Inventor Magic 12000BTU Portable Air Conditioner Review – An effective air conditioning unit, even with the hassle of UK uPVC windows
This year, I finally caved and bought a portable air conditioner. Ideally, I’d like a multi-split air conditioner, but that requires someone it install it, and ideally when I finally get my loft converted.
For many people, a portable air conditioner is the only realistic solution for proper air conditioning.
Inventor may not be the biggest name in the business, but they are not some random Chinese brand. They are a Greek company that specialises in air-con and refrigeration, and they have been around for 50 years. They are also very well-reviewed on Amazon.
Inventor has two models on Amazon, and they are two of the highest-rated air conditioning units on the site. This model with 12000BTU cooling, plus heating, or the Inventor Chilly 9000BTU air con, which just does cooling.
The Inventor Magic 12000BTU doesn’t appear to be available on Amazon anymore, so I have updated the Amazon recommendations.
Specification
| Inventor Magic M2GHP290-12 | |
| Cooling Capacity (Btu/h) | 12,000 |
| Cooling Capacity (kWatt) | 3.52 |
| Heating Capacity (Btu/h) | 10,000 |
| Heating Capacity (kWatt) | 2.93 |
| Energy Class (Cooling/Heating) | A/A+ |
| EER | 2.6 |
| COP | 2.8 |
| Voltage / Frequency / Phase (V/Hz/Ph) | 220-240/50/1 |
| Curent Input (A) Cooling | 5.9 |
| Curent Input (A) Heating | 5.0 |
| Power Input (W) Cooling | 1,350 |
| Power Input (W) Heating | 1,045 |
| Air Flow Volume (High/Medium/Low) (m3/h) | 420/370/355 |
| Dehumidifying Volume (L/h) | 3.25 |
| Noise Level (Low/Medium/High) (dB(A)) | 54/54.3/54.5 |
| Sound Power Level (dB(A)) | 64 |
| Compressor Type | ROTARY |
| Dimensions WxHxD (mm) | 467x397x765 |
| Net Weight (Kg) | 34.4 |
| Refrigerant /Mass (Kg) | R290/0.23 |
Are portable air Conditioners good? What are the downsides?
Portable air conditioning units are a sub-optimal solution for home cooling. This is true for every model on the market, so I feel it is important to highlight early in the review rather than make it seem like I am criticising the Inventor Magic specifically. Each year I think about buying one, then read many comments saying they are not worth the money. You will have to factor in the various issues these face vs either being hot or having multi-split air con fitted.
All portable air conditioners are:
- Quite an expensive investment if you only use them a few days per year
- Expensive to run when you do use them
- Very loud – Any light sleeper will NOT be able to sleep through the noise
- Physically large and heavy making them difficult to store when not in use
- The single house design blows out warm air exhaust air causing negative air pressure, drawing back in warm air from windows/doors etc
- Most UK homes with uPVC windows will need to use an awkward to fit window seal is both ugly and can be difficult to fit depending on your window. They are also not exactly airtight, so the overall performance will be reduced vs venting through a dedicated hole.
A long list of caveats would normally be enough to put me off a product, but as I sit here at 7 am in the morning, my office is already 27-degrees and going to sleep when the temperature is 25+degrees in the bedroom is torturous. Unless I fork out for the installation of a split air conditioning unit, this is the best solution you can have for cooling a room.
Installation
This weighs 35kg, so you will want to factor that in when you get your delivery. I carried it upstairs myself, but I wouldn’t recommend it for most people.
The unit comes with an exhaust pipe plus a window conversion kit. However, the window kit is for sliding sash windows which most UK buyers in moderately priced homes do not have.
The exhaust pip comes with various fittings but, if like me, you only need the part that attaches it to the air con. You will then need to buy a window seal kit, or DIY yourself some sort of window seal.
Being an expert DIYer, in my office, I ran the exhaust pipe through the small upper window of my office (sitting the air con on a table) and used bin bags duck taped around it to seal it all off.
When I moved it to the bedroom, I used a window seal kit, but it was crap, so I ended up using more duck tape to fix it all down. It was a bit of a disaster, and it is probably the biggest reason NOT to buy a portable air con.
Office Performance
Performance was surprisingly good. There seems to be two aspects to it, the overall temperature of the room and the perceived temperature.
The air con blows out cold air, so while the overall room may not be that cold, you immediately feel the cooling effect. Unlike a fan that just blows warm air at you.
This worked quite well in my office because I didn’t mind too much working with the air con on, so it made the room bearable to work in quite quickly.
The room then obviously cools down in general, too. My office is 4.5m x 3.5m and is 2.5m high, so just shy of 40m3. Online calculators suggest around 8000BTU, so I should have gone for a smaller unit, really.
