Frigidaire FRA126CT1 12-000 Btu Window Air Conditioner W / Temp Remote

==================Update number two: After the summer season, I can say this with total honesty. Using this unit with my other unit, I saw NO increase in my electric bill. But, and this is a huge BUT, I felt a decrease in the heat in my home. Using two units means twice the power consumption but the on time was reduced dramatically that it actually means you are using less power over all.====================================Update number one: The remote sensing is, for lack of a better word, a joke.. Yes, it uses IR light to talk to the unit, SO, as long as the remote is pointing directly at the unit and there is nothing obstructing the path between the remote an the unit, then it works fine. BUT, and this is a huge but, in the REAL world this rarely happens. I still give this unit five stars but come on Frigidaire, this is 20th century technology used in a product of the 21st century. Get with the times.==================I already have an older version of this model, and was eager to get this one. I'll not bore you with a ten thousand word essay like some feel the need to write, but I will tell you in as few words as possible that this is a good product and why. I got this unit to put in the opposite end of my home so it would take some of the work load off of my older unit, which is still working like a charm.Size and weight for this BTU amount is good/great. One person can install it but I do recommend two. I'm going on 56 and I was able to install it by myself but don't let my results influence you. Being 115 volts instead of 220 means you don't need an electrician to install wires and an extra circuit breaker. The extra long power cord also eliminates the need for an expensive extension cord.As far as operation, it's easy. Just put it in an window, plug it in, and turn it on. Remember this though. It is 110 volts and an energy efficient unit, SO, it will NOT produce icicles within thirty minutes of being turned on, BUT it will cool down your room and in a not so slow fashion. Plus, it will not require you to take out a second mortgage to purchase it and also to operate it.Within an hour of installing this unit, the entire house is cooler and the humidity is MUCH lower. Thus, it is very comfortable now in all parts of my home, and also most of the time now neither unit is running so I think that two units will actually save electricity over running just one. I hope this makes sense. I'm old, and heat doesn't bother me but HIGH humidity does. So, I actually run the window units to be more of a dehumidifier than an actual cooling system. The best part of a window unit is that you get both for the price of one. Just a dehumidifier alone will cost more than a window unit.As far as sound. This unit is not very loud but let me pass some important information along. If you suffer from hearing loss, as I do, then even the smallest amount of "background" noise will be very distracting and thus, be very annoying. For me, that is not a problem, as it helps me sleep, but while watching TV, you will find that you have increased the volume quite a bit, each time the unit turns off. ;)

Four stars because this unit is quiet. It is powerful. It is manageable in size with standard installation - standard voltage etc. This past weekend we had temps in the 85-95 degree range. This cooled a hot 1400 sq ft space (open concept main floor of the house) which has a pretty solid solar-load from a southern exposure. We do have 2 ceiling fans - these really help to move air around and we are able to place the unit in an ideal location that can blow air across the space from a northern/shaded window.These last 2 points are very important. The unit is ideally located to move air (aided by two large ceiling fans) and does NOT have sun shining directly on the unit which increases it's performance. Additionally, we do not cool our space to ICE cold. This unit took the edge off of an 80+ degree space bringing it down into a dry and comfortable mid 70's. I don't expect the unit to get this much square footage much cooler...to do that we would need many more BTUs - probably 2 12k units or 2 15k units to get to "cold" etc.Shipping was rough on the box and the unit. Until had a few dents but nothing that would effect performance and I bent them out easily. A few of the fins on the back were also bent. Spend 5-10 mins straightening the worst of them with a steak knife/letter opener, otherwise it will be fine. Cleaning the fins from time to time will do more to maintain performance than a few bent ones on the outside.

This unit is shipped in a box that is totally unsuitable for shipping. This major flaw is exacerbated by the fact that the coils and fins do not have a grill guard, probably with a misguided sense of cost savings. The combination of these two flaws almost guarantees that the box and/or the unit will arrive damaged. The first unit that I received had serious damage to the fins and to the coils. Thankfully, Amazon arranged for a replacement. Not surprisingly, even the second unit was damaged also. The entire box is held together by four straps that has to be cut to open the box. A typical customer does not have these kinds of straps around, and so that would discourage people from sending the defective items back. Since the damage was not major, I chose to keep the second unit only because I did not wish to go through the hassle of returning this one also. It has just occurred to me that a few Frigidair dehumidifiers that I have purchased in the past few years have all had short lives, which is a hidden design flaw - a design flaw that I am pretty sure has been embedded into this unit also. Given that I will have to replace this unit soon, I am pretty sure that the replacement will be of a different brand - any brand but this brand.