How does an air cooler work?
Sitting somewhere between a fan and a portable air conditioner, an air cooler - also known as an evaporative or swamp cooler - works by drawing in hot air and blowing it through an absorbent pad or honeycomb-like membrane. The air cooler has a tank filled with water that evaporates and cools the air, which is blown out using a fan.
What’s the difference between an air cooler and an air conditioner?
It looks similar to a portable air conditioner, but instead of using an air coolant to cool down the air, it draws in the warm air and sends it through a cooling pad. An air cooler doesn’t require outside ventilation, unlike an air conditioner which must be vented, although most work better when near an open window
The difference in the cooling effect is huge though - an air conditioner can chill the room by up to 15 degrees whereas you’re looking at around four degrees for an air cooler. An air cooler is more effective in hot, dry climates as they can add more humidity to the air. For this reason, some people find that they’re not all that effective at keeping you chilled during hot weather in the UK.
While it won’t dramatically cool the room like an air conditioner, it can provide a refreshing blast of cool air to help you sleep and work better - and they’re less pricey than an air conditioner and use a lot less energy.
How to choose the best air cooler for you
Size
You can either get compact-sized air coolers for using on your desk/bedside table or larger models that are designed to cool bigger spaces. The capacity of an air cooler refers to the size of the tank and how much water it can hold. The air coolers on our list vary from around 600ml to 12L and this will affect how often you will need to refill the water. Depending on what you want to use it for, you’ll probably need it to last at least a working day or night so it doesn’t cut out. For some air coolers, you’ll need to regularly change the water anyway to prevent mould and bacteria so make sure to look for tanks that can be easily removed.
Features
Most air coolers are easy to use. Some come with remote controls or one button for ease of use when changing the settings; the Princess Smart Air Cooler even connects to Wi-Fi so you can control it with an app and voice control.
If you want to ensure your machine pumps out clean air, look for one with air cleaning filters and some air coolers also work as a humidifier to add moisture to the air. You may also want automatic shut-off functions and timers for helping to reduce how much energy you use and, if you want to move the air cooler from room to room, look out for swivel wheels or a carry handle.
Airflow
Look out for the air circulation, which will show how large a space it can provide air to - for example, 840m³/h can cool a room up to 12m². Most air coolers have three fan speeds to choose from and some also have an oscillating function which moves the fan round to provide more air circulation.
How much does it cost to run an air cooler?
This will vary depending on your energy tariff and how much you pay for one unit of energy (1kw). As of July 2023, the government’s Energy Price Guarantee caps the per unit cost at 30p per kiloWatt an hour.
The smallest models on our list use 7.5W whereas a larger model may use around 100W. A 100W appliance will cost around 3p per hour to run.
How we chose the best air coolers
Recommendations from real parents
We started our research by trawling our forums to find out what Mumsnetters thought about air coolers. Opinions were divided on this one, but we realised there was still demand for a device that works better than an average fan without the cost and energy use of an air conditioner. We also looked out for any recommended products. Mumsnet has over eight million unique visitors per month, so that's plenty of wisdom to count on.
Authentic reviews
We looked at in-depth reviews to see which brands and products were impressing the experts the most. This helps us work out what features to look out for.
We also checked verified online consumer reviews on websites such as Amazon, making a note of both positive and negative feedback, to help us give you a balanced evaluation of the products on our list.
Celebrated best products
Finally, during our research, we always make sure to look at products that have received awards. This, combined with real parent recommendations, reviews and expert advice, helped us recommend a variety of air coolers to keep you cool whether you are at home or at work.
About the author
Gemma Wilcock is a freelance writer and copywriter. At Mumsnet, she creates content providing useful parenting advice, information and top products to make life easier – as a mother of two children herself, Gemma knows how important it is to get the right advice.
After working on women’s weekly magazines for nine years, Gemma turned to freelance writing to fit around family life, writing for a range of online and print publications, charities and small businesses. She loves writing about subjects that will be helpful to the reader – and herself! - including recommending top products on Mumsnet that help parents in their day-to-day life. She knows how important online reviews are when it comes to making a purchase so she always makes sure to thoroughly research every product so we are recommending the best ones on the market.
Why you should trust us
We work hard to provide unbiased, independent advice you can trust. We do sometimes earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. This helps us fund more helpful articles like this one.
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