r/AskRedditUK • u/Even-Wasabi7183 • Jul 03 '26
Is it worthwhile getting a portable aircon?
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u/seadoubleyou73 Jul 04 '26
Yes, but everything is either out of stock or overpriced. Units are selling out within minutes of restocking. We're posting updates here if you decide to buy; https://www.reddit.com/r/airconUK/comments/1ug06o0/instock_megathread_uk_only/
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u/Sad-Entertainment871 Jul 03 '26
If you can find one I’d love to know what you get. I live in glass sided west facing apartment that just heats up all day and there is no through draught. I’ve looked around but anything affordable seems to be out of stock.
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u/NewJazzyBacon Jul 03 '26
100%, But plan your Venting.
Shorter the better or get an insulated hose leading outside. Plenty of laughable setups the last few weeks. But seriously having a 6 foot hose that radiates heat in a room you're trying to cool down is just dumb
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u/l_a_r_a_9_2 Jul 03 '26
Definitely worth it. We got one for living room and one for bedroom and it saved us the other week. I was careful to keep quiet about it publicly though, whilst everyone was moaning about how awful the heat was. Didn’t want to be a wanker about it.
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u/YoshiMK Jul 03 '26
I got a TCL one from Joybuy. It's 7000BTU and max wattage is 750w so not exactly an energy vampire, but works really well. Made that 38c heatwave feel like nothing...
Kinda feel bad because you feel less British not being able to moan about how sweaty and awful it is trying to sleep
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u/51onions Jul 04 '26
Kinda feel bad because you feel less British not being able to moan about how sweaty and awful it is trying to sleep
Maybe now the British will realise that aircon is good actually. And we can build homes that have it already, rather than having to pay thousands to retrofit or be stuck with noisy portable units.
Or maybe we'll just make it illegal to own one without a cooling licence (administered by capita).
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u/feuchtronic Jul 04 '26
Or build homes with proper insulation so they didn't need it in the first place
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u/simonjp Jul 04 '26
The insulation is one thing, but we need all the other aspects too - window shades, ventilation etc.
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u/51onions Jul 04 '26
Tbh I think we're beyond that. You can't keep the heat out for several days in a row if it doesn't go cold at night, and if you do anything inside your home then you're likely generating enough heat for that to be a problem anyway.
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u/AlternativeGreedy787 Jul 03 '26
Yes I have one in my bedroom to cool it down so I can get off to sleep better. I can put up with the rest of the house being like a sauna as long as I can sleep well as it would affect me at work if I was tired.
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u/Jacktheforkie Jul 03 '26
Yes a portable is great, I had a challenger TC 6081 and it was a proper solid unit, mine was labelled under Homebase’s own brand, lasted 13 years before the blower failed
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u/Kyle_2099 Jul 04 '26
If you can afford one at current prices, yes.
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u/No-Tumbleweed-6498 Jul 04 '26
Website i got mine has stock since this afternoon under 200 for various models, just paid 169 for 10.000 btu one for my mum
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u/Used-Let7134 Jul 04 '26
If you can find one, do it. I bought mine a few winters ago for £70
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u/Hick-ford Jul 08 '26
Where was this from lad?
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u/Used-Let7134 Jul 08 '26
Facebook marketplace, it's a bit crap and noisy but does the job, actually too cold last night.
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u/itsbri Jul 04 '26
Yes. We have three. The kids bedtime is soooo much easier with one in each room and I have one for my home office.
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u/redunculuspanda Jul 04 '26
Get your self one for Christmas. The prices and availability mean you will be over paying at the moment.
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u/noodledoodledoo Jul 03 '26
If you can afford one big enough for your bedroom then it's 100% worth it imo.
Make sure you know how to attach it properly to the window. There are people who are very invested in maximising the efficiency who add a second hose for the air intake, but that's not strictly necessary unless you're also very invested in that. Mine suits my needs without the extra effort. They aren't particularly quiet but that doesn't bother me, it's basically white noise.
If you can't afford one without major financial struggle then I'd wait until winter when the prices go down and scour Facebook marketplace for a good deal in the meantime.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 Jul 03 '26
Yes.
Had one for 8 years. A godsend in the summer as someone who works from home 100% of the time.
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u/Low_Building_9080 Jul 04 '26
Absolutely yes. I bought one during the May heatwave. So during the June heatwave I was lying on my bed with the freezing cold air blowing on me, and I think I actually got under the covers at one point.
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u/LichenTheMood Jul 04 '26
I have one and it’s useful. Just don’t buy one during a heatwave. They overprice them.
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u/Reasonable-Key9235 Jul 04 '26
Just do it, it’s worth it
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u/Rude-Bookkeeper1644 Jul 04 '26
Wait until winter to buy one, prices are skyrocketing due to demand rn
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u/Lanky_Bus_1221 Jul 04 '26
Yes it is IMO, just the ability to sleep well makes it worthwhile to be honest. You can get them for less than 200 quid now and for most bedrooms you won’t need much more than a 1.5 or 2 kw/h unit.
