GE Profile - Clearview 350 Sq. ft. 8,300 BTU Smart Ultra Quiet Window Air Conditioner - White

The white rubber window seal provided is too hard and leaves gaps between the seal and A/C unit itself. Even if you clean the A/C thoroughly and when you press and hold the hard seal in place for a while, the gaps re-appear. Also the metal side brackets for the foam side panels don't sit flush with the top of the A/C leaving more gaps. Since the white rubber seal is too hard, it will not and cannot fill those gaps. I have seen many customer-provided photos showing those same gaps that people evidently ignore. Especially if you plan on leaving it installed all year round in winter environments, you will notice those gaps. They are big enough to allow sunlight to come through. You can buy MUCH BETTER window seals from HD that are made specifically to fill those gaps ... MoreThe white rubber window seal provided is too hard and leaves gaps between the seal and A/C unit itself. Even if you clean the A/C thoroughly and when you press and hold the hard seal in place for a while, the gaps re-appear. Also the metal side brackets for the foam side panels don't sit flush with the top of the A/C leaving more gaps. Since the white rubber seal is too hard, it will not and cannot fill those gaps. I have seen many customer-provided photos showing those same gaps that people evidently ignore. Especially if you plan on leaving it installed all year round in winter environments, you will notice those gaps. They are big enough to allow sunlight to come through. You can buy MUCH BETTER window seals from HD that are made specifically to fill those gaps as it says in their product descriptions. Since those window seal companies are expert at window seals, they are much better at sealing, filling in various gaps, etc.. I also suggest purchasing the metal double-hung window locks from Andersen that are MUCH better than just the provided rubber wedge or flimsy and ugly silver bracket. The Andersen brackets look great, work perfectly, and they auto-lock when the window is back in the closed position. No need to screw in and unscrew a flimsy bracket. As others have stated the box is very flimsy and low grade. It offers very little protection (almost zero) especially for the very fragile cooling fins whether the unit is delivered directly or store pick-up. I only mention the issues above because they could easily have been improved by GE which would have greatly enhanced the A/C overall quality. Especially since this is presented and priced as a premium product, these easy enhancements would justify the premium price and confirm why customers are justified to choose this versus the competition. This unit was damaged in shipping and replaced which could have been prevented with better packing.

All in all happy

I bought this to replace my old AC because it took too much room in my bedroom (floor type with big ugly tube connecting my window to the ac below). With this AC, I claimed back much-needed floor space to rearrange my furniture how I wanted. Here are some pros and cons:+Cools my bedroom quite nicely.+At its lowest setting, it is quiet. Quiet enough since I wear earplugs to bed anyway.+No tools or construction needed. Mounts right over the window like a saddle.+/-The "buttons" on it are touchscreen and a little finicky and hard to find when it is dark, the remote is more convenient to use. Once you memorize which button does what, you can operate it without opening your eyes.+/-The custom window kit I had to buy separately in-house was pricey. There was nothing ... MoreI bought this to replace my old AC because it took too much room in my bedroom (floor type with big ugly tube connecting my window to the ac below). With this AC, I claimed back much-needed floor space to rearrange my furniture how I wanted. Here are some pros and cons:+Cools my bedroom quite nicely.+At its lowest setting, it is quiet. Quiet enough since I wear earplugs to bed anyway.+No tools or construction needed. Mounts right over the window like a saddle.+/-The "buttons" on it are touchscreen and a little finicky and hard to find when it is dark, the remote is more convenient to use. Once you memorize which button does what, you can operate it without opening your eyes.+/-The custom window kit I had to buy separately in-house was pricey. There was nothing else on the market so I had to bite down and pay the extra $100 for it. Pro was that it fit perfect. It was needed because my window slides side to side. With the included seal foam and some white duct tape, I was able to get a nice seal. No rain water or bugs get in as far as I know.-It is heavy. Mounting it took 2 people and teamwork. The bottom of your window must be flat or else you have to find some sort of support so it balances with equal weight distribution (I used some included super-strong hollow cardboard planks that were in the box that were conveniently the perfect size. Wrapped those in aluminum to prevent mold).-When I turn it on, it doesn't remember my previous settings; I have to manually set it to my preferred mode every time.-Maybe it's user error, but I wasn't able to connect to wifi.

Fantastic Features!

