Costco blog/discussion forum

At most warehouses, Costco is currently featuring a portable air conditioning unit, the Sharp 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner AC CVP10NC (Costco item number 263786). This was listed at my local warehouse for $499.99 before a $20 manufacturer's mail in rebate.

If you've never owned a portable air conditioner, you need to know a few things so that you aren't disappointed.

• It requires a window. You hook an air duct hose, like the one that vents a dryer, from the unit to the window. This unit comes with a window attachment kit that works with most common types of windows.
• It collects water as it cools. How much water depends on the humidity. If you live in the South, it's going to be a lot more than if you live in the Arizona desert. The unit holds about 4 pints of water, that's half a gallon. You have to hook up a hose and drain it once the reservoir is full.
• It's not that portable. If you have visions of moving this "portable AC unit" several times a day, you will be disappointed. The window attachment kit needs to be installed, it requires that you screw into your window sill. I would describe it as not permanent, rather than portable.

If none of that worries you, this unit has some great features. It's quiet. Sharp lists it as 38 db of noise. According to my charts, that means you could have sixteeen of these units in the room and together it might sound as loud as a loud dishwasher.

The price I observed, $499, seems good but not great. Although I can't find this particular model online, the CVP10MC is sold online for about the same price. The CVP10MC looks to be a discontinued model, so perhaps the CVP10NC is just rebranded for Costco and represents Sharps leftovers.