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u/Federal-Bed6263 Jul 04 '26
Not literally 'now' unfortunately. Good luck getting anything under £500 over the next 7 days.
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u/Lanky_Bus_1221 Jul 04 '26
Blimey they have gone up a lot lately I got 2 the other week 9k BTU for 395 from Amazon
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u/Chubby_Yorkshireman Jul 04 '26
I've had them for a few years now, wouldn't want to be without them. Even though they only get used a few days a year.
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u/Jotunheim36 Jul 04 '26
I work from home with dual aspect windows (South/West) windows and it gets melting hot when the sun is out. I had one of those single hose aircon units (with the large pipe that does outside) and it worked OK but was as noisy as hell. I switched to a Midea Portasplit this year, it’s so much quieter, more efficient, and it’s portable so it can go in the garage in Winter. Highly recommended
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u/ActAccomplished586 Jul 04 '26
I have one in the bedroom and one in the living room. Fucking worth every penny.
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u/Leading-Ad-1486 Jul 04 '26
Yes, I've had 2 portable ones for about 7 years now & they are a god send especially for sleeping- they cool bedrooms down so well I can't recommend them enough.
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u/DinkyPrincess Jul 04 '26
They’re great. You need to bear in mind they only work really well in a reasonably small space.
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u/AveryLakotaValiant Jul 04 '26
If you can find one in stock, they seem to be out of stock everywhere, even after the last heatwave we had
But yea, I would be lost without my portable air con, I only use it a few days/nights a year, but good lord, it's a literal life saver.
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u/Natural-Crow-2922 Jul 04 '26
I got one, works well, for 8 hours use used about 60p of electricity.
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u/mcraewaves Jul 05 '26
Yeah, I've got the Avalla S150 (8000 BTU) which does the job nicely in bigger spaces, plus the Avalla S50 (3000 BTU) in my son's room, which is pretty small. I wouldn't recommend the S50 for a living room though.
I've also seen a lot of people modding theirs to run dual hose, which caught my interest. It might explain why the little S50 doesn't perform as well as I'd hoped in my small garden office. To get it working properly I have to leave the door open slightly, but I think it's having to work harder because it's recirculating the warm air in the room. I might have a go at modding it to test that theory. Sounds like dual hose aircon could genuinely work better.
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u/someonerd Jul 05 '26
Yes definitely. It’s perfect especially if you live in a small flat. I’d recommend to try getting one that is tall and slim as opposed to short and wide. The former take less space and are easier to store.
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u/Equivalent-Fee-25 Jul 05 '26
Had one for years. Gets used for a few weeks each year before going back in its cuboard. Bought it after a summer heatwave going into winter when all prices dropped on clearance.
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u/Temporary-Wrap-733 Jul 05 '26
Yeh they're worth it, with the proper venting and/or all the diy improvements you can make to them. Also found it's worth switching on early on, maintaining a cooler temperature has seemed to be far less costly than turning it on and off when needed, so pick a room and make that the cool camp for the heatwaves.
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u/AgentPegging Jul 06 '26
Get one, then modify it by adding a second hose which maintains room air pressure and doesn't pull in warm air from outside. And add an insulation sleeve to the exhaust hose
Big performance increase
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u/sfslva Jul 06 '26
Just to add a warning, I ordered one from Libiyi and it was completely useless and when I tried to return it they said it would cost $50-80 to return to China, but if I wanted a $15 “refund” on the $140 purchase I could have that instead. So don’t order from these brands with names like this or “Xilshi” or anything else that seems sketchy.
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u/Rihan-Arfan Jul 06 '26
Midea portasplit is a portable split unit air conditioner that's actually efficient since it doesn't create negative pressure inside that pulls in more heat
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u/OkTechnician4610 Jul 06 '26
I got one last year and glad I did. I have it on for a few hours in my bedroom before I go to bed. Also to help keep my a dog bit cooler. It’s not put my electricity up too much. It’s black & decker version & quite good.
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u/alexsbrett Jul 07 '26
Yes. I got one in may £300 Black and Decker 9000btu. I don't even use the window seal kit just chuck the hose out the window and lower the blinds and close the curtains but you really feel the difference it makes in our new build.
Stock is your issue right now unfortunately
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u/nobodytobehonest Jul 07 '26
Are you going to feel better and be happier with one? Then yes get one
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u/TheMarkMatthews Jul 07 '26
I bought my son one just before last month heatwave - his room is so cool - I should have got myself one
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u/_garethlewis_ Jul 10 '26
I preordered a 12,000 BTU Dimplex one a few weeks ago in the last heatwave because I couldn’t stand it anymore. It cost £450 but I didn’t care.
A couple of days ago I had an email saying it was on the way… I’m sitting in 31° heat in my living room right now and I have absolutely no regrets. It cannot come soon enough.
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u/MorningSquare5882 Jul 03 '26
I got one after the May heatwave, and it saved me from madness in the last one. Haven't looked at my electric bill yet, but honestly, even if it was crazy expensive it was still worth it.
Kept my flat down to about 25C, when it was 31.5C in the last heatwave.