Portable air con units - PLEASE give me your recommendations

[Person246]

I live in a flat in London, on the second floor, which just gets absolutely stinking hot. Even when it's not 32 degrees like today, it can still get so humid when the temp reaches anything above 24 degrees.

I don't open the windows or balcony door during the day. I have a Dyson fan which is a god send but it ultimately just circulates hot air around the room. It does help but it's not like air con.

I have decided it's time to invest in a portable air con unit to help cool down my flat, particularly my bedroom at night.

Please can you give me your recommendations? I don't really care if it's noisy to be honest - as long as it's effective, that's all that matters to me!

I have thought about potentially installing a ceiling air con unit, but I don't know how much longer I will be in my flat so I don't want to make that investment just yet.

We have ma meako and that's excellent Needs a vent tho

Pop a tray of cold tap water in front of your fan - it cools the air

I have a Honeywell one for downstairs and a Challenge one for upstairs. Got the Honeywell one in a Prime Day deal. Both need vents (out the window) which is a bit of a pain, but they work well. I don’t have a problem with the heat, but my DC (and my cats!) do. The Honeywell one doubles up as a normal fan and as a dehumidifier.

I ummed and ahhed for ages before getting them, but they are great.

Or even a 2l milk container or something, emptied and frozen, this then cools the air further

Make sure it’s at least 12,000 BTU’s.
If you get below 10,000 you might be asking too much of it. Also look at the hose accessories provided, because sealing it around the open window is just as important.
can’t help on brands. I have two. The one I bought from B&Q in 2007 is an absolute god send.

We got ours at Costco - brilliant

I have one in my bedroom and one in the family room - my recommendation is to get one that swings horizontally (side to side) rather than vertically (up and down) as it seems to project around the room better.

We've had a delonghi pinguino for about 4 years which I thoroughly reccommend. You do need to put the vent hose out of a window, but its very effective at cooling and the air feels better too as its also a dehumidifier. Worth every penny when the weather is like this.

I have one from EcoAir. Love it.

We have one bought from B&Q in 2003. It's fantastic and still working perfectly.

We have two DeLonghi Pinguino machines, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. They work pretty well, though people should bear in mind that they can't drop the temperature by many degrees on a really hot day. If you let your room get really hot and then turn the machine on it will take ages to get it down to a bearable temperature.
There's an awning over the southeast facing living room windows and we put that down first thing in the morning. We have inside/outside thermometers and keep the windows open in the morning until the temperature outside is higher than inside, at which stage we shut all the blinds, and turn on the aircon.
In the evening we do the opposite, opening everything up once the outside is cooler than the inside.

Air conditioners are rated by their power. Unfortunately when they were first introduced to the UK retailers didn't know what units to use so they used the units used in the USA. Americans use a version of Imperial called American Customary Units and they rate air conditioners in terms of British Thermal Units per hour whereas Europe uses watts. 10000 BTU/h is about 2930 W or 2.9 kW. Years ago EU law mandated that the kW value be displayed but retailers these days may in practice use either. Just to make things more confusing, Americans abbreviate 'BTUs per hour' to 'BTUs', just as they abbreviate 'fluid ounces' to 'ounces'. This means if you ask Google to convert them you may get a confusing reply, as they are incommensurate units.

Assuming average ceilings, look for about 0.15 kW per square metre of floor space.

The portable air conditioners do two things:

1. Dehumidify
2. Cool the air

They vent hot air out of a vent which needs to exit the room, usually out of a window. That air needs to be replaced, so air is drawn in around door gaps etc. The air that is drawn in also needs dehumidifying and cooling. A split airconditioning unit (where the cooler is outside) is much more efficient and needs to do a lot less work for an equivalent temperature drop. The portable one will spend a good deal of energy on dehumidifying before it cools.

They split units aren't that much h more expensive, but if you go the portable route, you can help it be more efficient by running a dehumidifier alongside and keeping the door closed as much as possible.

ETA - we have a portable unit and it is great, but noisy. We are just looking at split units as it looks like the hotter summers are here to stay.

This but stand the frozen bottle in a bowl to collect the condensation.

Yes! I use a tray and a towel but that is important info

I have two, different makes.

I don't think brand matters as much as what it will do. You need to know the size of the room you want to cool.

You can hire them too, which might be an idea if you are not sure.

I also have a couple of fans so the cold air comes out of the AC and then the fan blows the air where I want it.

OP lives in a flat ok which floor & should you invest in a ceiling aircon unit, where would you install the condensing unit ?

I bought a cheap brand one from Amazon a couple of years ago for the bedroom, it was the only one available in the heatwave and a more expensive Meaco brand one this year for downstairs and I see no difference in them. To block the outward opening casement window we use a Wickes acrylic sheet that DH cut to size with a hole cut in it which we stick to the window frame with double sided Velcro and find it works well. You have to make sure the warm air doesn't come in from outside and our 7000 and 8000 BTU ones use around 800-900 watts an hour each

Just a tip, the outlet pipe is usually about the size of a cat flap if you are not happy to just stick the pipe out of the window.

I've got a good home heat pump one. 12000 btu but can also be used as a dehumidifier and heater ( which was a godsend when my boiler broke down one winter)

As a pp poster said split ones are far more efficient but you might be restricted in where you can place it and have to have it properly installed / holes drilled through walls etc

Portable ones are a few hundred and a 20 quid window cover kit for the hose. Probably only used it a few days a year over the last 5 years but makes a real difference in the room you put it in which is important for pets babies etc.

May only drop the temperature a 5 or 6 degrees but the humidity drop is very noticeable

Delonghi Penguino, plus a generic longer exhaust hose, anti-vibration mat as sold for washing machines and a window kit. Yes, it's pricey, yes, it can be a bit noisy when actively cooling - but it is worth every single penny.

I have an AEG. It can get our North facing 6x4m bedroom down by 3° and the south facing living 6x8m room down 1.5°. I couldn't bring myself to pay for the Pinguino for 3 days per year. The matching expensive window fitting is useless for outwards opening windows, it assumes you have no handles. Drawing the insulated curtains round it works well. The pipe is really noisy, it will annoy your neighbours so you can't use it overnight unless you live over a main road

I would open the windows when it's cooler outside than inside, open windows on opposite or 90° walls to get a cross breeze and let out the humidity that builds up indoors. As you are second floor, it might be safe to leave them overnight (depending on noise)
If you have big windows, consider the tinted film that blocks UV.
Shut windows and blinds /curtains on the hot side during the day to keep the sun out.

I have a 9,000 BTU Black and Decker Aircon for a room that is 14sq.m, south facing with 2 sets of windows. It works well but soon warms up again when turned off.
However this is the room I work in so I really need it. In future I will invest in a proper aircon installed with the main unit outside. I wouldn't run it overnight due to the noise for neighbours, but I can't sleep with a fan or AC on anyway.

I live in a 2nd floor flat and had to buy a portable air con unit as it was unbearable. I just checked and it’s not available on amazon as it was 2yrs ago, but i’d just look on there at reviews. It was around £250. It’s on 24-7 during a heatwave and it is heavy on the electric, around £50 a week last year when used 24-7. It’s a necessary cost as I couldn’t live in this flat with my dog without it. I live in the South East and so it’s a good investment as it’s always hot now in summer. When I move to a house, hopefully next year, hoping it won’t be used as much but handy to have it.

I would do this with a sealed frozen container as if it is humid already you don't want to be making it more humid.