De'Longhi Pinguino PACEX100 Silent | Portable Air Conditioner with Real Feel Technology | 110m³, 10,000 BTU, A++ Energy Efficiency

Full disclosure, I bought this from the amazon warehouse in January for £360 as it was missing a remote and the box had been opened... I just bought a remote from ebay and the unit itself looked brand new!For that price point and compared to other units, this is very modern and sleek looking, it is chunky so you need a good amount a space and the hose isn't the longest but works fine for all my windows.It does a fantastic job of chilling the room down but the real test was how it performed in a very hot apartment when it's 38 degrees in and outside and I'm pleased to say this worked a charm, pretty large open plan living room and kitchen was cooled to a relatively chilly 18 degrees and didn't show any signs of struggle.Is this a silent air-conditioner? No, it's quite loud, especially when the condenser kicks in. However compared to other units I've had, this is much easier to zone out from, I had this thing on two feet away from my face all night during the heat wave and I slept pretty well and let's face it, when it's 38 outside, you'll put up with any noise or disruption to feel cool again.Really happy with this purchase, would I pay the best part of £800 for it though? Maybe, if you consider the Dyson fan that doesn't actually condition air is almost £500 and the build quality of this is fantastic and also acts as a dehumidifier too, not to mention when you are stuck in the middle of a heatwave with no escape, I know i would have paid more!

Bought this air con unit in May 2020, as I was going to be working from home for a long time and I dont handle hot weather very well.The unit comes with an expandable plastic board, which can be inserted into an open window and which houses the exhaust vent/pipe. The board is certainly suitable for sash Windows, perhaps not so much for casement type windows.After a years use here are my thoughts :- I can work comfortably. I work on the top floor of a 3 storey victorian house, so virtually no insulation in the roof. I also live in the south east of the UK, so generally quite warm in the Summer. When it's 20c outside, the room will rocket up to 27c+ very quickly. In last years hot weather, the room quickly gets up to 30c+. The unit does a fantastic job of bringing the room temperature down to something far more bearable. The room is 19ft * 12ft, 7 ft ceiling.- In very hot weather (30c), the unit will get the room down to 23/24c - so not super cool, but very bearable.- In warm weather (20c - 25c), the unit gets the room down to 18c, cool enough to need a sweater (yes, I know thats not the point).- I wheel the unit into my daughters bedroom in summer evenings, to take the heat out of her room (south facing, also on the 2nd floor and gets baked all afternoon long). Last year was the first year that she was able to sleep all Summer long in her own room.So, whilst a fairly expensive unit, it was the best £700 I've spent.The "quiet mode" isnt that quiet - it does reduce the noise a bit, but I think anyone would struggle to sleep with it on.Overall, very pleased. Super simple to set-up and use.

Anyone considering spending this sort of money on a portable aircon unit will doubtless be reading the reviews to see what others think before deciding whether or not to splash the cash (well I did!) Unfortunately the reviews for many of the aircon units on Amazon are in limited numbers, and even then seem to be at the extremes with their opinions. Having aircon in your home is a very subjective matter, and clearly people are very divided on whether they're any good or not.This review is for the Delonghi PAC EX100 portable air conditioner, and I'm writing it to hopefully help assist anyone in the UK who may be contemplating taking the plunge on purchasing an air con unit.First off, a few basics. Any air conditioner is obviously a machine of two parts: the fan bit, to blow the cold air around, and a compressor to chill the air passing through it. Both of these parts make different noises, and at different volumes, all of which are dependent on what you're asking the machine to do. If you set the fan at maximum and turn the temperature to the lowest setting then of course it's going to be nice and chilly, but on the flip side it will probably sound like you're living at the end of Manchester airport runway. No air con is "silent", although this Penguino model from Delonghi (and some of its sibling models) advertise what they call a "silent" mode. It isn't. Think of it being akin to Tesla advertising "auto pilot" on their cars which aren't really fully automomous and you sort of get the idea. In the case of this air con unit it's just slightly (and I emphasize the word "slightly") quieter.If you are looking to buy this model for use during the day then I whole-heartedly recommend this model. If however you are wanting it to cool things down during the night then there are a few points you may want to consider. I'm lucky enough to have a fairly large bedroom complete with a bay window big enough to accommodate a sofa, as well as having wardrobes