>>105670285 (OP)Like any real American, I have three ACs of three different types. Here's the reality:
>Central airObviously works the best and cools the whole house. But it uses way too much power, which you waste on cooling areas of the house you're not using. Massively expensive to repair or replace, so also avoid cycling it too much (I aim for a 20 degree delta from outside temperature).
>Window unitThe best option for cooling a single room. They're cheap, efficient, and cold. The only downside is that they can be more prone to mold from condensate (Midea just recalled a few models for this). They're also a pain to install and uninstall, if you want to take it out for the winter, because of the awkward shape and difficulty of insulating the gaps well.
>Portable unitUse this if the portable part matters to you for single-room cooling. They cool the worst, take valuable floor space, and are generally louder than window units. But they install very quickly, and are just as easy to remove and put away for the winter. You're not going to want to move it around regularly, but a plus is that you can also move it to another room easily enough when you need to (think having company over, or working on a project in a room).