The Korea Consumer Agency found that some portable home air conditioners lack sufficient insulation material to seal window gaps and require improvement, based on tests evaluating the cooling performance of six products.
The six products the agency tested were LG Electronics' "PQ08FDWBS," Eparam's "EPA-MH10W," Flux's "PLX-PAC07SIWH," Bokuk Electronics' "BKA-5107W," Weltem's "WPC-2000C," and Hanil Electric's "HPA-7KR."
Without reinforced insulation, the LG Electronics product was fastest and best-performing, taking about 26 minutes to lower a 35℃ room temperature to 24℃ after operating at 24℃ on strong wind. The Eparam product recorded a solid result at about 36 minutes. The remaining four products failed to reach 24℃ even after extended operation.
All six products tested provided a hose to expel the heat generated during the cooling process out the window. However, in the five products other than the LG Electronics product, the insulation material to seal window gaps was insufficient, allowing hot outside air to flow into the room.
When the agency conducted the test under identical conditions after reinforcing the insulation, four products were able to lower the temperature to 24℃ after 41 to 58 minutes. In particular, the Eparam product's required time was confirmed to shorten by about 5 minutes, from about 36 minutes to about 31 minutes, showing that reinforced insulation is needed for the smooth cooling of portable home air conditioners.
In addition, when the agency measured the average indoor temperature over five hours at 24℃ on strong wind without reinforced insulation, there was a difference of up to 2.1℃ between products. Among the products tested, the LG Electronics and Eparam products were relatively superior, maintaining levels of 23.4 to 23.5℃, with a small deviation (-0.5 to -0.6℃) from the set temperature (24℃).
The average noise of the six products when operating at a set temperature of 24℃ on strong wind was measured at 53 dB(A). This is about 9 dB(A) higher than wall-mounted air conditioner products of similar area. By product, the LG Electronics product was relatively quiet and superior at 46 dB(A).
However, some products needed improved labeling in areas such as cooling area and CO₂ emissions. The Flux product was being sold with its official website listing a cooling area of 26㎡ in the product name, even though its actual cooling area is 23㎡. The LG Electronics product complied with the post-management standards of the "Efficiency Management Equipment Operation Regulations," but it needed labeling improvement as it displayed a higher CO₂ emissions figure on its energy consumption efficiency label than on its filing confirmation document.
The agency advised that when buying a portable home air conditioner, consumers "should check key quality factors such as cooling performance and noise, and select a product by comprehensively considering the installation environment and whether window-gap insulation material is provided."