either side of the room. As a result my air con is slotted into the bay window by the end of the sofa and effectively on the other side of the room from where my head is when I'm asleep - some 15+ feet away. I'm also a fairly sound sleeper. All of this is to try and give you some context for describing my opinion on the noise from this unit.If you've stayed in hotels with built-in air conditioning, I can tell you that on the quietest setting this device is ever so slightly louder. Essentially the fan noise is the same as a build-in unit you might find in a Premier Inn hotel room (other hotel rooms are available!), but in the hotel room you are shielded from the noise of the compressor. For the compressor think of it as being similar to when a fridge kicks into life to chill your food.If you are a light sleeper then you definitely don't want to have this unit in close proximity to you, but this is essentially true of all portable air conditioning units. You need to consider where to position it away from your immediate sleeping area, but don't forget that you do ideally still need it to be in the same room as you (with a closed door).As I mentioned at the start, noise output is subjective, but you also need to consider what you'll be asking the unit to do and what mode you'll be using. For me, having the unit set to 20' or 21' across the room and running in the "silent" mode is sufficient for me to get to sleep. For me, this setup keeps the fan operating at a constant speed (quiet consistent hum akin to a normal desk fan), with the compressor running in tandem at a slightly louder noise level. When the unit senses that the air temperature is close to what it's been set for, the compressor actually cuts out and then re-engages 4-6 minutes later periodically to help maintain the temperature. For me this background noise, and in particular the change in background noise level, is sufficiently minimal that it doesn't disturb my sleep. This model does also have the Delonghi "Real Feel" mode, designed to achieve the optimum temperature environment for you, but what tends to happen is when the unit feels it has reached the ideal temperature it goes to sleep completely (on the plus side, very quiet), but a few minutes later when it feels the need to cut back in again both the fan and compressor resume with quite a brief start-up noise. This variation in sound levels from completely silent to suddenly full on I personally find more intrusive than the constant background hum I previously described. I can't imagine anyone getting a sound night's sleep in the "Real Feel" mode if the unit is immediately next to their bed.In short, it's a machine, it's aircon, it does make a noise despite the "silent" badging. It's noisier than a fan. When deciding where to position your unit, try sitting right next to your fridge and when the compressor kicks in decide if that would be sufficient to disturb your sleep or not. Consider setting up your unit in the same room as you but as far away from you as reasonably possible. On constant cooling "silent" mode both my dogs are happy sleeping next to it.A few other observations:- This is a fairly meaty unit, compressor, fan and all its interior gubbins weigh in at a hefty 32kg. It arrives well boxed up but at 35kg in total. Seriously consider getting someone's help to bring it into your house and getting it to the room where you want it set up. To unpack it's simply a matter of cutting the various plastic security ties around it and the cardboard box them lifts up, leaving the unit in its base tray. Again, having an extra pair of hands to do this is definitely worthwhile, and as you lift be ready to catch some of the vent hose and attachments which may fall out as you do this.- The unit itself is sturdy with good quality castors which roll well on both standard carpet as well as hard floors, so easy to maneuver to where you want it. Although the unit does come with its own heat removal hose for venting away the hot air, the unit does need to be fairly close to a window. You can bend and concertina the hose to the desired position, but obviously the closer the unit is to a window the easier this task will be and it will also be more efficient at pumping the warm air outside. Note that the hose does become warm when in aircon mode so best not to have any more hot hose in your room than absolutely necessary.- Initial setup is pretty easy really. Two people ideally, but I managed to do things on my own - just be mindful of the weight! For me the only tricky thing during setup was the connection of the exhaust hose. The hose comes with an adapter end already attached at one end. You then have a choice of several other adapter pieces to be attached at the other, depending on how you are planning on despatching the warn air to the outside world, eg. though a window, through a wall or through a dedicated orifice of some type. The instruction manual indicates first inserting one of these adapters to the rear exhaust port on the unit and then screwing the hose into it. The hose is a snug fit and rotating it in the adapter is a stiff task. I found it easier to first sit with the hose clamped between my legs and slowly rotate the adapter end onto the hose, so I could see exactly how it was fitting into the grooves inside it. I then simply attached the completed article to the exhaust port afterwards.