Top 7 Ventless Portable Air Conditioners that Don’t Need a Window

If you need a portable AC without window access, a ventless air conditioner, then continue reading.

Can you use an AC without a window? Is there a ventless portable air conditioner?

The answer is NO…and YES!

• No: A true air conditioner uses refrigerant to capture heat indoors and dump it outside. It requires a window or other access to the outside.
• Yes: There are devices known as ventless portable air conditioners. They need no window to work.

Important – Not all climates are suitable for evaporative coolers. See the Map and our professional recommendations for how to stay cool where you live.

The Top Portable AC Without Window Access

If you are looking for an air conditioner that doesn’t need a window, we have a bunch of them for you to consider.

Check out features and reviews for all of them.

And pick an air conditioner that doesn’t need a window that is right for you. And buy it today, if you want, so you can get cooled off ASAP.

No window, no problem!

There is more information below that you might be interested in researching for where to use a ventless AC, alternatives for portable AC without window access and FAQs.

Top 7 Ventless Portable Air Conditioners

OK, here are the best evaporative coolers – mini, large, medium, bestselling, personal models, cheap options and more.

*We picked the Top Rated Ventless ACs in each class.

Ventless ACs of all sizes and options for all budgets are here.

First is our Quick Picks of the Best Ventless ACs / Chillers with bullet points that give you the top details, so you can decide and get on with your day.

Full Reviews follow below if you want to compare models more closely before choosing the best ventless air cooler for your use.

The Best Evaporative Air Coolers / Conditioners – Full Reviews

This is where we dig deeper into the best ventless air conditioners available in a range of sizes and prices to fit your cooling needs.

There are two main types:

Personal evaporative coolers, you might also call them a small ventless air conditioner, cool the air right around you. They are popular for desktops, nightstands, picnic tables and other close-proximity use.

Large ventless ACs or swamp coolers are designed to cool an entire room or larger area of a home. They are also a great choice for the garage, workshop, deck or patio.

These Ventless Portable AC Reviews start with the smallest units – personal evaporative air coolers – and work toward large models. 

#1 Efast Portable Air Conditioner, Cordless Personal Air Cooler Evaporative with 3 Speeds 7 Colors

Best Cheap Ventless Air Conditioner

Customers love this small, personal-sized air conditioner that’s affordable enough to get one for each person in your household. And it makes a great gift too. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money but want to keep your cool, give it a try. It cools for 4 hours on high and up to 8 hours on low.

This Efast portable cooler offers cordless portability and quickly recharges using the USB cord and a plug or your computer.

• Coverage Area: About 100 square feet – a 10’ x 10’ area, for example.
• Modes: Cooling with water, cooling with ice in the water and fan-only.
• Features: 3 mist and fan levels, USB charging, carrying handle, 7-color light show,
• Pros: Affordable and effective.
• Cons: It’s small, so the coverage area is enough for one or two people.
• Best Use: Desktop, bedside, dorm room, small office, car or take it with you to the beach or picnic. Consider buying extras for gift-giving.

#2 Seven-first Portable Air Conditioner, Evaporative Air Cooler, Rechargeable USB Air Conditioner Fan

Best Small Ventless Air Conditioner

This personal AC is a lot like the last one with one addition – it includes an aroma diffuser. So, if you like aromatherapy, consider this option at just a slightly higher cost.

The Seven-first portable AC has three cooling settings for the perfect comfort level every time. It is fully portable and easy to charge with the included USB.

• Coverage Area: About 100 square feet.
• Modes: Cooling and Fan-only Modes plus aromatherapy.
• Features: 3-speed fan, 2-hour and 4-hour timers to avoid wasting energy and water, and aromatherapy pad/function and a filter for air purification. It’s got 7 light options too and a handle that makes it simple to take with you anywhere.
• Pros: Affordable and a lot of great features.
• Cons: Only sized for one or two people who are in a small space.
• Best Use: Bedrooms, office, dorm, tent, RV and the beach or other outdoor location. Are there people on your gift list that enjoy essential oils and aromatherapy? Here is an affordable gift they will enjoy all year. The aromatherapy option can be used with or without cooling.