The install was super easy thanks to the excellent instructions and the box providing everything you need to do a complete install, including all of the foam window sealers, hard foam to set the unit on and even side foam to block outside air and light. If reading instructions is not your preferred method, there is even a QR code that takes you to a YouTube video that shows you exactly what to do! Once I had the unit leveled, closed the window after installing the window frame protective foam and plugged the unit in, I absolutely could not believe how quiet it was running! I cranked the temp down and the fan up and my wife and I sat a few feet away and could still hear each other whispering! Pretty incredible! The vents on top allow you to blow the air from 90 to 45 ... MoreThe install was super easy thanks to the excellent instructions and the box providing everything you need to do a complete install, including all of the foam window sealers, hard foam to set the unit on and even side foam to block outside air and light. If reading instructions is not your preferred method, there is even a QR code that takes you to a YouTube video that shows you exactly what to do! Once I had the unit leveled, closed the window after installing the window frame protective foam and plugged the unit in, I absolutely could not believe how quiet it was running! I cranked the temp down and the fan up and my wife and I sat a few feet away and could still hear each other whispering! Pretty incredible! The vents on top allow you to blow the air from 90 to 45 degrees into the room, which is perfect considering that hot air rises and cool air sinks. Perfect! It's even a very nice looking unit with the curved down face, vent and filter cover design. Overall, I'd have to say that this is hands down the very best window unit I have ever purchased! Great job GE engineers!

Fantastic air conditioner

I bought this unit for temporary use. My living room and dining room make one really big room and I didn't think an 8300 BTU unit could handle the space. I was wrong. Having had no A/C for a couple of days, the house was like 90 degrees when I got this installed. That space was down to 75 in a couple of hours and really comfortable.Installation was a breeze. Took me 10 minutes by myself.It really is whisper quite. I'm not going to say you can't hear it, but it makes a fraction of the racket that an old unit does.The thing I'm most impressed with is the efficiency. The app will tell you how much power it uses in a day. Yesterday, the first full day of operation, it used 9.5 kWh. I went to my electric bill and figured out the average cost of a kWh for me and it ... MoreI bought this unit for temporary use. My living room and dining room make one really big room and I didn't think an 8300 BTU unit could handle the space. I was wrong. Having had no A/C for a couple of days, the house was like 90 degrees when I got this installed. That space was down to 75 in a couple of hours and really comfortable.Installation was a breeze. Took me 10 minutes by myself.It really is whisper quite. I'm not going to say you can't hear it, but it makes a fraction of the racket that an old unit does.The thing I'm most impressed with is the efficiency. The app will tell you how much power it uses in a day. Yesterday, the first full day of operation, it used 9.5 kWh. I went to my electric bill and figured out the average cost of a kWh for me and it looks like it cost $1.40 to run this all day and keep the room very comfortable.I have a 12K BTU unit ordered from a different manufacturer that I intend to put in that space but I don't think I really need it.If GE made this unit in a 12K size, I'd definitely buy one in a heartbeat.The 'saddle' design is excellent. It makes installation easy and allows you to continue to use the window.Be aware that your window must be capable of handling this though. It will hang down on both the inside and outside so if you have a ledge or some other obstruction, it might not work.If you have the right window though and are in need of an A/C unit, I can't recommend this more highly.

Quit after 1.5 seasons

We bought the 8300 btu Clear View window air conditioner in July of 2022 at our local Lowes store.Our central AC had gone out and we needed a temporary solution, with the longer term plan of moving the GE to our closed-in back porch. The Clear View was simple to install and cooled our 680 square foot downstairs nicely through the summer heat. Around the end of July we moved it to the porch where it continued to work well, and we used it through the summer of 2023 as well. The unit was drained and the exterior covered after both seasons and the filters were kept clean. This year we started it up at the beginning of May and the compressor failed.What we got for our $500 was a total of about 8 months of not-frequent use, followed by it becoming a 70 pound box fan. ... MoreWe bought the 8300 btu Clear View window air conditioner in July of 2022 at our local Lowes store.Our central AC had gone out and we needed a temporary solution, with the longer term plan of moving the GE to our closed-in back porch. The Clear View was simple to install and cooled our 680 square foot downstairs nicely through the summer heat. Around the end of July we moved it to the porch where it continued to work well, and we used it through the summer of 2023 as well. The unit was drained and the exterior covered after both seasons and the filters were kept clean. This year we started it up at the beginning of May and the compressor failed.What we got for our $500 was a total of about 8 months of not-frequent use, followed by it becoming a 70 pound box fan. I removed it from the window two days ago and moved it to the garage where it awaits disposal.I wrote to GE service, explained the problem, and their words were words of sympathy. Unfortunately their actions were not. They offered employee pricing for a new Clear View, a price I agreed not to disclose but which can be seen as the sale price at another big box store. So they offered nothing I can't get without their help.You may have better luck with your Clear View and I hope you do.

