It's not perfect, but it gets the job done, and after comparing everything I can find, many times, it's right in there with the best price and performance combination that can be had. I just ordered a second one, and I've owned an EdgeStar AP14001HS (almost identical) for over two years. For the last 10 days, one of these Whynter ARC-14SH units, along with the EdgeStar unit, for a total of about 28000 BTU rating, have kept me comfortable in the blazing Modesto, CA heat, averaging over 95 degrees F, with many days well over 100 degrees F. Moreover, the two 14000 BTU units are replacing my 3-ton (36000 BTU) main central unit while using far less electricity! To be fair, the two 14000 BTU units are only keeping about 3/4 of my 1000 square-foot home cool, which is why I'm buying the additional Whynter unit, so I'll have 3 (counting the EdgeStar) for a total of 42000 BTU.

August 15, 2017 Update: The second unit I received was installed and turned on August 13, 2017, and only worked fully for about 1.5 hour, then developed a problem. I think it's temperature sensor failed, because it acts like it thinks it's too cold to turn the compressor on in cooling mode, no matter how low it's set at, and when in the dehumidify mode the compressor works fine, but displays "LO" as the temperature, whereas my fully-working other unit displays the sensed temperature in the dehumidify mode. It also heats with the compressor on in the heating mode, but I think that's because it thinks it's cold in the room. It's serious drag to be faced with having to re-package this thing to send it back.

I decided to buy another Whynter instead of another EdgeStar even though both have their advantages and disadvantages. The EdgeStar has the advantage of displaying the room temperature, and only displays the set temperature when you are adjusting it. This is significant when you are unsure how close it is to turning the compressor on or off, because even though it's cheap and easy to add a separate room thermometer next to the unit to see the room temperature, you never know for sure if it's reading exactly the same temperature as the heat pump (A/C) unit thinks it is. So, a point to the EdgeStar. Maybe it's because the EdgeStar is over two years old, but the EdgeStar is louder than the Whynter, especially when the compressor turns on and off with a noticeable clunking sound, and the Whynter is noticeably quieter, so that's my I ordered a Whynter as my third unit.

I'm buying a third unit, because when it gets over 100 degrees F for multiple days in a row, even the old 3-ton central unit couldn't quite keep up without a gradual rise in home temperature during those blazing afternoons, so even though the two 14000 BTU units have done an adequate job, with far less electricity than the 3-ton unit, they too loos the battle by a few degrees during those 105 degree afternoons.

So, the Whynter is a little quieter than the EdgeStar, but the EdgeStar displays room temperature as well as set temperature. As far as I can tell, otherwise they are almost identical.

Note I have used the EdgeStar for heating as well in the last two years, and it works very well. Note you will need to drain some water when in heating mode, and even in cooling mode if it's a humid day or night,

Don't believe the skeptics who claim these units are like those single-exhaust hose models, because I have checked them out, and there is no significant outside air being sucked into my home like there is with single-hose units. These units are really doing the job, and they are saving me many thousands of dollars that it would cost to buy a new central unit. Moreover they use less electricity, because the circulating fan of the central unit consumes about 500 Watts, and that isn't needed with these units distributed around the house. The central unit has the advantage of being quiet, so if you can afford many thousands of dollars more to keep it really quiet, a central unit is best,

Overall this unit has its pros and cons. Some days it makes me extremely happy, and others it makes me super frustrated and here is why.

I have owned this unit for 3 months now.

Note: I own the ARC-14SH which is the dual heat/cool unit.

Pros:
Remote controlled
It 'cools' and 'heats' to an acceptable level

Cons:
Extremely HEAVY construction. Getting this up a flight of stairs is no easy feat if you are older than 30.
Fan speeds while variable on the control, are not variable. This unit has one speed IMO (Not proven)
Extremely LOUD when the compressor is running or the fan is running.
The directional duct only spews air up and barely directs anything forward or side to side.
I am relatively sure that the window kit could be improved by moving the inlet and outlet either father apart, or putting a hood on the outlet to direct the exhausted air away from the cooling inlet. However the temperature differential between the two is quite high.

Works well considering its cooling a bigger area then its made for but it's just to back up the central ac unit that is poorly located on one side of the house so my kitchen and living room stay warm because the AC barely makes it there. It makes about the same amount of noise that a regular window unit of the same size would make on High setting because there is no high med or low Only the fan has those settings and when the compressor is on you cannot tell the by sound what level the fan is at, even the instructions tell you the same thing.
You have to be carefull how you roll it, if you push it from the back it is top heavy and can topple over either push it backwards or sideways then face it the way you want.
I have used it 10hrs a day for 2 weeks so far and have not had to empty the water I live in humid Florida so that's gotta be a plus.
I would recommend depending on where you have it placed to go out and buy insulated tubbing that is bigger or some kind of water heater blanket and cover the Exhaust tube as it radiates heat . I bought 25' of AC\Heat tubbing for that then used some of the rest to move the exhaust away from the Intake as they are right next to each other on the outside of the window.

Was on the fence about whether to buy. I went for it and am happy with my purchase, but my needs and circumstances may differ than yours. I wanted to make my large bedroom cold at night. And it worked... Got the temp down to the lower 60's.. But...

1. I live in S Cal near the coast so the temp at night is in the mid 70's to begin with
2. My room is about 10' x 20' and the ceiling is not that high
3. I installed it in a way that the exhaust tube was on top .. And i wrapped the exhaust tube with foil encased bubble wrap insulation so that the heat from the exhaust tube didn't radiate back into the room
4. I got a cheap plastic vent air diverter and taped it to the cold air outlet to redirect the air forward into the room instead of upward to the ceiling

With those mods my room gets very cold at nite - in the lower 60's ...

It is a bit noisy but i got used to it after one nite and can sleep with it on no problem .. But that,s me...

This thing is awesome. Its pretty big and the plastic panel that goes in the window is slightly flimsy but it does its job and has never fallen out. I have heard people complain about the noise and have no idea what they are talking about. I have to be really paying attention to tell the difference between when it is just the fan and when the compressor is on. This thing cools the whole upstairs of my bungalow style house with ease, even when I have my huge TV, huge monitor, laptop, and gaming pc running to their max. Tubes are of high quality and I wrapped the exhaust tube with that foily bubble wrap stuff.

UPDATE: Now started using this as a heater in the winter too for my upstairs. It does a pretty good job with the intake hose off and exhaust hose out the window. I'm not sure if it is as efficient as one of those ceramic heaters though, it takes about 1200w on heat mode and I don't see any specs on how many BTUs it gives off.