It’s the height of summer, the inevitable heatwave has hit and you’re sweating from places you never thought you had. If you were in an office, you'd probably be cooling off next to the best portable air conditioner known to man. Instead, you're at home with the desk fan whirring away. As you avoid the home gym equipment and slump into your chair, you wonder why on earth you haven’t invested in one of the best portable air conditioners yet.
Air conditioners are a necessary addition to any home – even in the UK. So, those few weeks of hot and humid discomfort are simply not worth enduring. Therefore, if you're thinking of investing in some essential kit for working from home this summer, remember to include a portable AC unit. You'll make the whole experience that much cooler.
Best portable air conditioners of 2023 at a glance:
• Best overall portable air conditioner: Inventor Chilly Portable Air Conditioner - View at Amazon
• Best portable air conditioner for small rooms: NETTA Air Conditioner Unit Portable - View at Amazon
• Best mid-budget portable air conditioner: Yovikin Evaporative Air Cooler - View at Amazon
The best portable air conditioners are an easy-breezy way to keep cool, without the expense and mess of installing a fixed air conditioning system. You can also move them from your bedroom to your living room or kitchen, depending on where you need it.
Plus, if you dislike that muggy humidity that we're sometimes subjected to, one of the best dehumidifiers will keep you dry too. But, for now, let's get back to staying cool. We’ve rounded up the best portable air conditioners out there, to keep you chilled out all summer long.
The best portable air conditioner of 2023
Best overall portable air conditioner
Description
Say goodbye to sweat patches and say hello to the Inventory Chilly portable air conditioner. Sleek-looking and compact, this machine will cool down a room in minutes thanks to its powerful performance. The space-saving design means it'll work great even with smaller living spaces, and the unique structure allows you to move it to any room, as and when you please. A triple treat, with cooling, dehumidifying and fanning capabilities, you'll feel as refreshed as ever, wishing you made the leap sooner.
Pros
- High BTU rating suitable for areas up to 215 square feet
- Three functions
- Remote control
- Digital display
- Natural refrigerant
- 24-hour timer
Cons
- A little noisy for some
Best portable air conditioner for small rooms
Description
If you're after a portable air conditioner but dread the electricity bill, the NETTA air conditioner promises high performance with lower power consumption. The 24-hour timer allows you to set the air conditioner before going about your day, ensuring you will come back to a cool house. If you're sick of the discomfort that comes with increased moisture in the atmosphere, simply pop on the dehumidification mode to help keep the air fresh. With mobility at its core, this air conditioner is equipped with carry handles and four caster wheels, allowing you to glide the machine effortlessly around your home.
Pros
- Lower BTU rating ideal for small to medium-sized rooms
- LED touch control
- Natural refrigerant
- Three functions
Cons
- Quite heavy, but thankfully has castors
Best mid-budget portable air conditioner
Description
This four-in-one portable air conditioner cools, cleans and humidifies the air to keep you comfortable when temperatures get too high, while simultaneously improving air quality. This is an evaporative air cooler, meaning it's more efficient to run thanks to the addition of four ice packs that work with the fans to keep the air cool. An eight-litre tank capacity for the humidifier will keep the air comfortable for much longer than some others. It also has a larger air outlet than many other air conditioners too, so you can cool down faster, adjusting it to the optimal level for your home. The A-Class energy consumption rating will help keep your electricity bill manageable, and the built-in timer will switch off the machine all by itself, depending on the setting.
Pros
- Four functions for maximum flexibility
- Remote control
- Large air outlet with an oscillating fan
- Reasonably quiet
Cons
- Not the most attractive
- Inserting ice packs for evaporative cooling means re-freezing them as needed
Best multifunction portable air conditioner
Description
Strong and effective, the Pro Breeze air conditioner will cool down any room big or small to 15 degrees. With two fan speeds, auto-cooling, a dehumidifier mode and an eco mode, you'll have all the flexibility you need in one smart-looking machine. Plus it's a genuine air conditioner with eco-friendly refrigerant, so although not as energy efficient as ice-pack air coolers, there are no ice packs to freeze and insert. The easy-to-use LED screen will give you full view and control of the operating modes and the advanced sleeping mode will gradually ease you into a comfortable sleep come bedtime.
