Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner review: is this the bedroom-friendly cooling fix heatwave-haters need?

Price on writing: £520 | Currently sold out at Meaco, back in stock April 2027

How we tested

Charlotte tested the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner at home over the course of a month, using it mainly in her bedroom through two heatwaves. One of those saw daytime temperatures approach 40°C, making it a demanding real-world test rather than a spell of ordinary summer weather.

She used it before bed to cool the room, overnight while sleeping and for longer periods during the hottest days. As part of the review, she assessed how easy it was to set up, how well the window kit worked, how intuitive the controls were, whether the remote was useful in everyday use, how noisy it felt overnight, how quickly it cooled the room and how easy it was to move and store.

She also considered how practical it was to live with. That included its size, appearance, display lights, button sounds and whether she'd actually choose to keep using it after the review finished.

Charlotte hadn't previously tested other portable air conditioners, so any comparisons with competing models are based on manufacturers' published specifications rather than side-by-side testing.

Related: The best portable air conditioners for bedrooms

The verdict

If your bedroom turns into an oven every summer, the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner starts to feel like an investment purchase that's well worth it. Who can put a price on a good night's sleep? Charlotte tested it in her bedroom for a month, including through two heatwaves, one of which saw daytime temperatures creep towards 40°C. Her verdict was simple. It cooled the room properly, and she'd already recommended it to other people.

It's a sizeable appliance, and it isn't silent. Charlotte could hear it at night and thought the 'Super Quiet' label slightly oversold things. Meaco quotes a noise level of 45 to 51dB, with Super Quiet mode running below the 53dB low fan setting listed for older MeacoCool models. In practice, Charlotte found the lower setting perfectly manageable for sleeping. Even a friend who describes herself as a light sleeper slept well with it running. Her routine was to run it on full power for about half an hour before bed, then switch it down overnight.

Getting started was straightforward. There wasn't much to assemble, the controls made sense straight away and the supplied flexible window kit fitted her windows without any fuss. The biggest drawback was the weight. At 28.45kg, this isn't something you'll carry from room to room easily. It rolls easily on its castors across one floor, but taking it upstairs is definitely a two-person job.

It worked best when cooling Charlotte's bedroom to around 22°C. On warm days, it reached that temperature in around 10 to 15 minutes. During the hottest weather it had to work much harder, and once it was switched off the heat from the rest of the house gradually returned. That's typical of portable air conditioners rather than a fault with this model, but it's worth knowing if you're hoping one quick blast will keep the room cool all night.

If your bedroom becomes unbearable during hot weather, you work upstairs or you simply struggle to sleep in the heat, the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU is well worth considering. It's expensive, heavy and you'll always know it's there, but it's easy to use and, most importantly, it made a noticeable difference when Charlotte's house became uncomfortably hot.

Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner: what's in the box?

The Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU comes with everything you need to get started, including two different window kits. Charlotte used the flexible fabric kit and found it quick to install. Clear instructions and a helpful online video made the process even easier.

The box includes:

• Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner

• standard sash window kit

• flexible window kit

• exhaust duct

• glow-in-the-dark remote control

• drainage hose for dry mode

• instruction manual

What's the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner like to set up?

Charlotte described the set-up as "super easy", although she admits her husband did most of the lifting.

There wasn't much to assemble. It came out of the box ready to go, without the usual flat-pack frustration.

The main job was fitting the window kit. Meaco supplies both a standard sash kit and a flexible fabric version for different window types. Charlotte used the flexible kit, which sticks around the window frame and zips neatly around the exhaust hose to keep warm air out. She reckoned it took about half an hour from opening the box to having everything running.

The instructions were clear and the controls were easy to understand. The unit has buttons for fan speed, sleep mode, timer and swing mode, which moves the louvre to circulate cool air around the room. Charlotte didn't have to spend ages reading the manual before using it.

Moving it upstairs proved more challenging. The box has carrying handles but the unit itself doesn't, so lifting nearly 30kg isn't something most people will want to tackle alone. Once it's on the right floor, though, the castors make it easy to wheel into position.

What's the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner like to use day to day?

Charlotte used the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU mainly in her bedroom. Most evenings she'd cool the room before bed, then leave it running overnight if the weather stayed particularly hot.

The remote control quickly became one of her favourite features. It worked reliably from across the room, so she could change the settings without getting out of bed. She ended up using it far more often than the controls on the unit itself.

There are three fan speeds, along with a sleep mode that dims the display and reduces the fan speed. That made a real difference at night. Charlotte also appreciated the mute function, which turns off the button beeps, and the child lock if curious little hands are around.