[Rewarded Review] Excellent AC unit / Horrible control interface

Pros: Produces adequate cold air enough to easily cool down a bedroom all while remaining super quiet, even when the fan is on high. I'm amazed at just how quiet this unit is and after living with a traditional portable air conditioner the difference is night and day.Cons: The user interface leaves much to be desired. Why on earth did GE decide to light up the little bar or dot adjacent to the label of the setting you want to change, instead of (or in addition to) lighting up the feature you are trying to adjust. This means that at night when you fumble around trying to find one of the black capacitive buttons to wake the unit display up, you are shown nothing but a bunch of dots and dashes. Granted the temperature is shown but the + or - buttons to adjust it are ... MorePros: Produces adequate cold air enough to easily cool down a bedroom all while remaining super quiet, even when the fan is on high. I'm amazed at just how quiet this unit is and after living with a traditional portable air conditioner the difference is night and day.Cons: The user interface leaves much to be desired. Why on earth did GE decide to light up the little bar or dot adjacent to the label of the setting you want to change, instead of (or in addition to) lighting up the feature you are trying to adjust. This means that at night when you fumble around trying to find one of the black capacitive buttons to wake the unit display up, you are shown nothing but a bunch of dots and dashes. Granted the temperature is shown but the + or - buttons to adjust it are black so it's just random that you find the right spot on the panel to change what you want to change and odds are you will end up pressing the wrong setting anyway.So forgot about the on-unit interface for controlling your unit (especially at night, it's pretty much useless) instead grab your smart phone, install GE's mobile app and you'll have access to all the unit's settings and features plus you can control the unit from anywhere in the world. So when you leave work in the afternoon, open the app and turn on the unit so that your bedroom is nice and cool when you get home. The app gives you options for setting a runtime schedule, adjusting the temperature, fan speed and mode of operation (fairly standard among units at this price point) but as a bonus, GE has even included an energy usage report. Speaking of power consumption, the good news is this unit so far appears to sip power at a pretty reasonable rate.Bottom Line: Putting the motor outside makes a world of difference controlling the level of noise you have to put up with compared to most portable air conditioners. Having the unit sit at and below the window is brilliant, makes you wonder why nobody thought of this sooner. I've been more than pleased with this unit so far, even given the ridiculous control interface on the face of the unit, that's just dumb engineering at it's finest. That's a small gripe which is far outweighed by the long list of positives. But it was enough that I felt it necessary to take a way a star, if they get that interface worked out, I'd easily give tis unit five stars.

[Rewarded Review] Never made it out of the box but design looked ok

Design looked good to free up 75% of my window unlike traditional ac. Ordered in time to arrive for a heatwave. Opened box and saw oil on inside of box adjacent to a dent. Ac is a sealed unit so it appears the coils that carry the oil and refrigerant through the unit were damaged by the dent and leaked. Didnt bother taking it out of the box. Couldnt exchange because no stock in store. Asked if store could order one so i could exchange when it came in, they said I’d have to go there with the damaged one first before they could order one then I could come back again and pick it up once it came in since I didn’t want it shipped to home again. Store is almost an hour in one direction… no thanks not making 2 trips. Option 2: was to spend another $400+ (price higher now ... MoreDesign looked good to free up 75% of my window unlike traditional ac. Ordered in time to arrive for a heatwave. Opened box and saw oil on inside of box adjacent to a dent. Ac is a sealed unit so it appears the coils that carry the oil and refrigerant through the unit were damaged by the dent and leaked. Didnt bother taking it out of the box. Couldnt exchange because no stock in store. Asked if store could order one so i could exchange when it came in, they said I’d have to go there with the damaged one first before they could order one then I could come back again and pick it up once it came in since I didn’t want it shipped to home again. Store is almost an hour in one direction… no thanks not making 2 trips. Option 2: was to spend another $400+ (price higher now than last week) to immediately ship one to store then when it arrives go there to return and/or exchange one or the other tying up over $800 in the interim. Or option 3: wait for store to get stock on their own (potentially some time next week well after the heatwave) and exchange it. Sigh. Too expensive to be having this hassle immediately from inadequate packing materials in the box. Currently waiting for store to restock on their own to exchange but likely will just return and cut my loses. First time in my life I’ve ever been disappointed by an air conditioner.

[Rewarded Review] Vents can't move left/right. You've been warned!

