BLACK+DECKER Smart Portable Air Conditioner, 14,000 BTU for Rooms up to 700 Sq. Ft., Smart Portable AC with Follow Me Remote and Window Kit, BPACT14WT, White

My biggest complaint? The remote doesn't have backlight. Neither does the one for my space heater WHICH you can buy one of these units with heating options. I just haven't taught my fingers on this one yet similar to getting a new tv remote.I have Casement Windows. I didn't WANT casement windows because I knew this problem was going to occur BUT I lost that fight. Ah well. So I got the unit in and didn't have time to configure my window screen for the exhaust tube but it was 98 degrees outside. I stuck the hose out into my hallway landing, turned the ceiling fan on there to move the air down opposite of where I have it in the winter to bring the warm air up, and slept cool all night. It worked so well I contemplated NOT doing the window install. That cost me a little over a hundred dollars in plexiglass and parts though I could do it cheaper. But Free is cheapest. It also had me walking around the unit in the door while asleep SO, I fixed the window.With my window screen adapted, when I use the unit I crank open my window, turn on the air and leave my door cracked. I have a cat that comes in and out but the opening in the door doesn't let much air out, lets the inflow needed for the air that DOES go out through the unit in and gets my bedroom cool in 10-20 minutes tops from too hot. It's as noisy as a window unit but I grew up with that so I go right to sleep.The air in my house is already dried by the HVAC so I have not use Dry mode. There are three modes of control for the Cooling. Temp/Sleep and Timer. Set the Temperature that you want and the unit will cycle on and off to reach and stay at that Temperature. The Sleep setting will raise the temperature 2 degrees in an hour and 4 degrees after 4 hours. (When you fall asleep and are still, you tend to get cold and it tries to account for that.) And Timer, you can have it turn the unit off in 1 hour units up to 24. I've used all three. Last night I left it on. Woke up cold and adjusted temps myself twice. The sleep setting might be about right for me. YMMV I set the timer mode too early the first night and thumbed the unit on again midway through the night THEN woke up cold and turned it off. You'll find your correct setting as well.And NOW people can sleep downstairs without freezing to death so that I can sleep upstairs in comfort, not just tolerable relativity. Should make the electric bills go down to as I don't seem to need the unit on for more then 3 or 4 hours.---- (the following isn't really review but added to help with Casement Windows Install.)---Having watched a few YouTube videos the attached photo shows my installation. My real problem with this is I have casement windows. This itself isn't the problem of the unit, it just complicates the install. My windows have screens that clamp to the inside of the window. Simply remove the frame, remove the screen material, buy a piece of plexiglass and trim pieces at your big box store to fit your screen area. You'll have to cut it to size, cut the hole for the exhaust tube and then I used clamps (simple pieces of metal and short, #8 screws to screw them to the frame. Then put the frame back into the window and it's done. I didn't get my trim pieces cut just right and the holes it left in the corner advertised for all those no-seums bugs to crawl right through. I sealed it with white duct tape. When the seasons over I'll fix that. I have seen videos on installing the cutouts they send you on regular windows, they look about like anytime you use a window unit WITHOUT having to have that wonderful time where you slide the unit halfway out and then have someone push the window down to keep it from falling out your whatever story window. It does take a little floor space and is several hundred dollars cheaper then the two hose units that don't take inside air, suck the heat out of it and blow it out the window. That means you are sucking air from somewhere else in your house and bringing that into your room. I let you research those differences, MONEY turned out to be the limiting factor here.

I own two of these, the 12,000 BTU model and the 14,000 BTU model.THE 12,000 BTU MODELI bought the 12,000 BTU model last year when we were anticipating a summer heat wave, but the heat wave never happened. So I stored it unopened for a year.The heat arrived this summer, so I took it out, put the window venting panel together, and turned it on. I'm using it in my living room, a large open space (about 750 SF) (i.e., it's larger than this unit is rated for).As the temperature climbed outdoors, it started dropping in my living room. It reached 88 degrees outside but was 68 degrees in my living room (so, about 20 degrees lower). Considering the size of the room, I was pleased with how well it worked. The fan has a pleasant white noise sound on this model.Re: problems and issues: One thing I found a little irksome was that the vents the cool air pours out of, aim upward and can't be angled downward (or horizontally) to blow cool air on me when I'm on the couch working. I do most of my work there, so this was a downer. I solved it by propping a piece of lightweight plastic on top of it to angle the air flow toward me. Not ideal but it works. (But they really should fix the vent issue.)The big 'dryer hose' that vents the heat through a widow heats up a bit; this isn't a design flaw, it's how portable AC units work. (They essentially take in air, separate it into hot and cold, then throw the cold air out of the front, and the hot air out of the back.)The fact that the hose heats up reduces their efficiency, causing them to transfer some heat back into the room you're using them in. To minimize this, keep the unit as close to a window as possible so that the hose will be as short as possible. It's not a problem for me yet, but if it becomes one, I may get some kind of insulation to put around it.Other than that, there are no problems so far.HOW TO DRAIN ITAir conditioners collect and create water inside due to the temperature differential and the humidity. If you live in a very humid environment you may need to drain it regularly through the drain spouts in the back.There are two drain spouts; the upper one is to use when you're dehumidifying a room. The lower one is for when you're using it as an AC. Most of the humidity generated by the operation of the compressor goes out through the venting tube, so you may almost never need to drain it. I haven't had to drain mine yet, and it's been about a month.THE 14,000 BTU MODELAfter using the 12,000 BTU model and liking it, I bought the 14,000 BTU model. I have a large living room so I wanted to be able to run both at once on really hot days (i.e., over 100 degrees F outside).I had to use a different circuit for the new one, so bought a heavy duty extension cord, making sure it was rated to handle the extra power.I like both units, but the 14,000 BTU model makes little sounds… kind of a subtle scraping sound… when it’s in operation that I don’t like all that much. It feels to like the air temperature is the same coming from both of them. I'm not sure it was worth the extra money for just another 2,000 BTU (really just another 1,000 BTU when you consider the heat loss that all internal AC units have.)WHY THE BAD REVIEWS?Portable AC units, this one included, get lots of bad reviews. Some may be because people don't know how to use them (i.e., they may not have waited 24-36 hours after delivery to turn it on). (This is because the delivery company may have had the unit on its side.)Apart from that, though, I suspect that some defective models are sent out, and people try to "work with the company" to fix them, instead of returning them. If I got one that had problems, I would immediately return it, especially because Black and Decker's tech support line is so terrible. (I had a couple of minor issues I was trying to resolve when I first set mine up; it took me three days to connect with a live person, then I had to call back again because the advice was wrong... which took another two days. I'd call, be put on hold for a half hour, then the call would disconnect.) I gave this product 5 stars but my rating of Black and Decker's tech support would be one star.