Any advice on what Portable Air Conditioning unit to buy (UK) ?

Been on for 30 minutes now...omg, this will change my life! I can now game in the summer!!! Goes well with my mesh Aeron chair :D

Room is really cool even though I haven't properly installed it in the window with a tight seal yet (it is just hanging out of the window.) I can feel the difference instantly as soon as I walk out the room. Will allow me to focus on work now rather than sweating in the temps.

https://imgur.com/gallery/sntKrTf

ic9i29y.jpeg

I bet my electric bill will take a hit though (R.I.P). As if heating in the Winter wasn't bad enough, lol.

For anyone interested, I bought it from Appliances Direct at £299 including delivery. (I know they have increased prices though the last few days due to the surge in people buying them. - If you are willing to wait, you can get it for £259 in the Winter.)
 
Portable units suck like really suck

here are the issues

1) They are loud, like 70 decibels loud - don't expects to have have it running and be able to hear your TV or get a good sleep

2) They require more maintenance like emptying water

3) they require exterior ventilation which may not work in your house

4) They are expensive and don't last long - it's not uncommon for the AC motor to die after 1 or 2 years
 
Actual_Criminal said:
Been on for 30 minutes now...omg, this will change my life! I can now game in the summer!!! Goes well with my mesh Aeron chair :D

Room is really cool even though I haven't properly installed it in the window with a tight seal yet (it is just hanging out of the window.) I can feel the difference instantly as soon as I walk out the room. Will allow me to focus on work now rather than sweating in the temps.

https://imgur.com/gallery/sntKrTf


I bet my electric bill will take a hit though (R.I.P). As if heating in the Winter wasn't bad enough, lol.

For anyone interested, I bought it from Appliances Direct at £299 including delivery. (I know they have increased prices though the last few days due to the surge in people buying them. - If you are willing to wait, you can get it for £259 in the Winter.)
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I looked into the cost, depending on how much it has to run to cool the room down (and what temperature you've set) it's typically £5 / day to run those portable units. if you've got a smart meter you should get one of those smart energy monitors to see how much it's actually costing.
 
So I bought a similar unit to yours @Actual_Criminal - we'd got to the point where my partner wasn't sleeping, and her restlessness was ****ing up my sleep badly. It seemed to work but the cooler it got in my room, the damper it felt. My house is pretty damp so it makes sense - but we're talking from 30° down to 24/25 it felt wet to lie on the bed.

Our unit had a dehumidifier mode - it only produced water if you use that mode. The instructions said to recirculate the air during dehumidifier mode, and that air is heated by the unit so we were chasing temperature and moisture up and down. This is in a smallish double bedroom, 3x3.5m.

Portable AC requires the hot air be exhausted, but this has to be replaced by drawing air in from the rest of the house. Which is warm and humid in my case. Basically our house has been so heavily insulated that sun through the windows heats everything up and it never cools down, even overnight.

It seemed good when first turned on but not that good for £270 and insane energy costs (900W running so several kWh a day on my energy meter). We took it back in the end, and I'll be getting several fans and a dehumidifier for the returned cash.

YMMV - I think our house is problematic so I'm devising a through flow system with several fans placed at open windows. For anyone interested, I got the middle size model of GoodHome Takoma unit, from Screwfix but B&Q also sell it.
 
Grim5 said:
Portable units suck like really suck

here are the issues

1) They are loud, like 70 decibels loud - don't expects to have have it running and be able to hear your TV or get a good sleep

2) They require more maintenance like emptying water

3) they require exterior ventilation which may not work in your house

4) They are expensive and don't last long - it's not uncommon for the AC motor to die after 1 or 2 years
Click to expand...
Bit short sighted as portable AC units are also a tenth of the cost of a basic proper installation and more than suitable for the 10 days of blistering heat we get. Point 1 - yes, point 2 - no, at least not the ones I know, point 3 - do you not have windows?, Point 4 - quality dependant surely but extended warranties are inexpensive.

BallistixOnZ490 said:
Ofc right, so if I dont have somewhere to vent the air out of it wont work :(
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Do you not have windows?
 
Grim5 said:
Portable units suck like really suck

here are the issues

1) They are loud, like 70 decibels loud - don't expects to have have it running and be able to hear your TV or get a good sleep

2) They require more maintenance like emptying water

3) they require exterior ventilation which may not work in your house

4) They are expensive and don't last long - it's not uncommon for the AC motor to die after 1 or 2 years
Click to expand...

Yup, and after the week or so of heatwave temps, you'll feel silly later on for having that huge thing just sat there mocking you as you consider whether it's crazy putting the central heating on in September.
 
dLockers said:
Bit short sighted as portable AC units are also a tenth of the cost of a basic proper installation and more than suitable for the 10 days of blistering heat we get. Point 1 - yes, point 2 - no, at least not the ones I know, point 3 - do you not have windows?, Point 4 - quality dependant surely but extended warranties are inexpensive.


Do you not have windows?
Click to expand...