Meaco also includes app control, voice control, a timer, cooling, fan, dry and sleep modes. Charlotte mainly relied on the remote and the controls on the machine. She didn't test the app, so we can't comment on how well that works. She also didn't need the dry mode during her trial, although it's there if you want to use the unit as a dehumidifier.

She was pleasantly surprised by how it looked. As someone who doesn't like unnecessary clutter, she'd expected a portable air conditioner to dominate the room. Although it's still a large appliance, she thought the design was much smarter and less obtrusive than she'd imagined.

Storing it isn't difficult, although its size means you'll need to plan ahead. The hose detaches easily, and Charlotte thought it would fit into a cupboard, office or loft. Getting it into a loft, however, would involve a fair bit of lifting because of the weight.

Related: The best pedestal fans, according to Mumsnet users

How well does the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner cool a bedroom?

This is where the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU impressed Charlotte most. She tested it during two heatwaves, including one with daytime temperatures climbing towards 40°C, and said it turned her bedroom from somewhere she dreaded spending time into a room she could actually relax and sleep in.

On warm days, it cooled the bedroom to around 22°C in roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Her usual routine was to switch it on about half an hour before bed, let it cool the room, then leave it running on the lower setting if the night stayed hot.

When temperatures climbed above 35°C, the unit had to work much harder. Charlotte noticed the exhaust hose became hot, and felt the single-hose design, like many portable air conditioners sold in the UK, made it less efficient in extreme heat. Even so, she thought it coped well considering the conditions.

One thing to bear in mind is that a portable air conditioner only cools the room it's in. Charlotte found her bedroom stayed pleasantly cool while the unit was running, but once she switched it off during the hottest weather, heat gradually drifted back in from the rest of the house. On the warmest nights, she found it worked best left running rather than relying on a quick cool-down before bed.

Meaco recommends the Cirro 12000 BTU for rooms of around 20 to 30m², although factors such as insulation, ceiling height, direct sunlight and the number of heat sources all affect performance. Charlotte's experience reflected that. It made a real difference, but no portable air conditioner can completely overcome a house that's been baking in extreme heat all day.

How well does the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner work overnight?

If you're planning to use it while you sleep, the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU does the job well, as long as you don't expect complete silence.

Meaco says the unit runs at between 45 and 51dB, with Super Quiet mode operating at the lower end of that range. That's quieter than some of the brand's older portable air conditioners on paper, but Charlotte felt the 'Super Quiet' label set expectations a little too high.

She wouldn't want it running beside the bed on its highest setting all night. On the lower setting, though, she found the sound easy to live with. She actually prefers a little background noise, but what reassured her most was that a friend who describes herself as a light sleeper also slept comfortably with it running.

Her advice is simple. Cool the room properly before you go to bed, then switch to the lower fan speed or sleep mode overnight. Sleep mode also dims the display, so there isn't a bright panel lighting up the bedroom.

You'll always hear the fan running, and anyone who's especially sensitive to noise may find it distracting. Charlotte joked that it still sounded a bit like having a small boat moored beside the bed. For her, though, the gentle hum was far easier to live with than lying awake in a stifling bedroom.

Is the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU portable air conditioner good value for money?

At around £520 at the time of writing, the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU is a significant purchase, especially for something many households will only use regularly during the hottest weeks of the year. It's also currently out of stock on Meaco's website, with new stock expected in April 2027.

For the money, you get a 12,000 BTU portable air conditioner with cooling, fan, dry and sleep modes, app and voice control, a remote, timer, child lock, two window kits, castors and a two-year warranty. Meaco also gives it an A energy rating and estimates running costs at around 35p an hour.

Charlotte's own electricity costs were higher than that figure suggests, although her experience reflected unusually hot weather rather than everyday use. During the peak of the heatwave, when the unit ran for most of the day, she estimated it added around £5 to her daily electricity bill. On more typical days, when she used it mainly in the evening and overnight, she thought it cost somewhere between £2 and £3 a day. Those figures are based on her own household and will vary depending on your electricity tariff, room size, insulation and how hard the unit has to work.

Whether it represents good value depends on how often you'll use it. If your home usually stays cool, it's probably more machine than you need. If your bedroom regularly becomes unbearably hot, it's much easier to justify. Charlotte found herself using it consistently because it was easy to set up, straightforward to operate and, above all, it kept the room cool enough to sleep comfortably.

Related: The best budget fans from just £10

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She researches and reviews the products Mumsnetters swear by, with a particular focus on home essentials like steam irons, vacuum cleaners and heated throws.

From a highly recommended retractable washing line to the best quiet fans money can buy, and Mumsnet's favourite dehumidifier to the steam generator iron that'll cut your ironing time in half, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the very best products on the market.