What 2,828 EU energy labels say about portable air conditioners
Every portable air conditioner sold in the EU must be registered in EPREL, the public energy label database. We pulled all of them: 2,828 single-duct and 218 double-duct models. This is what the registry shows that the marketing does not.
1. The label class tells you almost nothing
92% of the 2,828 single-duct portables (2,608 models) carry the same grade: class A on the monobloc scale of Regulation 626/2011. Only 185 models (7%) do better, and just 5 of them reach A+++. The measured efficiency behind the grade is as compressed as the grade itself: the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile EER are all 2.6.
The practical reading when you shop: class A on a single-hose portable is the floor, not a distinction. The few units above it, such as the A+++ De'Longhi Pinguino PAC EX105, are genuine outliers, and mobile splits are graded on a different, tougher seasonal scale that this chart does not include.
2. The registry's noise number is 65 dB(A), whatever the advert says
The label reports indoor sound power: the total noise the machine emits. Across all 2,828 single-duct models, the median is 65 dB(A) and 62% sit at 65 dB(A) or above. Advertising usually quotes sound pressure at some distance instead, a different and much smaller number, which is how a unit labelled 65 dB(A) gets marketed as "52 dB quiet". When you compare machines, compare label to label.
3. Propane took over the category
93% of registered single-duct portables (2,618 models) run on R290, propane with a global warming potential of 3. The registry shows the switch happening fast: R290 was in 21% of models that entered the market in 2016, and 91% of those entering in 2026. The older R410A (GWP 2,088 on its registry entries) survives mostly in pre-2019 registrations.
| On market since | New models | R290 share |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 24 | 21% |
| 2017 | 57 | 46% |
| 2018 | 74 | 64% |
| 2019 | 254 | 89% |
| 2020 | 243 | 95% |
| 2021 | 255 | 96% |
| 2022 | 320 | 94% |
| 2023 | 273 | 92% |
| 2024 | 367 | 88% |
| 2025 | 431 | 94% |
| 2026 | 504 | 91% |
The same table answers a second question: the category is growing, not shrinking. More models entered the market in 2026 (504 so far) than in any earlier year of the registry.
4. A long-tail market: 414 brands, and the biggest holds 3%
The 2,828 single-duct registrations spread across 414 brands. The fifteen biggest together hold 25% of models; the largest single brand is Klarstein with 86 registrations, about 3% of the category. Portable AC is an import long-tail market, which is exactly why the same hardware appears under many names and why a spec sheet matters more than a brand.
Top five by registered models: Klarstein (86), GOPLUS (61), OLIMPIA SPLENDID (58), De'Longhi (54), Kingfisher Int. Prod. B.V. (52).
5. Dual-duct exists on paper, barely in shops
Two-hose portables solve the single hose's self-defeating vacuum, and US reviewers recommend them as the default. The EU registry holds 218 double-duct registrations against 2,828 single-duct, and the double-duct list mixes wheeled portables with through-wall console units such as the Olimpia Splendid Unico family, which are drilled into the facade and not portable at all. A movable dual-hose unit from a mainstream EU brand is a rarity; the market answered the efficiency problem with mobile splits instead.
6. About 1 in 4 portables also heats
25% of single-duct models are registered as reversible. A portable heat pump is a reasonable shoulder-season heater, and the share explains why more shops now sort portables into "cooling only" and "cooling and heating".
Method and caveats
We queried the public EPREL API on 10 June 2026 for all air conditioners with duct type single or double (Regulation 626/2011 scope, which covers units up to 12 kW) and aggregated the published records: 3,046 models in total out of 32,095 air conditioners of all types in the registry. The per-model extract is downloadable as CSV (3,046 rows).
Registry data is self-declared by suppliers, and it shows: a handful of EER entries are implausible (the field ranges from 0.4 to 26), some refrigerant fields contain product names instead of refrigerants, and the same hardware appears under several brands and registration numbers. Registration also does not mean retail availability. The aggregate patterns survive this noise; individual rows deserve a second look before you cite them.
If you write about this data, credit EPREL for the underlying registry and PortableAC.eu for the extract and analysis, and link this page. For how the label scales work in practice, see the energy label guide; for what we recommend buying, see the shortlist.