A good air conditioning system in the heat is much like a big puffer jacket in the winter - essential.
Let's be honest when we do get it we love the sun, but we can't help but moan that it's 'too hot to sleep' or fidget around the office as it slowly heats up to oven level.
And whilst the UK isn't exactly the renowned hub for sunny weather - it's not a bad thing to be prepared for the warmer weather. For customers who suffer with night sweats, an air conditioner with adjustable cool settings could be a nice touch for a more comfortable night's rest.
A portable air conditioning unit will simply move from room to room instead of having a device mounted to just one wall in the home.
Portable air conditioners are rated in British Thermal Units (BTUs) the higher the BTU, the larger room it can dispense cool air for, anything below 8,000 BTU is likely best for a small room. Many air conditioners also require outdoor venting system to really operate properly.
Whatever you're looking for, we've compiled a list of the best portable air conditioners that are available to buy today.
Best portable air conditioners to buy
1. electriQ Portable Evaporative Air Cooler
Best budget
Features:
- BTU: N/A
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: Yes
- Weight: 7.5kg
Outdoor Venting: No
Feeling hot, sticky and uncomfortable? Don't sweat it, literally. This air conditioner is a great and inexpensive solution compared to similar versions available on the market.
It also doesn't require external venting like many do - simply add water to the huge 15-litre tank and let evaporation do the rest for you, there's also an ice box for added cooling capabilities.
Not only is this great value unit an air conditioner, it also purifies and humidifies the air around you too, ensuring you stay cool and comfortable in lovely clean air.
Buy now from Amazon (£123.97).
2. Meaco Cool MC Series Portable Air Conditioner
Best overall
Features:
- BTU: 7,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 20kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
With a 7000 BTU rating, this air conditioning unit from Meaco applies practical cooling in living rooms, bedrooms and offices with a size of between 12² to 22m².
Stay in charge with the easy-to-use display and remote control, you can also adjust the temperature and even engage sleep mode to ensure you get a restful nights sleep.
Two airflow settings allow you to choose what's best for you at the time, and you can control it all from the comfort of your seat with a remote control.
Buy now from Amazon (£299).
3. Dyson Cool AM07 Tower Fan
Best Dyson fan
Features:
- BTU: N/A
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: Yes
- Weight: 2.9kg
Outdoor Venting: No
Beat the heat and nasty pollutants with this stylish gadget from tech giant Dyson. Although its not a traditional air conditioning unit, it'd be pretty difficult to have a roundup of cooling fans without featuring Dyson, wouldn't it?
This device works to cool and purify the air around you, so you can work, rest or entertain in complete comfort and knowing that the air around you is pure. There's also a handy indicating system that will let you know when the quality of the air drops.
The purifier is also armed with a HEPA filter, which effortlessly works to capture and remove unwanted gases and pollutants from the air.
There's 10 speed settings to choose from and it's able to oscillate for evenly distributed air and can cool up to around 28 square metres.
Buy now from Argos (£349).
4. Tower Presto 9000BTU Air Conditioner
Best all year round use
Features:
- BTU: 9,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 2.5kg
Outdoor Venting: No
The Presto 3-in-1 air conditioner has multiple functions to combat both hot and wet climates with a choice of air conditioning, dehumidifying, fan cooling or an automatic mode.
The fan function directly cools down your surroundings using high and low airflow settings for maximum comfort, with an adjustable vertical louvre to redirect the breeze further across the room. The unit also helps to tackle the wet winter season by extracting up to 20 litres of excess moisture from your room per day.
The device operates at a 9,000 BTU output and has an A energy-efficiency rating to provide high-performance with low environmental impact and running costs - how good is that?
Buy now from Robert Dyas (£299.99).
5. Ecoair Apollo Portable Air Conditioner
Best with free app
Features:
- BTU: 12,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 39kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
The Ecoair delivers fresh air for any room in the home you'd like it to, it can cover areas of around 22 square metres overall. The unit has two in one capabilities, also doubling up as a dehumidifier to release the rooms in your home of moisture. These features can all be easily controlled with a wireless remote or via a free app.
12,000 BTUs make this unit ideal for cooling areas up to 22 squares metres, it's also A energy rated so no need to worry about sky high energy bills either.
Three different fan speeds allow you complete control over how little or how much cool air you want. The unit sits atop of easy glide castor wheels, so you can transport it around the rooms in your home with ease.
Buy now from Amazon (£543.92).
6. NETTA Portable Air Conditioner Unit
Best compact
Features:
- BTU: 8,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 22kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
If you're looking for a pretty compact air conditioning unit - this option from NETTA is a top contender.
This air conditioner is ideal for small to average sized rooms ranging up to 20m². The multi-functional unit offers individual fan, cooling and dehumidifying modes to help create the perfect and most comfortable environment throughout those warmer months.
Built-in casters allow you to easily move the unit to any room in the house with a simple push, where the compact and upright design allows it to fit anywhere without taking up too much space.
Buy now from Amazon (£269.99).
7. De'Longhi Pinguino PACN82 Eco
Best high spec
Features:
- BTU: 9400
- Speed settings: 3 speed fan
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 30 kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
This portable air conditioning unit from De'Longhi has a fairly big price tag, although it's not the most expensive out there, not to mention it isn't the lightest on the market either.
However, the cost comes with some amazing benefits you may want to consider if you're serious about staying cool throughout the year. It has some incredible features from a dehumifier and fan functions. It's eco-friendly and energy efficient and is remote controlled
Buy now from Amazon (£537.99)
8. AEG ChillFlex Pro AXP26U338CW Portable Air Conditioner
Best for quiet operation
Features:
- BTU: 9,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 31.5kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
The ChillFlex Pro is a portable air-conditioner that combines efficiency and elegance.