#3 3-In-1 Evaporative Air Cooler, Cooling fan with 3 Modes & 3 Speeds, Windowless air conditioner

Great Features

This room-sized portable cooler is a step up in size and power. And it has a lot of features including a remote control for convenience and freezable ice packs (ice boxes) you can freeze and add to the water for faster cooling. The brand is Seeper.

What is 3-in-1? The 3 modes are fan-only, water-cooling and cooling with ice packs.

Check out all the modes and features below to see how much you get with this portable evaporative cooler.

• Coverage Area: At least 150 square feet – a room 10’ x 15’ or 12’ x 12’.
• Modes: Standard cooling and humidification (adding moisture to dry air), cooling with ice and fan-only. Sleep mode reduces energy use.
• Features: 3 modes, 3 fan speeds, oscillating airflow to the side and up/down provides excellent coverage for the whole room. The remote makes it easy to use, and caster wheels offer smooth moving to right where you want it. There’s a 12-hour timer too.
• Pros: This swamp cooler is loaded with features and a powerful fan with oscillating air flow to reach all parts of the room. The 1-gallon reservoir means you won’t have to fill it very often. Top and bottom water tanks keep it running longer.
• Cons: This model is a little more expensive than the personal models, but you get a lot more capacity and room coverage too.
• Best Use: This unit is sized for a living room, any bedroom or office, and it’s easy to take on the road in your RV. It can be used outdoors on the deck or patio, or in a sunroom or screened porch.

#4 BREEZEWELL 3-IN-1 Windowless Portable Air Conditioner, 32-INCH Evaporative Cooler

Best for Large Room

Here’s another 3-in-1 options with a lot of coverage for rooms up to 225 square feet. This Breezewell windowless AC and chiller is very stylish too. It reminds us of a high-end Dyson bladeless fan, but it is better because it offers evaporative cooling too.

This swamp cooler is really quiet too for its large size – around 38dB, quieter than a library. Use it wherever you need a portable air conditioner without hose required to exhaust hot air. There is no hose or window required with this unit.

• Coverage Area: 225 square feet; Rooms 15’ x 15’, for example, or 20’ x 12’.
• Modes: 4 – Cooling, cooling with water, fan only and Sleep
• Features: Bladeless fan runs at 3 speeds and oscillates 40 degrees, 1 to 8-hour timer, handy remote with 20-foot reach, convenient remote control with all the functions, 1-gallon tank. Ice packs included – freeze and add to the tank for fastest cooling.
• Pros: Very high quality, built to last. And it has all the features most consumers are looking for including multiple cooling and fan settings, a remote and a large water tank to reduce the need for filling it. And it is very quiet. You either won’t notice it, or in a bedroom, will enjoy just the right amount of “white noise” to help you sleep.
• Cons: If we could change the design in one way, it would be to add wheels. However, at about 15 pounds, it isn’t too difficult to move when empty. It’s corded, as are all larger evaporative coolers.
• Best Use: Large bedrooms, large living rooms, kitchens, offices, outdoor spaces like the deck or a porch. A lot of buyers use this model in the RVs too or in a dry basement setting.

#5 HESSAIRE MC18M Portable Evaporative Cooler

Best Indoor/Outdoor

The next two swamp coolers are the largest on the list – big chillers that cover a lot of space and can give powerful cooling help to locations like the garage or converted attic.

Hessaire is the leading brand of large windowless air conditioners. It leads the way in quality and consumer satisfaction. Its units are ideal for home use and commercial and outdoor use.

Connect a hose! That’s right, you can add a garden hose connection for continuous outdoor or garage cooling.

• Coverage Area: Up to 500 square feet.
• Modes: Cooling and fan.
• Features: Huge 4.8-gallon tank plus continuous hose connection, powerful 1300 CFM fan (about the size of a furnace blower), 2 fan speeds.
• Pros: Large cooling area, heavy-duty casters for moving, but it is still pretty light at 16 pounds. It pushes air more than 30 feet, continuous operation is possible. This unit can even reduce air temperature by 10 or more degrees in 70% humidity!
• Cons: It’s probably too large for use in a bedroom or small office, but there are other evaporative coolers on the list for those rooms.
• Best Use: Large, open indoor areas like an apartment or home with an open floor plan – it needs no window to exhaust hot air. And it is perfect for outdoors on a deck or patio, or in a sweltering garage or pole building. It is commercial-grade, so this Hessaire swamp cooler is also ideal for schools, churches, animal barns, gyms, etc.

