We don’t usually put ‘shocking’ in the headline. It’s clickbaity, dishonest, and doesn’t incorporate in our HVAC specification experts brand well. However, this article about the best battery-powered air conditioners deserves ‘shocking’ in the headline for a very good reason.
Here’s why:
We don’t need to review the Top 5 or Top 10 best battery-operated air conditioner because of a simple fact:
There is only 1 battery-powered air conditioner (a real air conditioner, mind you) on the market.
This air conditioner is an engineering feat. It wasn’t easy to put more than half a million dollars in R&D to create the world’s 1st battery-powered air conditioner.
In HVAC terms, it upgraded the air conditioning market much the same way Tesla did in the automobile industry. Actually, the world’s 1st and only battery-powered air conditioner even has that Tesla-like futuristic design.
You can skip to the only true battery-powered AC – the Zero Breeze Mark 2 – here:
That why it’s a disgrace as what passes as a cordless battery-powered air conditioner. If you’ve searched for one on the internet a bit, you know what we’re talking about.
Here are the examples of the best ‘air conditioners’ powered by a battery you can find on the net (newsflash, they are not air conditioners):
Battery-powered ‘air conditioner’ (Example 1):

Battery-powered ‘air conditioner’ (Example 2):

Battery-powered ‘air conditioner’ (Example 3):

None of these devices are actually air conditioners. They are one of the following:
- Personal air ‘coolers’ (don’t really decrease the temperature overall).
- Actual coolers with ice in them (clearly not battery-powered air conditioners.
- Exotic gel-based refrigerants (weird in a number of ways).
They do have one thing in common, however. You need to use batteries (even AA batteries) to run their function. Again, the function is not air conditioning in any way.
Essentially, most of these devices are air conditioners wind creators. They are fans, that’s all.
Before we look at the revolutionary world’s 1st battery-powered air conditioner, let’s first look at what an air conditioner actually should be doing.
What Is A Battery-Operated Air Conditioner?
The only job of an air conditioner is to cool the air.
Every air conditioner, including the battery-powered ones, does this by utilizing a refrigeration cycle.
This is not a simple fan; Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, a Dutch scientist who first discovered this cycle, was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913.
As you can see, the whole cycle is quite complex. At the center is the compressor that uses a refrigerant, evaporator, condenser, and an expansion valve to:
- Intake warm air from the surroundings, and…
- … Produce cool air.
All those fake battery-powered air coolers (wind creators) don’t have such a cycle. That’s why they can’t cool down the air. They can only create wind with a fan. Admittedly, even a fan can cool us down a bit, but here’s the deal:
Fan ≠Air Conditioner
When you’re buying a battery-powered air conditioner, you expect the basic things:
- An air conditioner (actually an HVAC device that cools the air).
- It’s powered by a battery (so that you can take it with you just about anywhere).
There is only 1 HVAC device in the world that can, from a professional standpoint, be called a ductless battery-powered air conditioner. And that’s the Zero Breeze Mark II.
The Only Battery-Powered Air Conditioner (Zero Breeze Mark II)
As we know, air conditioning technology is based upon Nobel price-winning advancement in physics. That enabled us to build conventional air conditioners.
The Zero Breeze Mark 2 represents another leap in air conditioning technology. Before we look at its engineering brilliance, let’s have a look at the best battery-powered air conditioner, shall we?

This is the Tesla of air conditioners. Extremely portable, battery-powered, has an outstanding futuristic design and an appropriately high cost. You can buy it here:
Let’s have a look at the engineering challenges that needed to be solved to create the world’s 1st and best cordless air conditioner:
Engineering Brilliance
The whole point of the Zero Breeze Mark 2 is that it’s the ultimate portable air conditioner. No limits to where you can take it or where you can operate it. From an engineering standpoint, that means 3 things:
- It needs to be lightweight (not 50 lbs or more).
- Air conditioning cycle has to be packed tightly (to get a small device).
- No cords translate into a battery-powered air conditioner.
Here’s the result of how to engineer a lightweight, compact, battery-operated AC unit:
If you look at the refrigerator cycle scheme above, you can see that Zero Breeze employs the same necessary air conditioning parts. These are compressor (rotary), evaporator, condenser, expansion valve, as well as cool air exhaust, and dual-hose vents.
The brilliance is to:
- Combine these air conditioning elements into a small package – Zero Breeze Mark 2 unit.
- Add a powerful enough battery to get some serious cooling effect.
Engineers who designed this battery-powered AC unit have managed to figure out how to do both.
Now, we at LearnMetrics are all about specifications. Let’s look at what specs a battery-operated air conditioner can provide:
Battery-Enabled AC Specifications

Power Source: | 24V Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery |
Cooling Capacity: | 2,300 BTU |
EER Rating: | 9.6 |
Power, Voltage, Amps | 240W (24V, 10A) |
Noise level: | 52 dB |
Weight: | 16.5 lbs |
All in all, even if you don’t have any cords, you can run this battery-operated air conditioner for up to 5 hours. That makes it perfect for:
- Camping.
- Outdoors.
- RVs.
- Small cabins.
- Boats.
- Cars.
Now let’s look at the specs:
The most important one is capacity. 2,300 BTU capacity is just outstanding; it’s incredible that such a cooling power can be generated purely by a simple battery. It’s considered one of the best small air conditioners.
Well, the battery is not simple at all. It’s a 24V lithium-ion battery; lightweight but still capable of generating 650W of energy. At such high energy levels, it should last about 3 hours (not 5 hours, that’s just in optimum conditions).
Of course, the battery is rechargeable. You can recharge it with an outlet (full recharge takes about 5-6 hours). You can even use the car’s cigarette lighter thing to charge it.
As you can see, the EER rating (energy-efficiency rating) is pretty high at 9.6. This is the most energy-efficient battery-powered air conditioner; yes, it’s the first one on the market. It will be interesting to see how energy-efficient the future 2nd battery-operated AC unit will be.
By using a lightweight lithium-ion battery, the Zero Breeze engineers managed to keep the total weight of the battery AC unit below 20 lbs. 16.5 lbs is quite an ideal compromise between portability vs. capacity. You can read the complete rundown of Zero Breeze Mark 2 specs here.
All in all, the one and only battery-powered air conditioner is pretty marvelous. It’s a cutting-edge tech – that makes it quite an expensive gadget – and there is nothing like it on the market. You can check it out and buy it here:
Check Price And Buy Zero Breeze Mark 2
Sharing That Shocking And Zeisty Truth
It’s not hard to recognize the difference between a cooling fan and a true air conditioner. The most battery-powered air conditioners you’ll find are actually just prompted-up fans.
There is only 1 battery-operated air conditioner that deserves to be called an air conditioner. We will definitely see more of these kinds of portable AC units developed. Hopefully, we’ll see them sooner than later.
We’re very excited to see 3-5 of them enter the market. Then we’ll be able to make a fair comparison of the best battery-powered air conditioners. Until then, the Zero Breeze is the best and the only such unit on the market.
Where can I order this
Hello Othello, you can order Zero Breeze Mark 2 at the official store here.
Combine these air conditioning elements into a small package – Zero Breeze Mark 2 unit.
Add a powerful enough battery to get some serious cooling effect. Thanks for your good information.
I would order this just to take it apart so I can put the condenser outside where it should be otherwise complete waste of energy
That’s quite a good idea, actually. Put the condenser outside the tent, and enjoy tent cooling.