Should you buy an AI-powered air conditioner? Here’s what you need to know

Have you been feeling the heat lately? If you’ve checked out modern air conditioning systems, you’ll probably have noticed that things are significantly more high-tech than they used to be. Various companies now offer air conditioning units that use artificial intelligence to improve your experience and, if their claims are to be believed, help reduce your utility bills. It remains to be seen whether they can keep this promise.

One of the biggest hurdles is that an AI-powered device simply costs more at checkout. You can get a standard 8,000 BTU window air conditioner from Best Buy for around $245. This is suitable for a room up to 350 square feet and some models even work with voice assistants installed in your home. But when you add AI to the mix, the price can jump by more than 50%. For example, Midea 8,000 BTU AI-powered units start at $380. That’s a lot of extra money to spend in hopes of saving on energy costs.

Midea’s listing mentions an AI ECO mode, which takes into account daytime temperature fluctuations and predicts ambient heat load to help you reach your target temperature faster. Samsung’s WindFree line, meanwhile, costs around $1,300 in the US and saves up to 30% on energy. Samsung claims it can also maintain a comfortable temperature even in dehumidification mode.

Some manufacturers have also added AI to their occupancy detection systems as an option, detecting the difference between a person or pet in the room and adjusting the unit if necessary. If all of this sounds interesting to you, you might very well benefit from purchasing an AC unit with AI features.

In reality, if you’re working on a limited budget, replacing a single air conditioning unit, or living somewhere where it’s not hot enough to require air conditioning year-round, AI-powered units might be overkill. Besides home automation, these AI-based features tend to focus on improving efficiency, and there are plenty of ways to accomplish this without paying extra.

The first alternative is to simply pay attention to airflow, such as closing doors to rooms with windows to keep cold air contained. You can also invest in a Wi-Fi-enabled AC unit; these often allow you to program a preset schedule and turn the cooling on or off remotely, providing similar benefits without relying on AI. If none of these options appeal to you, it is also possible to buy a “beast” air conditioner and as a bonus, these are often the cheapest options on the market. Also, if you later realize that you want advanced features, you can turn your traditional air conditioner into a Smart AC for less than $100 using an IR blaster.

Air conditioning systems with AI capabilities are a relatively new development. It remains to be seen whether they will be widely adopted or abandoned. To reduce the risk of paying extra for a device that might lose some of its features in a few years, it may be pragmatic to wait until it becomes more popular before committing.