In this guide 6 sections
Put the three types in one table with identical rows: room size, installation work, noise, energy label and what comes in the box. Window units fit a single opening, splits suit rooms you will cool for years, and portables suit renters. That table answers the questions that otherwise fill the support inbox.
Start with the room, not the machine
Most buyers know their room, not their cooling need. Ask for floor area, ceiling height and which wall takes the afternoon sun. A top-floor bedroom under a bare roof behaves nothing like a shaded study of the same floor area.
Show capacity in the unit printed on the carton, usually kilowatts or BTU per hour, then translate it into a range of room sizes right beside it. Keep the translation short. Add a warning line for kitchens, glass-walled rooms and any room that houses ovens, servers or a crowd on most afternoons.
Portables are the usual mismatch. Their rated capacity looks fine on paper, yet the exhaust hose pulls warm air back in through door gaps and the unit re-cools air it just threw out. Quote a smaller room range for them.
- Floor area and ceiling height
- Sun-facing wall and which floor the room is on
- People in the room and heat-producing equipment such as ovens or servers
- Whether the room has a door that closes
- Capacity in kilowatts or BTU per hour, with both units shown
Installation is where returns begin
A window unit needs a clean opening of the right width and a frame that can carry the weight of the casing without sagging. A split needs a wall bracket outside, copper piping, a drain line and a technician with a vacuum pump. A portable needs a window kit. That is all.
Write the buyer’s job and the store’s job as separate rows. Does the price include fitting? Who drills the wall? Is a standard pipe run included, and what happens to the bill and the booking when the outdoor unit must sit further from the room?
Housing rules matter too. Many apartment blocks and landlords restrict outdoor units and cuts through external walls, so a renter can buy a split that the building then refuses to let anyone fit. Tell renters to check first. It saves a return.
- Opening or wall type needed
- What the buyer does and what a technician does
- Pipe run length included, if any
- Power point type and whether a dedicated circuit is advised
- Housing or landlord permission
Noise, energy label and running habits
Noise is the quietest complaint until the unit arrives. Window and portable models keep the compressor inside the room, so they sound louder than a split, where the compressor sits outdoors. Print the decibel reading and the distance.
Energy labels compare like with like. A star grade on a split does not rank against a grade on a portable, because the two are tested and graded in separate classes. Say so under the label. Buyers compare them anyway.
Add the habits that shape the electricity bill: inverter or fixed-speed compressor, sleep mode, timer, and whether the unit also heats. Skip savings claims you cannot source.
Extra kits belong beside each type
Buyers forget accessories until installation day. Window units want side panels and a support bracket. Splits want a pipe kit, an outdoor stand, a drain hose and, where the mains supply is unsteady, a voltage stabiliser rated for the compressor. Portables want a longer hose or a sliding-window adaptor.
Attach kits as linked products with fitment rules. A bracket made for a casement window must not be offered to someone who picked a sliding sash, and the cart should refuse that pairing before packing starts.
- Window: side panels, support bracket, foam seal strip
- Split: pipe kit, outdoor stand, drain hose, stabiliser
- Portable: exhaust hose, window slider kit, drain pump
- All types: spare filter, remote batteries, fitting visit
Build one comparison block and test it on the inbox
Store the comparison as data, not as a picture. Keep one attribute set per type, filled in for each model: capacity, room range, install work, noise at a stated distance, label class and kit list. Every page then renders the same table.
Pair the block with a three-question picker. How big is the room? Can you cut the wall? Will you move house soon? The answers highlight one column and leave the others quiet.
Then measure it against the inbox. Last month’s support emails show which question came up most. Pull twenty of them, write one comparison row for each repeated question, and watch whether that kind of email stops arriving over the next quarter.
Air conditioner type comparison sheet
The worksheet fits on a single page and has three columns: window, split and portable. It has eight rows: room size range, installation work, who does it, noise at a stated distance, energy label class, kit list, power supply need and return conditions. A bottom strip holds the three picker questions and a space to log which support emails each row removes.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should I list capacity in BTU or kilowatts?
Show the unit printed on the machine and convert the other beside it. Shoppers search both, and mixed units cause wrong-size orders that come back.
Can one product page cover all three types?
Keep one page per model and link a shared comparison block from each. The block stays consistent while the model pages stay clean and easy to maintain.
Do portables need an installation row?
Yes. A portable still needs a window kit and a clear route for the hose, and some window styles simply do not suit it. Say which.
Where should the comparison block sit?
Put a short version above the product grid on the category page, and the full table below the add-to-cart area on each model page.