In a little over two hours, the air-con cooled my room down from 27 degrees to 21 degrees and used 2.5kW of electricity.
Bedroom Performance
My bedroom is smaller than my office, so cooling is a little easier. The issue is that I am a terrible sleeper, and the air con is far too loud for me to ever sleep with it on.
My plan is/was to cool the room down and switch it off when I go to sleep. Switching it on a couple of hours before bedtime, my bedroom was gloriously cool when I got in bed. I left it on while I read, with the air con providing a pleasantly cool breeze rather than my fan blowing hot air at me.
I switched my light off when the temperature was 20 degrees, and when I woke three hours later, it had increased back up to 25 degrees. At this point, I resorted to my fan.
According to my Minut, it took around 2 hours for the temperature to go from 20 degrees to 24 degrees. So the room warmed up faster than I had hoped, but the important thing is that it remained cool enough for me to fall asleep in the first place.
Noise
It is really loud, like all portable air conditioners. My phone recorded around 50dB when in use in the office. When I left it on in the bedroom, my Minut Smart Home Alarm/Sensor recorded 47dB, which dropped down to 33dB when I went to sleep.
Neither of those readings will be accurate, but it gives you a rough idea in terms of dB. In terms of perceived noise, it is loud enough that I need to turn the TV/music up in my office. Not as loud as a vacuum cleaner but probably louder than most fans at full speed. The sound profile is OK with a general low to mid-end whooshing sound, so if you don’t mind noise, it may not be too bad.
Switching the unit to manual with the fan setting as low made hardly any perceived difference.
Running Costs
My Inventor Magic is rated at 1350W per hour for cooling. Actual usage appears to vary between 1100W and 1300W, and this seems to average out at 1200W while it is running full blast.
Depending on how you use an air-con, this can be less expensive than expected, or it will make a significant difference to your electricity bill
I am currently with SO Energy which has a unit rate of 13.6476p/kWh (I chose them because of the cheap electricity due to me running a lot of computers). You can sign up for SO Energy here.
This then works out at 16.38p per hour to run, which seems quite cheap, really.
I used 6kW when I used it for a few hours in the office then a couple of hours in the bedroom, which works out as 82p. So, in the grand scheme of things, this seems insignificant, especially if it means I can work longer and sleep better on very hot days. I wouldn’t recommend running it all the time, though.
Price and Alternative Options
I paid £439 for the Inventor Magic 12000BTU, but it has jumped up to £469 and is now out of stock.
Prices have increased, or stock has run out for many sites during the current heatwave. Alternative options include:
Jack Stonehouse Conditioning Unit Portable Air Conditioner for £349 – This has the same cooling rating, but doesn’t do heating.
Air Conditioning Centre 12000 BTU KYR-35GW/X1C for £459.99 – I am fairly confident that this is the identical hardware just rebranded.
Electriq 12000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner for £499 – same cooling capacity, lacks heating, but weighs a bit less
The De’Longhi Pinguino PACEX100 Silent is worth mentioning; it costs much more at £730 and has a lower cooling capacity of 10,000 BTU, but its A++ energy rating means it only draws 700W of power, about half what the Inventor does. It should also run quieter, with a reported 49-53dB(A), though that’s still loud.
For smaller rated units, there is the Inventor Chilly, which is well reviewed on Amazon. Currently out of stock but ranges between £310 and £360
Overall
While I don’t have a huge amount of hands-on experience with air conditioners, the Inventor Magic performs well, as in, it does the job I expected it to without apparent problems.
The 12000BTU rating should be enough to accommodate most rooms in a home, and the closed-loop refrigerant means there should be no maintenance.
I paid £439 for the unit, which is attractively priced compared to competing brands, but this has now gone up to £469.99, which is still reasonable, especially when you compare it to big brand names.
The main issues I have with this are fundamental problems with portable air conditioning units, which I discussed at the start of this review.
Inventor Magic 12000BTU Portable Air Conditioner Review Rating
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Overall - 80%80%
Summary
The Inventor Magic 12000BTU portable air conditioner works as advertised, it was capable of cooling my moderately large 40m3 office. The cool air it blows out provides a pleasant cooling sensation immediately, so it works particularly well in my office. Like all air cons, it is very loud and was impossible for me to sleep with it on (very light sleeper).
The main problems this suffers from apply to all portable air conditioning units, they are big, loud, relatively expensive to run, not very efficient and awkward to fit the exhaust for many windows.
Pros
- Works as advertised, with portable air cons being the only practical air con solution for many homes
- Rollers allow you to easily move it around the same floor
- Reasonably priced vs big brand names
- Not as expensive to run as people might make out
Cons
- Awkward and messy looking exhaust pipe installation through many types of windows (sash should be easy)
- Loud
- Heavy & large
- Expensive to run
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
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