Whynter ARC 10WB Portable AC

Vital Statistics

• 26 degree temperature control range.
• 10,000 BTUs of cooling capacity.
• Programmable out to 24 hours with auto restart.
• Built in dehumidifier feature draws up to 55 pints of moisture from the air per day.
• Easily cool up to 300 square feet.

The Whynter ARC 10WB portable air conditioner provides a robust 10,000 BTUs of cooling capacity along with an average dehumidifier. The design is less than inspiring but if that sort of thing doesn’t matter a whole lot to you then this may be the unit you want because you’ll find plenty of other things to like about it.

Pros

• 10,000 BTUs of cooling – The ARC 10WB is rated to 10,000 BTUs which means it would stand toe to toe with all but the most heavy duty window units. We suspect that the 300 square foot rating is something of an understatement and that it could likely handle a room 25% larger than that (but as we’re not the manufacturer take that speculation with a grain of salt). Regardless, it does what it’s designed to do and does it effectively.

• Full 24 hour programmability – Like a lot of other portable air conditioners in this price range the ARC 10WB is programmable out to 24 hours in advance. That’s a very convenient feature if you want to make sure you walk into a nice cool kitchen at the end of a busy day or a nice cool and dry bedroom at the end of the evening without having to leave the thing on all day.

• Auto restart – Power outages are a pain, particularly when you have to scramble once the power comes back on to reset all your appliances that were abruptly shut down. The 10WB comes with auto restart that remembers how you had the unit set up when the power went down and returns it to those exact settings when power is restored.

Cons

• No heater – As we’ve said on other occasions when we see a unit that offers a dehumidifier and other features we tend – right or wrong – to assume that it will include heating mode as well. Some do and some, like the 10WB, do not. If you live in a warm part of the country or the world then this is not an issue. If you live in Minnesota you might want to think about it.

• Design – The 10WB is basically a box on wheels that will cool your room. For many people that’s enough. For others who want such a visible piece of machinery to fit in with their minimalist, modern decor it may not be. Our feeling was that, for the price (which is a bit higher than some comparable units) they could have put a little more effort into the look of the unit.