I mean, you're completely wrong about the cost thing:

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/tf-12000ch/telefunken-tf12000ch-air-conditioner-air-conditioner
 
Grim5 said:
Portable units suck like really suck

here are the issues

1) They are loud, like 70 decibels loud - don't expects to have have it running and be able to hear your TV or get a good sleep

2) They require more maintenance like emptying water

3) they require exterior ventilation which may not work in your house

4) They are expensive and don't last long - it's not uncommon for the AC motor to die after 1 or 2 years
Click to expand...

My £300 portable AC as lasted a good 5+ years and cools my room pretty quickly, it's still going strong with at least 10,000 hours as it's used a lot all year round as it's in my gaming room which can get warm. It's noisy but doesn't get much louder than 50 decibels with the AC mode on and I sleep absolutely fine just 6ft from it, never needed to empty the water in mine but when I have checked after a year of decent use there was very little in it, less than a quarter of an average sized cup if that.

Power usage and exterior ventilation is the biggest drawback to them but mine is permanently installed through a brick wall so at least I don't have to run that large pipe out of the window.
 
ci_newman said:
Regardless, it's no where near 10x the cost as the dLockers commented (and it's not against the law to self-install the easy-fit pre-pressurised systems either).
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Your link does state "These units contain a gas which is governed by F-Gas regulations. The gas must be handled by a qualified F-Gas personnel."

It may not be 10x but for a good quality brand it will be a lot more than £300.
 
Raiden85 said:
My £300 portable AC as lasted a good 5+ years and cools my room pretty quickly, it's still going strong with at least 10,000 hours as it's used a lot all year round as it's in my gaming room which can get warm. It's noisy but doesn't get much louder than 50 decibels with the AC mode on and I sleep absolutely fine just 6ft from it, never needed to empty the water in mine but when I have checked after a year of decent use there was very little in it, less than a quarter of an average sized cup if that.

Power usage and exterior ventilation is the biggest drawback to them but mine is permanently installed through a brick wall so at least I don't have to run that large pipe out of the window.
Click to expand...
What's your rough usage per month and monthly electric cost?
 
Grim5 said:
4) They are expensive and don't last long - it's not uncommon for the AC motor to die after 1 or 2 years
Click to expand...

I agree with you that they're loud and do require emptying. However, they're not that expensive to run. They run at 750W to 800W which isn't more than a gaming rig. On the flipside, a 3kW heater is 4x the running cost. Hell, don't even get me started on those log burners that seem to be trendy at the moment. They're much worse for the environment than a/c units, despite what Greta and her eco-warriors tell you. Also, I'm on my 2nd a/c in 8 years so they do last for a few years.

4k4uNuNu said:
Yup, and after the week or so of heatwave temps, you'll feel silly later on for having that huge thing just sat there mocking you as you consider whether it's crazy putting the central heating on in September.
Click to expand...

I don't feel silly at all. Like I said up-thread, I run my a/c for 3-4 months, likewise with heating. I find a/c equally as necessary as central heating. Also, heating in September is a bit early, no?
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
I agree with you that they're loud and do require emptying. However, they're not that expensive to run. They run at 750W to 800W which isn't more than a gaming rig. On the flipside, a 3kW heater is 4x the running cost. Hell, don't even get me started on those log burners that seem to be trendy at the moment. They're much worse for the environment than a/c units, despite what Greta and her eco-warriors tell you. Also, I'm on my 2nd a/c in 8 years so they do last for a few years.



I don't feel silly at all. Like I said up-thread, I run my a/c for 3-4 months, likewise with heating. I find a/c equally as necessary as central heating. Also, heating in September is a bit early, no?
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Apparently the running power is 800W on mine, but cooling is 2.06KW. So quite expensive for long use :/

Technical Information:

  • 7000 BTU
  • Cooling capacity - 2.06 KW
  • 1-24 hour timer
  • 2-speed turbo fan
  • Noise dB - Noise Level: 38-48 db low/high mode(sound power method) EU label: max 65 dB (sound pressure method)
  • 4-mode settings consist of Cool, Dehumidifier, Fan, and Sleep
  • Thermostat range - 16-31°C
  • Dehumidification - max - 20 L/Day
  • Fan speed - 2
  • Airflow (at high speed) - 300 m3/hr
  • Power supply - 220-240V
  • Energy rating: A
  • Running power consumption - 792W
  • Running current - 3.9 A
  • HFC Free environmentally friendly air conditioner with Zero Ozone Depletion Potential
 
I would really like to see the rig that's actually pulling 800W these days.

Actual_Criminal said:
Apparently the running power is 800W on mine, but cooling is 2.06KW. So quite expensive for long use :/
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This is a weird measurement because the cooling number isn't a literal one, it's like "effective cooling power". It will pull the "running" amount when it's in compressor mode. Mine was rated 1000W IIRC and did measure 900 or so at the wall, while the compressor was on. Which it kicks in and out, and the fan is the only constant at about 100W.

I measured about 4kWh per day while using it, so more like £1/day than £5.
 
Some people get so butthurt over this and I don't quite understand why. They're not the quote unquote best, but they do a job and are a great stop gap if you can't install proper AC.
 
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