Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Three specific factors within my newly renovated basement influenced me to purchase this product: the basement was too warm in the summer, far too humid throughout the year, and condo bylaws prohibit me from using an window air conditioner. A few days and a lot of money later, this 12,000 BTU beast was delivered to my door. *Likes* Operation: The unit can cool a room down – I let it run in a 78 degree room starting at about 6pm with the temp dialed in at 68 degrees, and about 5-6 hours later, the room was 68 degrees. So while it takes time, the DeLonghi does what most people will buy it for. Aesthetics: The unit itself (with the exception of the exhaust hose (see below) looks nice, contemporary and modern. It is not small, but then again, if you’re cooling more than a few hundred square feet, small isn’t going to work. Features: Real Feel option – this is a pretty ingenious feature that essentially measures temperature and humidity, and using its AC and dehumidifying skills, the DeLonghi cools down the room until it decides most people would feel like the room is optimal. *Dislikes* Noise: I don’t think I’m the first to break this news to anyone, however the science of cooling has not evolved to the point of being able to cool something without making noise, nor will it ever in our lifetime. Your car, your refrigerator, and your AC all need a compressor to function. And unless the compressor is outside of your home (see: Central Air), you’re going to hear it. Always. Period. The DeLonghi is no different. When you’re using the dehumidifier and AC functions, the DeLonghi abruptly and without manners, introduces itself to the room. And to be fair to DeLonghi, none of its competitors are going to deliver a quiet window or mobile air conditioner either. We’re up against science here folks. “Whisper” feature: For those looking for a quiet AC, let me save you some time. The whisper feature is marketing. Manufacturers know noise is one of the #1 complaints of air conditioners, and they’re trying to address it creatively. It’s good marketing, because it helped influence my decision, but with this feature on the fan is still loud, and the ability to cool a room diminishes in direct proportion to noise deceasing. Let me say that again: the quieter this or ANY air conditioner you will ever buy is, it will proportionally lose cooler power. The Hose: I’ve never owned a mobile air conditioner before, and after unpacking this puppy I understand why they’re not popular. No matter how nice the unit itself looks, a mobile AC is going to be your ugliest, most eyesore appliance you’ve ever bought. The hose on this thing is massive. Our cats could easily live in here and use it as a cool new hiding place. It’s the size of what you would see running across the ceiling of a good size building for it’s cooling system. There is no hiding this thing. It’s huge and it’s ugly. It just took my beautifully renovated condo and gave it an industrial/factory look. ACs need an exhaust, but I wish DeLonghi could find a way to exhaust with maybe a 3 inch diameter hose, rather than something the diameter of a microwave pizza. The dehumidifier: I wanted something to add AC function and replace my small dehumidifier. Sadly, when you turn the dehumidifier on, it will operate at full noise, full blast – and the real head scratcher is that it blasts out cold AC air. What if I want to dehumidify in the winter? There is no option to turn down the fan in the dehumidifier setting, no option to say “ok stop at this humidity percentage” or even see the current humidity percentage. The dehumidifier just insists on being cold and super loud. You will be frozen and deaf, but he you’ll be dry. Overall - if your main objective is to stay cool, and you are not able to use a window AC, this unit is a decent investment, but still way overpriced. There have to be less expensive options out there that are just as noisy without a hose that could probably put out a 9-alarm fire.