Best HVAC · 2026
Best Through-the-Wall Air Conditioners 2026
A through-the-wall AC slides into a wall sleeve instead of a window, so the window stays free and the seal is tighter. These are the units certified for wall mounting. Confirm your existing sleeve's opening (or buy the maker's sleeve) before you order. We rank the 32 qualifying units by CEER, then cooling BTU.
Data current as of July 12, 2026 · 32 units · source ENERGY STAR + DOE
Our picks
The highest CEER in this field (14.1) — the least electricity for the same cooling.
The lowest computed running cost ($80/yr) at U.S. average electricity prices.
The most cooling (14,000 BTU, ~700 sq ft) among the more efficient units here.
Each pick is chosen by a single verifiable metric (stated above) — not an opinion score. Where we can, the pick is a unit you can buy on Amazon today (0 of the 32 here are); we say so when the top of the full field is not for sale. Every unit here is built for a wall sleeve — check your opening before buying. Prefer a different priority? Re-sort the full field below. Units sold under several brand names appear once. Not sure a window unit is even the right type for your room? Take the 60-second wizard.
The full field — sortable
Click any column to re-sort. Every row links to that unit's full Verified Label with computed running cost.
| Model | CEER | Cooling BTU | Room ~sq ft | $/yr | H×W×D (in) | Type | Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Midea MAT10R1FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT10R1SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT10R2FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT10R2SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-10CRFN8-BCN1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-10CRFN8-MCN1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST10VB1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST10VB2through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 10,000 | 450 | $100 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT08R1FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 8,000 | 350 | $80 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT08R1SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 8,000 | 350 | $80 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-08CRFN8-BCN1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 8,000 | 350 | $80 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST08VB1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 14.1 | 8,000 | 350 | $80 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT14R2FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 14,000 | 700 | $142 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT14R2SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 14,000 | 700 | $142 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-14CRFN8-MCM9through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 14,000 | 700 | $142 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST14VA2through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 14,000 | 700 | $142 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WCVT12B30Athrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 13,600 | 700 | $138 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT12R1FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT12R1SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT12R2FWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MAT12R2SWTKthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-12CRFN8-BCM9through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Midea MWEUTW-12CRFN8-MCM9through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST12VB1through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Seasons ST12VB2through-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 12,000 | 550 | $122 | 15×24×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Wallmaster WCVT12B30Bthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 13.9 | 11,800 | 550 | $120 | 16×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WCVT12B10Athrough-the-wall AC · inverter | 13.2 | 13,500 | 700 | $144 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WCVT10B30Athrough-the-wall AC · inverter | 13 | 11,100 | 450 | $121 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WCVT10B10Athrough-the-wall AC · inverter | 13 | 11,000 | 450 | $120 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Wallmaster WHVT14B33Bthrough-the-wall AC · Most Efficient · inverter | 12.8 | 14,300 | 700 | $158 | 16×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WCVT16B30Athrough-the-wall AC · inverter | 12.6 | 16,800 | 700 | $188 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
| Friedrich WHVT14B33Athrough-the-wall AC · inverter | 12 | 15,200 | 700 | $179 | 15×27×21 | Through-wall | — |
How the ranking works. We rank room air conditioners on CEER (Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio — the DOE test number), then cooling BTU. CEER is a certified metric, not a marketing term. Certification and specs come from ENERGY STAR and the DOE compliance database; running cost and suggested room size are computed by us from published ratings and EIA U.S. average electricity prices. Suggested room size comes from ENERGY STAR’s room AC sizing chart — sunny rooms, kitchens and rooms with more than two regular users need more. Identical units sold under several brand names are collapsed to one row. No star ratings, no paid placement. These are self-install units; the Buy column links Amazon only where the unit's own listing (its model number, or a rebadge's) was in stock on our last check, so some rows have none. Prices in that column are the live Amazon price on that check; they change. See methodology.