Positives: extremely quiet, air is cold, and I really appreciate having my window not being blocked, allowing for daylight.Negatives: the vents can only be pointed in 2 positions upward, not left or right. This is a huge problem and not mentioned anywhere in the product description! We have the unit installed at one end of the room and have a fan and cardboard on top to direct the air to the left, where we sit in the kitchen. Not ideal and definitely would have been a deal breaker if I had known prior to ordering online. Other negatives: display is not backlit, you need to turn a light on at night to navigate the controls. The app is sub-par, does not offer all the options that are on the control panel; emailed support when I realized I couldn't put the unit in ... MorePositives: extremely quiet, air is cold, and I really appreciate having my window not being blocked, allowing for daylight.Negatives: the vents can only be pointed in 2 positions upward, not left or right. This is a huge problem and not mentioned anywhere in the product description! We have the unit installed at one end of the room and have a fan and cardboard on top to direct the air to the left, where we sit in the kitchen. Not ideal and definitely would have been a deal breaker if I had known prior to ordering online. Other negatives: display is not backlit, you need to turn a light on at night to navigate the controls. The app is sub-par, does not offer all the options that are on the control panel; emailed support when I realized I couldn't put the unit in sleep mode remotely. They replied to ask which model I had and I haven't heard anything from them since replying to them weeks ago.I'd give it fewer stars if it weren't so quiet and styled so I have my window view. I would not recommend or buy it again. I would like to exchange it for the next size up if the vents were left/right directional but there's only a 2 week return window. I feel that this product is not worth the price paid.

fragile direct to home shipping

This is based on my first attempt to receive the unit which was damaged in shipping. I have tried ordering a replacement but this time will have it delivered to the store so we can inspect it there. This box was punctured and torn open with damage to the AC fins and nearby tubes. Important note, there is foam protective packaging around the edges of the unit but no protective foam panel to protect the delicate, fragile fins. Any blow to the box in this area can cause damage to the exposed fins with no obvious damage to the box. This box also looks as if it had been dropped multiple times and crushed in other areas. If you saw this in a store in this condition, you would never choose this one. It is very beaten up. Some boxes/packaging are not suitable for UPS or ... MoreThis is based on my first attempt to receive the unit which was damaged in shipping. I have tried ordering a replacement but this time will have it delivered to the store so we can inspect it there. This box was punctured and torn open with damage to the AC fins and nearby tubes. Important note, there is foam protective packaging around the edges of the unit but no protective foam panel to protect the delicate, fragile fins. Any blow to the box in this area can cause damage to the exposed fins with no obvious damage to the box. This box also looks as if it had been dropped multiple times and crushed in other areas. If you saw this in a store in this condition, you would never choose this one. It is very beaten up. Some boxes/packaging are not suitable for UPS or Fedex shipping and are best suited for delivery by trucking companies or store pick-up only. It might have been better if this decorative box was packed inside a more protective, thicker box. We'll know in about a week if the replacement is better after picking it up in the store instead.

install parts low quality

It took three attempts before I finally received one that wasn't damaged. The unit is nice and better than the u-shaped competitors that require ugly large protruding mounting brackets that are VERY visible. My unit is about 6 feet up and those brackets would have been very visible and dangerous. However, the GE installation foam panels, side brackets, and adhesive foam strips are not very good. The white foam strip that goes between the window and AC is hard and does not seal very well leaving several gaps. The side panel brackets don't sit flush with the top of the ac and that causes visible gaps which are impossible to seal. I was going to replace those brackets and cut off the tabs so they can be mounted lower but I can't find any parts on the GE site for it. I ... MoreIt took three attempts before I finally received one that wasn't damaged. The unit is nice and better than the u-shaped competitors that require ugly large protruding mounting brackets that are VERY visible. My unit is about 6 feet up and those brackets would have been very visible and dangerous. However, the GE installation foam panels, side brackets, and adhesive foam strips are not very good. The white foam strip that goes between the window and AC is hard and does not seal very well leaving several gaps. The side panel brackets don't sit flush with the top of the ac and that causes visible gaps which are impossible to seal. I was going to replace those brackets and cut off the tabs so they can be mounted lower but I can't find any parts on the GE site for it. I will also probably replace that hard white window seal with a softer one in brown which will look and seal better with my stained brown windows. They also might have chosen that hard white seal for security purposes. I say that because they provided very chintzy security to help make sure this stays in place. It is basically just sitting there by gravity. So the hard seal helps keep it from being moved when the window is closed. The white door jamb and chintzy silver bracket are very poor quality. And if you use the metal bracket, you have to unscrew it every time you want to open the window. Plus if you only secure the lower window, the upper window can still be opened fully from the outside. Instead I found Andersen window side locks in a bronze color that matches my hardware (they also come in white). They mount to the upper window and prevent both the upper and lower windows from being opened. They have spring mounted tabs that lock every time the window panels are back in place. They can be easily unlocked and look and work perfectly. You can use one or two but they are sold in pairs (L&R). Excellent quality and design. I got mine from Amazon, but you can get them from Andersen or Swisco, etc... So if this is a ground floor install keep in mind that this unit without those Andersen locks just sits in place by gravity and is not very secure. I will contact GE to see if I can get those side brackets.