Portable ac

Soldato
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27 Mar 2013
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Has anyone got experience of portable air conditioning units and if they're any good? I've seen one at screwfix that's only 300 quid but not sure how good they are. It does get high 20's in out house even with windows open and curtains/blinds shut. I'm not expecting 1 unit to cool the house but I reckon it might make it go from unbearable to tolerable.
 
make it go from unbearable to tolerable.

If that's your expectation then you won't be disappointed. Ours keeps the bedroom way more comfortable. It struggles to get much below 19/20c in really hot weather, but it's so much more comfortable due to the lower humidity. I've had mine 7 or 8 years now and to me it's worth it's weight in gold.

They're relatively noisy, but nothing terrible in my opinion.

A proper split system is always the best option as its far more efficient to run, works a lot better and is super quiet in comparison. But if that's not an option for you then a portable unit will do fine.
 
If that's your expectation then you won't be disappointed. Ours keeps the bedroom way more comfortable. It struggles to get much below 19/20c in really hot weather, but it's so much more comfortable due to the lower humidity. I've had mine 7 or 8 years now and to me it's worth it's weight in gold.

They're relatively noisy, but nothing terrible in my opinion.

A proper split system is always the best option as its far more efficient to run, works a lot better and is super quiet in comparison. But if that's not an option for you then a portable unit will do fine.
Oh I did get a quote for a proper system (which I would prefer imo), however my Mrs didn't like the idea of a wall mounted one (our joists are too close for the ceiling ones which is a shame), and a vented system would cost 3 grand rather than 300 quid. I'd definitely go for proper ac in the future but funds don't allow:cry:.
 
I have one in my garden office and its a life saver it happily keeps the office at 19c there is a little bit of noise and you have to drain the water every so often.
 
I’ve got a meaco cool portable one - it’s blumin brilliant.

Our bedroom last night when from 25 degrees to about 18 degrees in twenty mins and stayed there.

we bought ours in the autumn a few years ago.

the price at this time of year for the same unit is over £200 more than we paid lol
 
I got a 12000BTU one last year for just over £200 and it's been brilliant. We use it for about an hour in the evening before my son goes to bed to make his room feel comfortable and then can run it in our room if needed.

12000 BTU seems fine for standard size rooms, our bedroom is about 6m long and 4m wide and it copes.

Obviously not as good as a proper split system but it was £200 and easy enough to move round to wherever we need it.
 
I got this last year for £215 delivered:
https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/sf8000e/amcor-sf8000e

It comes with a venting kit and as posters above mention, distinctly gets it from miserable to tolerable (on a spectrum that utopia would be a wall mount thing). Well recommended. Makes a bit of a racket but ear plugs solve that, or just put it on for a couple of hours before bed.
 
Got myself a ceiling fan last weekend. Would recommend it over any portable airco unit.

Pros:
It's silent
20c outside last night and we were almost cold with the fan on
It's cheaper than an airco unit (about £100)

Cons:
You have to put it up :)
 
I got a small one from Lidl a few years ago, think its only 7000 or 9000btu but it cools the bedroom down really nicely, ours has a low power mode which makes it much quieter so no nosier than a normal desk fan if it's really hot and we need to keep it on all night. Most often though i turn it on for a couple of hours before we go to bed to cool the room and all the surfaces down and it'll stay cool for quite a while then.

So yeah if you can get one for £300 it's a no brainer imo, the only reason not to is if you could put in a proper split system as they'll be loads better again but if that's not on the cards the portable ones are still ace.
 
I bought a unit from Climachill about 4-5 years ago now. It's an 18000 BTU unit and was on offer at the time, it has been fantastic. It cools down a large room very quickly if the door is closed (has 2 people, 2 cats, 2 gaming computers, 12-bay NAS, small servers etc) and can help take the edge of the rest of the ground floor after that by opening the door. A couple of friends have since bought smaller units for their bedrooms etc and haven't regretted it. My unit is fairly loud (loud enough to notice but not loud enough to be annoying to sit near/have conversations around) but the newer models do seem to be a bit quieter from what my friends have told me.

It has no issues dropping the temperature to its lowest setting no matter what the UK has thrown as it so far.
 
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FWIW I can sleep with ours on and I'm a very light sleeper, on some of the hottest days last year I'd wake up feeling pretty chilly and then open our BR door and get hit with a wall of heat.
 
Has anyone got experience of portable air conditioning units and if they're any good? I've seen one at screwfix that's only 300 quid but not sure how good they are. It does get high 20's in out house even with windows open and curtains/blinds shut. I'm not expecting 1 unit to cool the house but I reckon it might make it go from unbearable to tolerable.

Sounds like I have the same one and from screwfix as well. They are good but noisy you'll need somewhere to stick the hose out of like a tumble dryer a dedicated hole through the wall is much better but obviously more permanent. Its a bulky thing that I somewhat resent for 9 months of the year but during the increasingly hot and humid summers its worth its weight in gold.
 
Sounds like I have the same one and from screwfix as well. They are good but noisy you'll need somewhere to stick the hose out of like a tumble dryer a dedicated hole through the wall is much better but obviously more permanent. Its a bulky thing that I somewhat resent for 9 months of the year but during the increasingly hot and humid summers its worth its weight in gold.
Possibly. I've ordered it as a guy I work with said he used to have one in student digs and they left it on the landing so all bedrooms got cooler due to diffusion. Noise is then less of an issue and might cool downstairs too as the heat will rise. Hopefully it will fit in the boot of my e92. Don't fancy carrying it 2 miles:D.
 
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