Will portable air conditioning become more common in UK homes?

[zowsoph]

I'm in Scotland where it hasn't been as hot as down south but I have still been struggling. I'm currently making the case for getting some kind of portable air conditioner for next year as its been horrible this summer just constantly hot and sweaty and not sleeping. My sympathies to anyone down south struggling in even hotter temps.

Do you think there will be an aircon boom in Europe and the UK over the next few years? Our homes up hear and designed to combat the cold and damp but they seem to both absorb and hold the heat inside. I know they say that isn't the case even following all the guidance on keeping the indoors cool it is just unbearable!

Same I’m in the SE and a fair amount of people have portable units but now I’m seeing friends getting it installed properly. The amount of vans I’ve seen driving past recently with air con businesses on them is crazy! I’m planning on getting it done.

We are in London and in autumn will be getting quote for installed Ac, solar and extra blinds/awnings. I’ve concluded this summer should be viewed as the new norm and we need to plan accordingly.

Yes you can. Mine is on wheels

They only need to settle if they’ve been tipped over or stored horizontally, which can happen during shipping or while stored in a shop or warehouse. It’s to let the oil in the compressor drain to where it needs to be. So if you are rolling it from room to room it doesn’t need to settle.

We bought a portable last summer when our central air conditioning broke down and we couldn’t get it repaired right away. We replaced our central air conditioning condenser this summer after it developed a refrigerant leak that couldn’t be repaired.

I’m in New York, where houses are often designed with ductwork for central heating and air conditioning, but lots of people with older houses are installing split systems that don’t need ductwork.

And hopefully more affordable! I looked into buying one during the second heatwave, back in June,but they were just too expensive. I doubt that it will be installed in British homes as a matter of course for quite some time yet. The powers that be will just say it's not worth it for 'a couple of weeks of hot weather a year'. But this year hasn't been just a couple of weeks of hot weather. It's been weeks and weeks of heat in excess of 28 degrees, and quite a lot over 30 degrees or more.

You can move them from room to room, but need to think logistically on placement.
You need a clear area near an opening/window to stand it, you would need a window kit for each window you swap between, for the hose.

Our ceilings are too low unless anyone over 5ft and a fart wants to be decapitated.
Can't afford ac, portable or otherwise, anyway.

I’m in northern New England and I’d say we are about 5 years ahead of the UK in terms of summers getting really hot. We started putting in portable a/c units about 8-10 years ago, then 2 years ago we put a mini split system in with 5 heads which now provides all our heating and cooling.

My house is now warmer in winter and much much cooler in summer than ever before. Also the system is almost silent, which is bliss after the noise of portable units.

My state has more houses with air source heat pumps proportionally than any other state.

If you get solar panels at the same time then you’re actually doing the planet less harm than previously, and will save money in the long run.

I read the other day that 42% of new US houses are now built with air source heat pumps as their primary heating/cooling system.

I bought one the summer it got up to 40, 2022 I think. I use it sparingly because of the electric, but it's been a great little investment.
I've also got a portable split one, that's designed for a caravan but works perfectly in DDs medium size bedroom. It's much more efficient as it's not constantly pulling warm air back into the room, so is loads cheaper to run, which is good as DD isn't good at 'sparingly'.
I'd get a proper one installed if I didn't rent.

A local company near here install air con and solar panels. Normally solar is the bulk of their work and the owner was on the radio saying last summer they were getting about 4 or 5 enquiries a day about air con installation. This year he said they’ve been getting 20-odd per day and now have an installation waiting list running into next February.

He also said they reason for the lack of available portable AC is because the UK is not normally seen as a high sale area, so manufacturers (mostly in Asia) dont bother sending many units this way. Because it takes months to build more units, pop them on container ships, then sail them to us, it will be winter before they’re back in stock.

I should have bought 3 then!

We have one downstairs and one in the bedroom, DH made clear window covers out of Wickes acrylic sheet for the large outlet pipe to go through as the ones that came with them was useless

We’re down south and got proper aircon installed in my home office and the bedrooms this spring. Had a portable one previously and it’s like night and day. DH was a massive skeptic but is completely converted. Made such a difference to quality of sleep, thus quality of life.

We have a portable unit which is now about 6 years old it is an absolute godsend. We've used it more this year than all previous years put together.

My parents thought it was a ridiculous waste of money when I was encouraging them to get one - they are of a completely different view now but there's none to be had anywhere!

We put ours on for an hour before we go to bed then have it on a timer so it’s nice and cold to drop off to sleep. If we wake up hot in the night it’s got a remote control so I just pop it on for 10 mins and it’s shuts down again. It works well for us.

We tried a mobile a/c unit last year but it was so noisy we sent it back. It was waking us up every time it clicked on and off through the night. We've taken the plunge and having a/c installed in our bedroom. They couldn't fit it until October as they're so busy so no help this year but at least we will be prepared for next year. DH has no tolerance for heat and becomes a right grumpy bugger so even if we don't have another summer like this it will still be used.

@zowsoph your poll contradicts itself

You've asked about proper fitted air-conditioning but also
about portable

Yeah, even I've got a portable unit which is essential and I've had it for years

Because I'm not allowed to install anything, I'm actually thinking about whether or not I can find an engineer to make something a bit like New York style air conditioning that they have as normal in flats

i'm always amazed when I spend some time anywhere else at how normal
it is compared to flats

Portable ones are noisy, I'm a cold person so can sleep in quite high temperatures and need my electric blanket at anything below about 21 but DH gets hot so has the thing clattering away for most the night, I am getting used to it a bit now. Downstairs we have to turn the telly up when it's on

I doubt it. Lots of people can't afford to adequately heat their homes, not sure how they will afford to run AC.

But there are lots of people who can🤷‍♀️

Our portable ones cost around 1kw hour to run so probably about the same as a portable heater but it can mount up if they are on for a while. Probably about just over £1 for 4 hrs at today's electric prices, I think the fitted ones are cheaper as probably a lot more efficient.

From ITV News Social housing provider says "heatwaves are rare" As usual though the HA in question isnt named!

Sure, but the OP is talking about a boom in AC. The reality is that the cost will be prohibitive for many while others won't be able to install it due to restrictive covenants, etc.

It will become more common, sure, but it won't get anywhere close to even a simple majority of homes having it.

DH started an AC company in 1995, and closed it in 2000 but we still have the split heat pump unit we installed for ourselves in our kitchen. Everyone loves our kitchen and the shade sail outside.

I've never bothered to explain on MN how a split unit works. In winter, it delivers quick warmth locally, and in summer it provides cooling. As long as you operate it within a sensible range, it's not stupidly expensive to run. Ours runs as a fan most of the time in this heatwave, and we click over to full AC for the hottest part of the day. We have an old black dog and she is kept comfortable as a result.