Pros
- 4-in-1 function
- Class-A energy rating
- Two types of window vent kits included
- Sleep mode and timer
- Remote control
Cons
- Short vent hose
- A little louder than some
Best portable air conditioner for large rooms
Description
A premium option, to say the least, this portable air conditioner provides constant temperature control which you can monitor via the LED digital display. At 12,000 BTUs, this is one of the most powerful models on our list, with a high cooling capacity as well as a high-tech filtration system that will vastly improve air quality. Other than a great cooler for the summer, the dehumidifying function will help soak up moisture and keep us dry all winter long too.
Pros
- Huge cooling capacity
- Three fan speeds
- 24-hour timer
- Digital display
- Remote control
Cons
- Not ideal for some bedrooms due to noise level
Best portable air conditioner with heat
Description
A cooler in the summer, and a heater for the winter, the Devola portable air conditioner truly lives up to its potential. Functions include cooling, dehumidifying, fan, sleep, and of course, heat. You can customise your experience and find the best settings for your home. The minimal and contemporary design will blend in with your decor beautifully, and with the lightweight build, you can move your air conditioner from room to room with ease. It also has an energy class rating of A, so you'll benefit from slightly lower running costs too.
Pros
- Massive 10,000 BTU cooling capacity
- Five functions including heat
- Excellent Class-A energy efficiency
- Easy to adjust
- Great LED display
Cons
- Can be less effective in smaller rooms
Best portable air conditioner with app control
Description
Not everyone wants to hunt down the remote for the AC when they're in the middle of a heatwave, and this model from NETTA has the added benefit of app control. Its 8000 BTU rating means it'll be good for the average-sized room, and it also has a fan and dehumidifier built in. It'll cool down your space in around 10 minutes and remove 2 litres of water from the air each hour. But the star feature here is the smart app. It'll work with Alexa and Google Assistant to turn it on and off and make temperature adjustments even easier.
Pros
- App control
- Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistant compatible via App
- Three functions
- 7-day smart schedule
Cons
- Fittigs are not ideal for some UK-style windows
Best portable air conditioner: Buyer's guide
BTU rating
Short for British Thermal Units, this is the most important specification for any of the best portable air conditioners. It will give you an indication of how powerful a particular AC unit is. Small, table-top air conditioners range from 5,000 to 7,000 BTUs, with larger units ranging from 8,000 to 12,000 BTUs. But remember, the lower the BTU, the less room coverage the unit will provide.
Calculate your room area
The only way to be sure that your air-con unit will do the job is to do the maths. Using a BTU Calculator will give you the answer you need. Simply enter your room measurements and some other basic data and you'll know the BTU rating of your space. Basically, similarly to the BTU rating for heating, this is a guideline to how many units of heat the AC can handle.
Take note of the energy efficiency rating
There's no getting away from it, even the best portable air conditioners are not going to be the cheapest item to run. Like refrigerators and ovens, the job they're doing is singularly tough. Take heat away or put heat in - it's never going to be easy. So, if you're the energy-conscious type, consider the official energy rating of the unit you're interested in. Sometimes the best brands will do everything they can to make the most efficient AC unit they can, and this will earn it a rating all the way up to A+++; with others may be anywhere from B to D ad the most inefficient end of the scale.
Sound decisions
Along with the energy rating you'll most likely find a measurement, in decibels (dB), of the typical operational sound level. Therefore, if you're bothered by background noise you should make sure your AC is quiet enough as it keeps you cool.
Best portable air conditioner of 2023: FAQs
Do all portable air conditioners need to be vented out a window?
Yes. Even the best portable air conditioner vents out of a window. Because air conditioners operate by pulling in warm air and expelling cold air, that warmth needs a way out of the room. Luckily, most portable air conditioners come with a simple window vent kit that will fit onto most standard windows. Without a vent, heat is returned to the room; and no, you can't heat up a room with one in a cold spell unless it's a multifunction unit. If you want to do that, we recommend one of the best portable heaters instead.
Are portable air conditioners noisy?
While this will mostly depend on the model you opt for, portable air conditioners typically produce a purring white noise. This is normally quieter than a typical tower fan.
Therefore, if you're a light sleeper or sensitive to noise, we suggest contacting the manufacturer to enquire about the decibel rating of your model. Reading reviews will also give you a better understanding of how noisy or quiet a particular air conditioner is.
Marina Avraam is a Commercial Content Writer for WhatsTheBest, and also writes for Yours.co.uk, Heatworld and Closer across beauty, tech, and lifestyle.
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