Most portable air conditioners have tradeoffs, the most common being sacrificing energy efficiency for better cooling performance. This isn't the case with the Frigidaire Gallery FGPC1244T1. It is a balanced portable air conditioner with three fan speeds that is not only powerful at cooling, but also energy-efficient and feature-rich with a sleek design. An excellent five-year compressor warranty helps make this an outstanding choice for your home.
This Frigidaire unit quickly cools most rooms up to 550 square feet, which makes it an excellent option for many small homes or apartments. The maximum airflow rating is 200 CFM, and the air conditioner can remove up to three pints of water from the air per hour in Dry Mode. Although looked at separately the airflow, room-size rating and moisture collection are average for the industry, together they make the Frigidaire Gallery a strong contender.
One feature that stands out is this unit's oscillating louvers. None of the other portable AC units we reviewed have this feature. The oscillating louvers move up and down to circulate the air, helping to cool the room quickly and evenly.
Despite its good performance, this portable air conditioner is one of the most efficient units we reviewed. With an energy efficiency ratio of 11 EER, we estimate its annual energy cost at $94.76, about $40 lower than the least efficient product we reviewed. In addition to efficiency, this unit is safe to run with a UL listing certifying the unit has passed important safety standards.
This portable air conditioner is not only easy to use, it's relatively quiet. Its sound output of 53 decibels is louder than the 48-decibel Amico AP11000, the quietest portable AC we evaluated, but for the power it delivers, we found the tradeoff more than acceptable.
The Frigidaire Gallery has built-in Wi-Fi, which was unique among the air conditioners in our comparison. With this feature, you can control the unit with your smartphone or via voice commands on smart home platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. In addition to smart connectivity, the unit comes with a basic remote control.
The filters in the machine can be washed or vacuumed. The unit also has a built-in ionizer which, according to the user manual, can be turned on and off. We don't generally recommend using ionizers because they produce small amounts ozone gas, which can be harmful to your health.
The Frigidaire Gallery includes common convenience features such as a 24-hour programmable timer and wheels on the bottom. It also has a sleep mode and an auto-restart feature, which are uncommon among portable units and quite useful. The auto-restart feature will turn the unit back on if it loses power, and the sleep mode adjusts the temperature as you sleep to save energy while keeping you comfortable.
The biggest drawback to this machine is its size. At 78 pounds, it is the heaviest unit we reviewed. We found it difficult to carry the machine when we brought it to our testing lab. However, once the unit is on its wheels, you can simply roll it instead of carrying it. Because of the casters, this weight isn't a major issue, unless you plan to move it up and down stairs often or you have thick carpet.
The Frigidaire Gallery FGPC1244T1 has a relatively long five-year compressor warranty. Other parts in the air conditioner carry the same one-year coverage as other manufacturers. At the time of writing this review, the Frigidaire Gallery costs $537, about $100 more expensive than the average unit in its class. We believe, however, that its added features and competent specs more than make up for the expense.
