It’s that time of year again when it gets warm, I think about getting an air conditioner and then by the time I do something about it, it’s cold again.

So probably a waste of time thinking about it, but…

Any recommendations for a good but not stupidly expensive portable air conditioner? Around the £200 / £300ish mark.

Looking at a few just now and reviews on a number are mixed, often with complaints about being very noisy, the ducts aren’t long enough to reach windows (guess depends where they sit the thing), and units failing or leaking after a year or two.

Would need to be something I can get now before it cools down.

So kind of pointless and I should just MTFU and deal with the heat 😀

I wouldn’t bother as it doesn’t get that hot in the UK. They are noisy but maybe less noisy than the one I used a few years ago and you probably don’t have to clear the water away quite as often these days.
You’d be better off with a ceiling fan, especially if trying to sleep, as it’ll cool you and is pretty much silent.
Altenatively open a downstairs window and an upstairs window and have a nice flow of air through the house.

Annoyingly – first floor flat.

Though I have the downstairs hallway, but that would mean opening the front door to get the effect. Upstairs windows front to back works, but not if air is still outside.

Have used them quite a bit in office environments (when main system broke). They need to be vented outside, so you need to think about that.

Personally have never bought one so cannot make a recommendation. We always use fans including smaller ones in bedroom. Tip from living in the US with no a/c is to close all curtains and windows during the day, open windows at night and set fan so it pulls air in from outside. Need to think about insects.

Had one for a short time before returning. They are noisy and whilst providing cold air to one room they also create a lot of heat that exhausts though a pipe usually through an open window. If it was vented directly outside like a tumble dryer then it wouldn’t be a problem but instead it heats the room up.
Ceiling fan is quiet and whilst only moving warm air around it at least create a draft over you to keep you cooler.

Had two when I lived in Australia. They were noisy but we got used to the noise after a while. As previously mentioned they also have a flexible hose that must be vented outside (usually through an open window). This hose would heat up quite a lot and if situated away from the window would act like a flexible radiator.
One of the them was a condenser type that would collect water through the humid air and would need to be emptied regularly. The other was an evaporation type which needed water adding to it (although it would still work without water but not quite as well.
We actually preferred using the ceiling fans most of the time and pedestal fans.
Now that we are back in the UK we use pedestal fans which we brought back from Aus.

Have got an evaporator “air cooler”. It’s sh*te. Works okay as a fan but filling the water is a faff and it makes crap all difference to the temperature.

Sounds like ceiling fan then 🙂

Are they heavy and need special fittings & support above the ceiling? Looking at simple B&Q type ones they just look like they fit like any normal light.

Also have pedestal fans but ceiling fan avoids having to get the fans out of the loft and set them up.

I fitted a brace between the joists so they had something solid to screw into which prevents movement and vibration. The one fitted in our bedroom has remote control too swhu h us very convenient

Hmm, less likely if I need to mess in the loft like that. Means pulling up boards and insulation, plus move all the crap up there out the way.

Screwed mine straight into something solid, the blades should have weights to balance the movement iirc.

We’ve got one..

we found it in the basement when we moved into the current house!

its very noisy.. and needs a pipe vented outside through an open window..

the open window (sealed as best as possible with curtains) and hot pipe means its not as effective as it could be..

we use it in the attic bedroom where our one year old daughter sleeps to cool the room before she goes to bed..

it takes the edge off the heat and drops the temperature a couple of degrees whilst its running in the evening, but if its still hot outside the second you turn it off the room starts warming back up again..

its handy to have in the attic but i’m not sure i’d actually buy one..

pedestal fans.. curtains closed during the day and ventilation at night is the best bet.

I bought one when our first daughter was born in the middle of a heat wave. Worked well – main trick was making a blanking plate for the window so the hot air doesn’t get back in.

If I wanted one again I’d spend the extra on one with an external heat exchanger i.e. a proper one.

Current method for staying cool is curtains shut, loft hatch open and wet down external walls with a hose in the evening.

as above noisy and ineffective as you need to send th eheat somewhere

We had ones at work that you added water and essentially , over tme you ended up wet and warm and no cooler

Fans are better or a proper unit actually vented to the outside as you need to send the heat somewhere

There’s also the running costs to consider. If you want a Christmas card from your energy supplier, go for it.

To help reduce heat buildup, Part open your loft hatch it will draw air up through the house

We have one, had it 20 years, use it in hot summers, some years not at all. Sits on the landing, I made a hole through the wall (as for a tumble dryer) for the hot air. If it gets really hot, we close all the internal doors except one room upstairs and one downstairs and those two rooms are cool. The noise is similar to white noise, I find it no problem to sleep.