- This unit has several modes of operation, such as fan only and dehumidify, but I'm guessing most people will be looking at it for the air cooling function. Note that air is expelled from a series of slats on the top of the machine which is effectively a flap. When the unit is switched off, the flap retracts down flush into the unit. When the unit is turned on the flap rises and can point in any direction from more-or-less straight up to forwards about 30' above the horizontal line. Note that this unit does not push air out directly in front of it - there is always a slight inclination upwards, which makes sense really as this is where the warmer air in a room will be. The flap can be set to oscillate up and down through it's range of positions (this motion is silent) and provides a good spread of air, or by pressing the cancellation button for this mode the flap will stay in the current desired position.- The remote control comes with 2xAAA batteries and works easily from 20'+ away. All the main functions are on it, including a few which are only available on the remote rather than the body of the main machine. When any instructions are given to the unit, via remote or direct touch, the unit beeps a confirmation and the LCD display is briefly brighter, then goes slightly dimmer about 3 seconds later. Even when slightly dimmer the display is still fairly bright, so again you may want to consider positioning the unit some distance away, or at least out of direct sight, if this sort of light is likely to disturb your sleep.- There is a timer function. Pressing the timer button will bring up a default time in hours on the main display where the temperature normally is. You can then adjust the time plus or minus 30 minute intervals using the + and - minus buttons. Be quick on this as it only gives you a few seconds to start making the adjustment. Pressing the timer button again cancels the function. The unit will switch itself off after operating for the specified length of time.Finally a few points on common sense, as clearly a few of the reviews I've seen have been from people with some unrealistic expectations:- this is a machine and does make a noise - no aircon is "silent", apart from the 'open a window' variety.- a reasonable room temperature is 20-21'C. I've seen reviews from people complaining about the lowest temperature you can set is 18', but seriously if you have a problem with this then you're not normal or you're trying to use it to store meat. I've previously worked in the supermarket refridgeration industry and long term exposure to 18' is not healthy. If you really need a colder setting than this then you need to see a doctor!- you get what you request from this machine, and by this I mean noise. If you want to cool a room rapidly and insist on setting it to 18' then don't expect this machine to be quiet. The warmer the room is to start with (and hence the greater degree of variation) the harder the machine will work to try to get to the desired temperature. If you have a door or window open and insist on setting a low temp then the unit may never attain the requested temperature. Don't be surprised if it sits there permanently working flat out.- be sensible and set the thing going well in advance of bed time - give it at least a head start to try and get the room to the temperature you want. Also be more reasonable and set a comfier 20' or 21' as the target and it will be quieter for you - eventually you should notice the compressor only occasionally kicks in to maintain the temperature.And finally.......I've noticed there's a video posted for the sister model, the black EX120, trying to show how quiet it is. To me it sounds like only the fan is engaged and the compressor hasn't started yet, which will make it slightly noisier. In terms of functions I believe both models are pretty much identical, although the EX120 has a higher BTU rating (can cool a slightly larger room more efficiently, if you really need it) but as a result doesn't have the A** energy rating which this model (the EX100) does.I hope you find this info useful and it clears up some of the misunderstandings people appear to have regarding air conditioning. Good luck with your choice!

I purchased this in preperation for the summer in the UK, so basically didnt get to use it for 3 months.When I did - the unit blows cold air out but doesnt cool the room properly. It was taking 3 hours to get the room from 26C down to about 22C, then wouldnt go any lower despite being set to 18C. This was with a polycarbonate screen over the window venting the hot air. During this time the unit was extremely loud, not to mention the fact it weighs a ton.Amazon have been great and agreed to refund even though its been a long time since purchase.Got an Inventor Chilly as a replacement. £400 cheaper, far superior (so far). Its quiet and cools the room very quickly.In summary - Dont buy this unit, shop around.