the Panasonic and LG brands in my old apartment were quieter. I also wish it had one lower fan setting, to perhaps further make it bedroom- compatible. The Med and Hi settings are definitely unbearable at night! One thing that I found was the noise to drop audibly when I put some material in front of the intake grille to block direct noise (not right on the grille of course, leaving a few inches so it can suck in air).
This unit doesn't have an inside/outside switch, and the "8way louvres" are absolutely and completely useless - a very cheap substitution for real air directors. The remote is clunky, but it has the same intuitive 4-way switch (left/right=fan, up/down=temp) as the actual unit, so you can use it in the dark. I find that a big plus, especially for bedroom operation.
Update: after a few months of use, my unit broke down. Bad for me, good for you, because now I can report to you how the warranty works :)
You locate a local service center and give them a call. Then you need to be home for 1/2 day while repairmen come by and inspect the machine. Mine had an air leak which they deemed "not repairable". Of course this 3rd party repair company wouldn't take the unit back. I had to make multiple phone calls and send emails to Frigidaire and Amazon, while they figured out what to do with the thing. At the end, Amazon complied - and had UPS pick up the defective unit (they insisted they needed it, now matter how broken). I didn't pay any return shipping, but they did not refund the entire purchase price. I think Amazon was fair in all this, but I had to engage too many people and use too much of my time for this machine.
BOTTOM LINE: THREE STARS. If you're desperate and/or on a budget, get this. Otherwise, buy something else (not a Frigidaire, look for the Texan-made Friedrichs or Panasonics).
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68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Small Air Conditioner With Good Features But Not The Quietest, August 19, 2007
Before buying this unit I looked at many web sites trying to find the quietest small (about 6,000 BTU) window air conditioner. There is very little information on the internet on how quiet these products are. And of course, individual reviews are subjective.
Based on this unit being recommended by Consumer Reports I went ahead and bought it from Amazon for about $165, and used 1 day Amazon prime shipping. This was a great deal as far as the shipping! The unit ships only in its own box, and the box was pretty banged up. But the unit did not appear damaged.
Installation was easy, and I was able to do it without any tools. You do not necessarily have to screw the unit in to the window. The side panels also attach without any tools which was clever.
You can operate the unit using good tactile buttons both on the machine and remote control. The temperature can be adjusted in 1 degree intervals, and there are 3 fan speeds. The unit beeps for evry key press, but there is not a different tone when you reach the end of a menu range. For example, the minimum or maximum temperature. However, these menus do not wrap which is a nice bonus.
The unit has a feature called something like auto fan speed which adjusts the fan based on the difference between actual room temperature and the set point. However, there are only 3 fan speeds. I imagined this auto fan feature would be more like a volume control on an audio device. But really, its just three fan speeds. If there were more fan speeds perhaps the unit could run quieter.
The unit has a number of other features including an on/off timer, sleep function which raises the temp 2 degrees after two hours for a preset sleeping time, and a negative ion generater. Like many units of this size, the unit seems to largely circulate air from the inside rather than giving you fresh outdoor air.
The air blows out from two vents on the front of the unit, and more air blows out of the right hand side vent. The luvers only allow you a minimal amount of air flow control. I personally prefer the units that blow the air more out of the top, but this may depend on the room and your preferences.
The compresser is quiet, but I did not find the fan to be very quiet. Again, though, I was looking for the "quietest" unit on the market. The unit is not very loud, but not very quiet either. I wish we had a way of measuring this, because again this is subjective. But in the end, I still wanted to find a quieter unit.
Eventually I purchassed the
LG 6,000 BTU Low Profile Window Air Conditioner Model LP6000ER
ac unit from Best Buy for $200. I live near a Best Buy so did not have to pay shipping. Unfortunately, Amazon does not sell this unit directly only through resellers that do not participate in the Amazon Prime program.
This LG model was one of the only units (if not the only one) that scored 5 out of 5 for quiet operation in Consumer Reports.
The above LG unit is quieter than the one I am reviewing here. I just moved the LG in to my room, and the Frigidaire has just been relligated in to the guest room. If I had to buy another ac unit right now, I would buy the LG unit instead of the Frigidaire.
The LG unit seems to be the quietest, but if you know of a unit that is quieter please feel free to email or add a comment. The LG unit also has a bracket which apparently would allow you to open the window while the unit is installed. I'll write up a review on the LG page shortly.
In short the Frigidaire is a solid feature rich model with a great EER, but not the quietest small window air conditioner out there. You also may not be able to open the window when it is installed. The unit does a
good job at cooling a room, but may do better (with air at top of room) if air was sent up instead of straight out the front.
We also need a lot more detailed web information and reviews on window air conditioners. Please feel free to post your comments and questions. The appliance company AM Royal has a lot of units and they also ship. In most stores, the salespeople really are not trained on these units, and know very little detailed information. One salesperson told me that the window ac unit has become almost like a disposable item. Those looking for quiet units may also want to check out units by Sharp.
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