De'Longhi air conditioner tested: loud, not really mobile, but nice and cool
Mobile air conditioners are the best way to combat the summer heat. With the De'Longhi Pinguino Pac N82 Eco, however, mobile is an elastic term. And if you want to sleep next to it, get your earplugs out.
A few years ago, I thought air conditioning systems were unnecessary energy guzzlers. I can get through the few days when it gets really hot in Switzerland without it. My opinion changed after the last hot summer, when I rolled around in my bed covered in sweat. If I could at least open the window, things might be different. But because the church here in Winterthur Seen believes that undisturbed sleep is less important than the time announcement every quarter of an hour, our windows stay closed. As my feet desperately searched for a cool spot in my duvet, I finally gave in. We need air conditioning.
The best option would be a permanently installed split machine. Unfortunately, these are expensive and only partially suitable for the many small rooms in our house and a family of four. That leaves a mobile monobloc machine. I decide in favour of the De'Longhi Pinguino Pac N82 Eco.
Mobile is a flexible term
Compared to a permanently installed machine, the De'Longhi undoubtedly fulfils the "mobile" criterion. The appliance has four castors and can be moved around. However, the machine weighs 32 kilograms. Regularly climbing stairs is therefore no fun. Even travelling around on the same floor is difficult. Especially if the rooms have thresholds.
I need two hands to move the machine, but I also have to hold the power cable and the exhaust hose, which would otherwise constantly fall down. If you've been counting, you'll realise that this only works if I grow a third arm. What's more, the appliance is not exactly slim, which makes it even more difficult to transport through door frames. Nevertheless, I regularly dragged the machine into the children's room and then back into the bedroom. It works, but it's not really fun. At the very least, I would like a holder for the hose.
Furnishings
I primarily want to cool the bedroom on the first floor and maybe the children's room next door from time to time. Like all air conditioners, the De'Longhi has a hose that removes the warm air. Unfortunately, at 1.2 metres, this is extremely short and is just long enough to reach the window sill if the machine is positioned directly below it. There are no extensions because this would release too much heat into the room. The window remains open a large gap through which warm air continues to come in. Blinds would be practical because I could simply lower them down to the tube and seal them off relatively well. Unfortunately, our house has shutters. But the machine can still work under these conditions. I also close the curtains.
If the appliance is always in the same place, I could buy a window kit. It's like a zip curtain for the window. This means less warm air gets inside, which increases the efficiency of the machine. However, the reviews are so bad that I don't bother. What's more, leaving the windows open is out of the question for my wife and I for the aforementioned clerical reasons.
Cooling capacity
My battle plan is relatively simple: I want to cool the room down to a comfortable temperature in the evening. Before turning out the lights, I switch off the system, close the window and hope that I don't wake up in the middle of the night in a heated room.
The De'Longhi has three power levels, a timer, a target temperature and, in addition to cooling, can also dehumidify or ventilate. The lowest temperature is 16 degrees. All of this can be set directly on the appliance or using the remote control supplied.
The appliance cools our 15 square metre bedroom from 28 to 24 degrees Celsius in just one hour. In the evening, I'm happy with this temperature after just 30 minutes.
If I put the machine in the dressing room and leave the doors to the neighbouring rooms open, it takes almost two hours for the temperature in the room to drop by four degrees. The bathroom and bedroom are not at the same temperature even after more than three hours. All three rooms together measure 45 square metres, which exceeds the 33 square metres specified by De'Longhi. Nevertheless, the temperature can be reduced significantly.
In the baby room, which measures around nine square metres, it feels more comfortable after just 20 minutes. Unfortunately, my daughter is not yet able to speak well enough for me to give her feedback here.
Finally, I test the device in our 35 square metre living room. It has two open passages to the hallway and the kitchen. Nevertheless, it gets around three degrees cooler here too after an hour. That doesn't sound like much, but it feels like a significant improvement.
The machine never reached the lowest value of 16 degrees, even in continuous operation.
Volume
On the maximum cooling level, the appliance blows at around 60 dB. This is even lower than the specified 65 dB and only applies directly in front of the appliance. At the lowest level, it is around five decibels less. This is probably too loud for most people to sleep. I could probably tolerate the monotonous noise, which is easy to hear even with earplugs. My wife is more sensitive. But with the noise, I could just as easily leave the windows open and let the church bells in with the cool night air. The annoying thing is that the appliance continues to make a dripping noise for over ten minutes after switching off. This annoyed me so much that I had to banish it from the bedroom while I was half asleep.
However, if I use the machine to cool the office or living room, the noise doesn't bother me. Only watching TV next to it is not ideal. I'm used to jet noise from the PS4 Pro.
Energy consumption
The De'Longhi Pinguino has energy class A. At full load, it draws up to 860 watts according to my My-Strom wifi adapter. After half an hour, it usually stabilises at 780 watts. Whether on fan level one or three makes no difference. If the device runs for an hour, it costs around 18 cents.
Conclusion: A cool thing
The De'Longhi is a reliable appliance if you want to cool rooms up to 40 square metres. It cools quickly and the energy consumption doesn't eat into your wallet. My only negative comment is the noise level, which at 60 dB is too high to sleep peacefully next to it. It is also too unwieldy to move from room to room on a regular basis. Apart from that, the De'Longhi delivers what it promises: cool summer nights at an affordable price.
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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
