Portable Air Conditioner

[Vapin' Joe]

https://www.aldi.co.uk/product/ambiano-portable-air-cooler-with-led-000000000634102001

Bought one of these last week on a whim as my partner gets hot and bothered far more easily than I do. It's a bit noisy on the highest setting, but for individual cooling she has no complaints. Won't cool a whole room down but it's very effective for an individual and for £15 I don't think you'll find much better.

I've tried one of those, though much bigger and around £70. Like you say it won't cool a room down which made it useless for the bedroom. The ice you put in the water compartment melts in about ten minutes.

 

[fossyant]

Flexible ducting if you need an extension - gaffa tape to secure to existing pipe. We changed to 150mm as the outflow is much improved over any distance.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/manrose-pvc-flexible-ducting-hose-white-3m-x-100mm/18232

 

[steverob]

Like @Drago we invested in a fixed air conditioning unit back in 2018 and it is the best purchase we have ever made. Only the one room is covered (bedroom obviously) and while the outlay was about £2,000, the running costs have been negligible - did not notice any difference in 'leccy bills at all.

Last night at 9pm our bedroom was almost 27 degrees C when I switched the unit on. Came back less than an hour later and it was 21.5 C and a perfect temparture to sleep in. The unit then automatically switched to 'fan only' mode at about 1am, as there's no need for it to run on full once it's got down to the right temp.

We probably only use the cool mode for maybe two months of the year, but the rest of the time it does still get used on the fan only setting, as I do like the feeling of air circulating in the room.

 

[Drago]

An update. Wefe had our AC going solidly of late and so far in June our lecky consumption is only £4 more than may. That could even be down to maybe plugging in Mrs Ds car once more than last month or some such, I haven't delved in to the numbers.

Point being, at worst it's making a barely appreciable difference to the bill.

 

[gbb]

We brought a DeLonghi Pingui late last summer, a bit under £500 iirc.
Double bedroom, close the door, vent goes to the window and I created a blank with perspex sheet to close the window gap, a little heath Robinson but it does work.
Set at 20c it will run full tilt for 10 minutes perhaps then start cycling between fan only for maybe 3.minutes, full ac for around a minute...and so on.
it seems very noisy at first but you very quickly get used to it.
Just did meter readings the other day, it cost around £15 extra for the month, its not on every night but has been on a reasonable amount, plus some of that vost is a fan downstairs thats nearly always on during the day (wife is really struggling with the heat)

20c doesn't sound.low but when you get up in the morning and walk into the rest of the house...you feel the difference.

I have noticed since the temps have rocketed up, the AC unit spends a lot longer actually cooling rather than switching to only fan mode, so inevitably the cost will go up (obvious really but its noticeable when you hear it working on AC for much longer than I stated above)

 

[gbb]

As a side note, you realise why this kind of heat kills people. My wife is very ill and the heat is just obliterating her. She spends most days with a fan on her downstairs, yesterday at 30 plus...she spent nearly all day in the bedroom with the AC unit on, it's been a godsend in this circumstances, so much so if it cost a lot more to run, I'd still run it.

 

[Drago]

As a side note, you realise why this kind of heat kills people. My wife is very ill and the heat is just obliterating her. She spends most days with a fan on her downstairs, yesterday at 30 plus...she spent nearly all day in the bedroom with the AC unit on, it's been a godsend in this circumstances, so much so if it cost a lot more to run, I'd still run it.

Yes, it makes Mrs D very ill due to her MS. If you picture nerves as being covered in a sheath made from chocolate then you get an idea of the problem heat can cause.

I was helping at the parish fete yesterday and sent the other councillor home. She's 82 and was desperate to help, but she suddenly looked very white in the heat. I was out innit all day and was guzzling tea and water and didnt pith once the whole day.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

My 9000 BTU conditioner went back. according to the manual it should not be used in a room less than nine sq meters and mine is only 7.5.

So a replacement 5000 BTU one is on its way which is reckoned to be more than adequate for a smallish space. Saved sixty quid too.