

While insulation helps, it’s fundamentally less efficient because the heat sync is inside the building and insulation isn’t foolproof. And often these units are made of plastic, so they leak more heat into the house from the chassis than you’d expect. Even the best hose is less efficient than a window unit where the entire heat sync is outside the building
So while $20 and some duct tape helps a great deal, it definitely won’t be as efficient as a window unit
No, it is not that bad. It’s actually very nice.
It affords a lot of consistency, is relatively easy to understand (once you’re familiar with the convention), and theming allows you to modify all the colors and sizing in one file rather than modifying a lot of CSS
I think the worst that can be said about it is that it is unnecessary, but I cannot see a true downside to using it besides personal preference. It gets the job done efficiently and correctly and that’s what’s important at the end of the day