What Is SACC Rating?
SACC stands for Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity — a test metric the U.S. Department of Energy created specifically for portable air conditioners. Unlike the older ASHRAE-128 lab test, SACC accounts for exhaust-duct heat leakage, air infiltration, and cycling losses, so it more accurately reflects what a unit delivers once it's actually installed in a room with a hose running to a window.
The one thing to know: SACC stands for Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity — a test metric the U.S. Department of Energy created specifically for portable air conditioners because the older ASHRAE-128 test (designed for window units) overstated real-world performance. SACC testing accounts for heat gained through the exhaust duct, air infiltration drawn in to replace exhausted air, and the compressor motor's own heat contribution to the room — all factors a simple lab BTU rating ignores.
Why the DOE created a separate test
Portable air conditioners were historically tested with ASHRAE-128, a protocol built for window and through-the-wall units that sit fully inside a wall opening with no hose. Portable units vent through a hose to a window, which introduces losses the ASHRAE test simply doesn't model. The DOE's 2016 test-procedure final rule established SACC to close that gap for the portable-AC category specifically, with compliance applying starting the 2019 model year.
What SACC actually adjusts for
- Duct/hose heat leakage: some exhaust heat radiates back into the room through the hose wall before it reaches outside.
- Infiltration: venting air out pulls the room into negative pressure, drawing outside (often warm, humid) air back in through gaps.
- Cycling losses: real-world on/off cycling behavior versus continuous lab-test operation.
How SACC relates to CEER
CEER (Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio) is a separate, related efficiency metric — SACC output divided by power input. A unit can have a high SACC (strong cooling capacity) and a mediocre CEER (less efficient per watt), or vice versa; the two numbers answer different questions.
This page explains a published DOE test-procedure term; it is not a performance guarantee for any specific unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
SACC stands for Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity, a test metric the U.S. Department of Energy created specifically for portable air conditioners. It measures cooling output after accounting for exhaust-duct heat leakage, air infiltration drawn in to replace exhausted air, and cycling losses -- factors the older ASHRAE-128 test ignores.
The Department of Energy established the test procedure in a 2016 final rule, with compliance applying starting the 2019 model year for portable air conditioners.
No, though they're related. SACC is a capacity rating (measured in BTU/h). CEER (Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio) is an efficiency rating that divides SACC output by power input -- it tells you how efficiently the unit converts electricity into SACC-rated cooling, not how much total cooling it delivers.
No -- both are typically disclosed together. ASHRAE-128 remains a legacy lab rating, while SACC is the newer, portable-AC-specific figure meant to better reflect real installed performance. Current DOE compliance requires SACC disclosure alongside the ASHRAE figure, not instead of it.