10 best portable air conditioners to cool your home, tried and tested

It’s not often I get excited about boxy-looking portable air conditioners, but I knew Meaco’s all-new pro series portable air conditioner was going to be a summer hero the second I took it out of its packaging.

The pro version of the MeacoCool MC series 9000 (my previous best buy) is an absolute dream. Just like the older model, it’s easy to shift from room to room, it’s (relatively) unobtrusive and it’s small enough to store away during the winter when it’s not in use. More than that, it brings on board my most requested feature – wifi support via Meaco’s new app.

While the app definitely still needs some work, I loved that I could quickly and easily pre-cool my room before arriving home, meaning it was as chilly as a supermarket as soon as I walked in. I could even set the timer directly through the app. The most enjoyable thing was that when I was too far from the remote at night, I could just turn on the app to toggle off the AC. Simple.

With its 9,000 BTU rating, it’s best for small to medium-sized rooms, so bedrooms and small living rooms (16-26 square metres). It was also smaller and lighter than many units I tested, weighing a mere 23.5kg and standing only 70cm tall. This meant I could easily wheel it around the house and drag it up the stairs. It also had one of the longest ducts of all the appliances, so I had a little more flexibility with where I positioned it.

Best of all, it comes with both a standard window kit and a flexible kit, which – rejoice! – works on any window and makes a huge difference in cooling. It has a 24-hour timer, sleep mode and remote control. Plus, it’s a lot quieter than the original model.

If you spend some more, you can upgrade to the Meaco 9000CH pro portable air conditioner, which also has a reverse heat pump – that means you can use it as a heater in the winter months as well as an AC in the summer months.

It’s very hard to find a smart portable air conditioner at a cheap price. Air cons are pretty expensive already, and smart app controls make them even pricier. But Black+Decker’s air conditioners are smart and controllable from your phone – and they’re not too costly.

One of my favourites is the Black+Decker 5000 BTU, a highly portable, lightweight model that looks sleek and modern in the home. Featuring curved edges and a black top with capacitive touch buttons, it’s a doddle to use. It’s not the most powerful air conditioner unit, but it managed to cool down my small office room in about 45 minutes.

There are three modes – cooling, dehumidifying and a standalone fan mode – as well as a handy child lock button. The only downsides are that it’s loud and pricey. Despite its size, it’s about as loud as the 9,000 BTU models I tested.

It’s also good to note this air conditioner uses the Smart Life app instead of the Black+Decker app, so don’t mistakenly download the wrong one. Once you’re set up with the Smart Life app, it’s easy to turn the air conditioner on and off from outside the house; turn on sleep mode; and bump up the speed setting. It’s a small machine, but a mighty one, and it’s great to finally have a smart portable unit.

This De'Longhi pinguino air conditioner is very easy to work with. You can tweak the temperature or fan speed from the remote, or even program the timer without budging from the sofa. It lowered the temperature in my kitchen in no time, thanks to its high BTU rating, and because the hose was slimmer than other models, I didn’t need to open my windows quite as widely. It has a dehumidifier function, a timer and a useful light to indicate if conditions are uncomfortable, acceptable or optimal.

Best of all, it was much quieter than most units, albeit not quite silent, as the name suggests. It operates with a decibel range between 49 and 53, and I soon stopped really noticing it. It would be a great addition to a home office or child’s bedroom, though it can also cool much larger rooms of up to 110 metres cubed. The big drawback, however, is the price. £800 is a lot to spend on keeping cool.

The Wood’s Milan 7K wifi air conditioner is very easy to use. It is on wheels, so easy to move around, and a handy remote means you don’t have to move from the sofa to set the perfect temperature. It can even be connected to Alexa or Google Nest (or any other similar smart device), so you never have to step foot into a sweaty home again.

Like all of these ACs, the warm air is sucked out of the atmosphere and needs somewhere to go, so you will need a window to make this work effectively. An adjustable hose is included to help, alongside a window-sealing kit, should you wish to make it a more permanent addition.

It does get a room quite cold quite quickly, and will run almost all day. Although if you use the dehumidifying feature, the unit will shut down if this is not emptied after eight or so hours.

AEG’s comfort 6000 portable air conditioner isn’t a cheap machine by any means, but it’s seriously powerful, sleek and modern. It’s controlled entirely using the app or with the soft capacitive buttons on the top of the machine. It’s big and pretty darn heavy, but the casters made it easy to move around on hardwood floors.

Don’t be deceived by its name, the AEG comfort 6000 is a 12,000 BTU model, not a 6,000 one, so it cools large rooms in a pinch. It brought the temperature down in my medium-sized living room in just 15 minutes, giving me instant relief from the heat. While it’s a little louder (64dB) than other portable air conditioners on this list, I quickly got used to the roar of its engine. Pleasingly, the hose was long enough for my tall windows.