It perfectly maintains the right temperature in the home - cool and fresh when it's hot outside.
It has an A energy rating which is perfect for those worried about the price of running it, it also comes with a remote control for turning on / off, adjusting fan speed, timer, temperature and sleep modes.
Buy now from John Lewis (£549.99).
9. Princess Mobile Air Conditioner
Best for larger spaces
Features:
- BTU: 12,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 30kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
The Princess Air Conditioner is simple to use, stylish and suitable for rooms up to 36 m2.
There's three functional settings to choose from including cooling, dehumidifying and a fan setting. The dehumidifier removes moisture from the air at a rate of around 1.2 litres per hour, with water tank indicator to let you know when it's full.
You can control your device via the included remote control, or connect with your smartphone with tje HomeWizard climate app, as well as via Siri for voice control abilities.
Buy now from Amazon (£499.99).
10. Black and Decker 7 Litre Air Cooler
Best Affordable
Features:
- BTU: 7 litre cooling capacity
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 7.5kg
Outdoor Venting: No
This versatile Black and Decker 7 Litre Air Cooler can be used as a fan cooler all year round and is great for the office or for smaller rooms at home.
You'll be able to set between high, medium or low speed settings to maximise your comfort and adjust the fan to redirect cool air across angles of the room.
The cooling system also improves performance and moisture levels by vapourising cool water through its honeycomb filtration system. The detachable 7 litre water tank is easy to remove for filling up with fresh water or ice packs when needed too.
Buy now from Wayfair (£94.99).
11. Symphony 35L Portable Evaporative Air Cooler
Best slimline
Features:
- BTU: 35 litre cooling capacity
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 10.5kg
Outdoor Venting: No
This powerful air cooler is also a humidifier and air cleaner that doesn't need a window venting kit or any permanent installation.
Perfect for medium to large sized rooms or as personal cooler, it generates a steady stream of cold air through evaporation. It works by pulling warm air into the back of the machine through the iPure 5 stage filter system.
All you have to do is fill the large 35 litre water tank with water and once you've filled the tank, simply turn the machine on and choose which of the three fan speeds you want the machine to run on.
Buy now from Appliances Direct (£249.97).
12. Igenix 9000 BTU 4-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner
Best to cool smaller rooms
Features:
- BTU: 9,000
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 31kg
Outdoor Venting: Yes
The Igenix Portable Air Conditioner doesn't just cool, but is capable of geating and dehumidifing too.
This multifunctional 4-in-1 unit offers individual an fan with three different speeds to help create the ideal environment, whilst the touch control panel and remote control are easy to use for convenience.
We'd suggest using in small to average sized rooms ranging up to 20 square metres and the dehumidifying function can be used independent of the air conditioning function, allowing you to extract up to 26.4 litres a day of excess moisture.
13. BELDRAY EH3234 4-in-1 Air Cooler
Best multi-functional
Features:
- BTU: N/A
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: Yes
- Weight: 7.8kg
Outdoor Venting: No
Keep your home or office the perfect temperature all year round with this Beldray 4 in 1 air cooler, which has versatile settings so you can keep your surroundings brilliantly cool or warm.
Using the remote control, you can very easily operate the air cooler, purifier, humidifier or heater.
The integrated filter system also collects dust and removes unwanted odour, circulate a refreshing stream of cool air using the smart oscillating system, with additional ice packs included for maximised cooling.
Buy now from Beldray (£84.99).
14. JML Chillmax Air Pure Chill
Best for one person
Features:
- BTU: N/A
- Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
- Oscillation: No
- Weight: 10g
Outdoor Venting: No
The Chillmax Air Pure Chill gives you the best features of both fans and an air conditioner in one, compact unit that’s also a night light.
Chillmax Air Pure Chill sprays a fine mist that is then sent through the special filter and only uses evaporation and water to function. There's three adjustable speeds to choose from and a reusable, antimicrobial filter, runs up to 10 hours per fill,
The portable device also runs for up to ten hours which is perfect for a hot restless evening.
15. Meaco Cool 8000R Air Conditioner
Most powerful for small rooms
This is described as being perfect for keeping conservatories, bedrooms, home gyms and offices cool and fresh.
Features:
Buy now from John Lewis (£329.99).
16. HOMCOM 7000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
Stay nice and cool day and night with this multi-feature portable air conditioner from B&Q.
Features:
- Four modes: Cools, dehumidifies, ventilates and sleeps
- 2 Speed settings: Adjustable speeds
Air blades: Can be moved to adjust air direction
24-hour timer: Turn on and off when you want
LED display and remote: For duo control
What type of air conditioning should I buy?
The type of air conditioner you buy depends on the size of the room you want to cool. Anything below 8,000 is likely only going to cool a small/personal space, whereas 9 -12,000 BTU’s can usually cool up to 25 square metres.
If you’re likely to use the air conditioning unit whilst you’re asleep, it’s worth looking for one with an operating noise level of 60db or under.
How much should I spend on an air conditioning unit?
Portable air conditioners can cost anywhere between £200 to more than £1,000, depending on the product’s BTU rating as well as other features.
The higher the BTU the more expensive it gets, but remember lower BTU products are only going to be suitable for cooling smaller spaces.
Do I need to drain a portable air conditioner?
Self-evaporating models automatically evaporate moisture out of the exhaust hose along with warm air. Some models will require you to manually drain the water when it gets too full.