#6 Hessaire MC37M Evaporative Cooler, 3,100 CFM

For Whole House / Large Zone / Workshop / Garage

This is the largest evaporative cooler on the list – ideal for large spaces, a hot garage, shop or pole building. A lot of people use it to cool their whole house, especially with an open floor plan.

• Coverage Area: Up to 950 square feet.
• Modes: Cooling and fan.
• Features: 3-speed fan, 110V plugs in anywhere, huge 10-gallon tank plus garden hose hookup for continuous use, separate fan control for oscillation. It is easy to move using the handle and wheels. Rugged construction for home and commercial use.
• Pros: Powerful cooling even in moderately humid conditions – though it still isn’t ideal for the Eastern US, especially the South and Southeast. Commercial-grade quality and durability without the high price.
• Cons: Because it is large, it is fairly heavy. And while it uses a fraction of the electricity of air conditioning, it still runs at up to 250 watts – or 1/6 of the energy a hair dryer uses.
• Best Use: Large open spaces indoors like a gym or commercial building. It can be very effective in a large, dry basement. This large chiller is ideal for outside – This is a popular unit for garages of 2+ car size, pole buildings, banquet rooms, picnic shelters, large decks, etc. It will cool a large apartment or indoor space too.

#7 Evaporative Air Cooler – HiFresh 42-In Bladeless Tower Fan 600CFM Swamp Cooler

Top Rated Overall

If a personal AC is too small and the Hessaire models are too large, then this one might be “just right” for your evaporative cooling needs.

The quality of this unit is excellent too. And the tower design is attractive while it doesn’t take up much space. The oscillating action and height of the unit allows for excellent distribution of cooled air.

This HiFresh windowless AC is perfect anywhere you need a portable AC without window access.

• Coverage Area: About 250 square feet – plus the air easily reaches to 20 feet from the unit.
• Modes: Cooling and fan-only modes. There are also settings for Sleep and “Nature.” Ice packs can be frozen and added to the tank to speed cooling.
• Features: Remote control, 12-hour timer, bladeless 70-degree oscillating fan with powerful 600 cubic feet per minute (CFM) air flow. 3 fan speeds give you cooling and air flow options.
• Pros: Excellent quality and performance. It is loaded with popular features for keeping any space cool.
• Cons: Recommended for indoor use, though it is OK for a garage, deck or other outside location if it won’t be knocked over.
• Best Use: Living rooms, large bedrooms and offices, kitchens, workout rooms, yoga space, shops – anywhere you need portable AC without window access.

Alternatives for Portable AC Without Window Access

Mini split ductless air conditioning and heat pump systems are the leading alternative to evaporative portable ACs when there is no window.

Yes, they cost more, but they do a very good job cooling. And they are rated for all parts of the country, including very humid regions where evaporative  coolers are not effective.

Will Using a Dehumidifier Help Me Run a Swamp Cooler?

No. The electrical use will heat up the unit and make the temperature in the room higher. Plus, the evaporated moisture from the cooler will condense back into water and release the heat it removed.

In short, the two units will work against one another, defeating the purpose of the swamp cooler.

Is there a best ventless air conditioner for a high humid area?

No. ventless air conditioners are not designed for use in areas with high humidity. The physics of evaporation, relative humidity and temperature just won’t work.

FAQs

Does a ventless air conditioner and heater combo exist?

No.

If you need affordable cooling in a dry part of the country plus space heating, then we recommend buying a personal or room ventless AC from the list above and also buy a small space heater.

Will an evaporative cooler / ventless AC work in a basement?

Only if the humidity level is pretty low – below 50% relative humidity, for example. Basements are usually the most humid part of any home.

If you live in a dry part of the country, and your basement isn’t leaky / doesn’t have moisture issues, then an evaporative cooler might work.