It’s a truly smart machine, thanks to the AEG app. I was able to set schedules so it came on in the afternoon, and adjust the target temperature, fan speed and the mode, from auto to cool to dehumidification. It also works with Google Assistant, and was a doddle to set up. A definite good buy – if you can afford it. It is currently out of stock, so I’d recommend signing up to receive an email when it’s back.

The MeacoCool MC 14000 is the second largest portable conditioner in British company Meaco’s armoury. With 14,000 BTUs, it can cool rooms between 25-35 square metres, and it made quick work of cooling down my living room, though this one doesn’t have wifi.

It’s a beast of a portable air conditioner, weighing a hefty 31.5kg and roaring like an aircraft engine. As a result, it’s difficult to move around, but there are casters on the bottom, which help. While it does look like a big clunking refrigerator, especially sitting in the corner of my room, it’s extremely powerful, cooling my room down by 6C in just 25 minutes. There are two other modes – a dry mode, for dehumidification, and a fan mode, if you want to use it like a fan, though I found this less useful, because it only swivels to a 90-degree angle, meaning I didn’t feel the breeze when I was sitting lower than the unit.

Despite costing significantly less than the De’Longhi pinguino below and weighing roughly the same, it’s more efficient, with 14,000 BTUs. This is the air con unit you want in a heatwave. Popping into the room it’s in will feel like you’ve just stepped out of the desert and into the Arctic. There’s also a new R290 refrigerant inside, which Meaco says makes it more environmentally friendly.

Read our full MeacoCool MC 14000 review

Vonhaus’s 7,000 BTU portable air conditioner is a really affordable machine for what you get. While it’s a little basic, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad machine.

It cooled my room quickly and efficiently. It was also quieter than most of the portable ACs I’ve tested, matching the Meaco series 9000. It has 7,000 BTUs, so it’s ideal for small to medium rooms, and the casters underneath make it easy to wheel around. I also liked that I could pick it up using the handle if I wanted.

While it comes with a window venting kit, it’s only good for sliding and double windows, and the hose was actually a little too short for my high windows, so bear this in mind.

There are two fan-speed settings, and I was able to set timers and turn down the temperature with the included remote (though it’s quite flimsy). I particularly liked the automatic mode, which kicked the portable AC into gear when the temperature in my room exceeded 24C and switched to fan mode when it fell below 24C. Really neat. Owing to popularity, this is sold out – I’d recommend signing up for stock notifications.

Honeywell’s HX 9000BTU unit is a powerful AC that took my medium-sized bedroom from stuffy to comfortably cool in 20 minutes. Much like the other ACs in this review, it doubles up as a fan and a dehumidifier. There are two fan speed settings, with the highest cooling a space fast – but that does come at the cost of noise, I found it too loud to sleep with it on.

The direction of airflow can be changed from either up or down, but not side to side – something I would’ve found helpful.

All of the settings can be adjusted on the LED touch control panel, which looks neat but is slightly fiddly to navigate, so I was pleased to have the remote control. It’s a shame that the aircon unit isn’t supported by the Honeywell app.

In terms of design, it’s a good-looking appliance with integrated handles and wheels that make it easier to carry and manoeuvre.

All things considered, this is a powerful and very effective mid-range option.

This Russell Hobbs RHPAC3001 air conditioner also works as a fan and dehumidifier for preventing dampness when the weather cools, making this device a great year-round investment.

Complete with a remote control (batteries included), it features two speed settings in both the cool and fan modes, with the touch controls making it easy to switch between functions. In the cool mode, the room is both cooled and dehumidified (with the hose out the window). The fan mode is just as effective; there’s no oscillation function, but air flow can be manually directed.

The exhaust hose is essential for the dehumidifier function, as it discharges excess moisture outside. Coming with a window kit, it was easier than it looked to attach the hose – plus the sealing kit means you can make it a more permanent fixture by applying the Velcro tape on both the inside window frame and outside frame.

My only gripe is it’s a little noisy, though the night mode option reduces the display’s brightness and noise for sleeping. The machine is also hefty, but the wheels do help with manoeuvrability.

While it’s not the most powerful air conditioner in Pro Breeze’s arsenal, the 7,000 BTU AC is a great mid-range unit. It has four modes in one: a sleep mode, two fan speeds, a dehumidifier mode and, of course, a temperature-targeted cooling mode, which enables you to cool rooms down to as low as 16C. With a digital display on top of the unit and an included remote, you can adjust the fan speed and mode without leaving your bed.

As well as the unit, inside the box, you’ll get an exhaust hose and two sealing kits – one for sliding windows, one for hinged windows. I used the latter on my window, and it wasn’t the most straightforward to set up. That said, when the Velcro had been applied to the right window frames (both inner and outer), it was easy enough to attach the seal and slip the hose through the zip.

Clunky setup aside, my only other complaint is how loud the machine is. All in all, for less than £300, I think this is a pretty impressive unit and it cools a room down fast.