For this post, I have put together a collection of the best portable air conditioners currently available.
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: De’Longhi Pinguino PACEX100 Silent Portable Air Conditioner
- Best Budget: No products found.
- Best For Small Rooms: Daewoo 5000 BTU Portable 3-in-1 Air Conditioning Unit
- Best For Large Rooms: electriQ 14000 BTU Portable Air Conditioning Unit
- Quietest: De'Longhi PAC AN112 Silent Air Conditioner
- Best With Dehumidifier: No products found.
- Best With Heater: Inventor Magic 12.000BTU Portable Air Conditioner
- Best Smart: Pro Breeze 12,000 BTU Air Conditioner - Smart Home WiFi
Show Today’s Top Deals
These are today’s top deals and bestsellers for portable air conditioners.
The UK might only have a small number of really hot days each year so there’s not much value in getting an integrated air con system installed.
The alternative is a portable air conditioner can do an excellent job at cooling your rooms with a lot less cost and much more convenience.
I’ve gone through dozens of models to bring you this list of the best reviewed portable air conditioners. No matter the size of your room, your budget or any features I’ll have something for you!
Don’t forget to see my buying guide further down the page on what factors and features to consider before you add to basket.
So here is my list of the the best mobile air conditioners.
Corlitec Portable Air Conditioner 9000 BTU
No products found.
- Bestselling budget portable air conditioner that is also a dehumidifier and cooling fan.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 9,000 BTU/h.
- Noise: 65 decibels. One of the louder featured units.
- Energy Rating: A
- No products found.. From 42 ratings, 83% gave this 5 stars out of 5.
Daewoo 5000 BTU Portable 3-in-1 Air Conditioning Unit
- Ideal for a small bedroom or home office.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 5,000 BTU/h.
- Noise: 65 decibels. One of the louder featured units.
- Energy Rating: A
- Good reviews. 74% gave this 4 stars or higher from 20 ratings.
Inventor Magic 12.000BTU Portable Air Conditioner
- Bestselling portable air conditioner that is also a heater, with excellent reviews.
- 5 in 1 functionality – AUTO, COOL, DRY, FAN and HEAT functions.
- Wireless remote control, 3 fan speed, LED display, 24-hour Timer
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 10,700 BTU/h.
- Noise: 50-52 decibels.
- Energy Rating: A
- Exceptional reviews. From 213 ratings, 74% gave this 5 stars out of 5.
Pro Breeze 12,000 BTU Air Conditioner – Smart Home WiFi
- Powerful AC Unit with heater & Dehumidifier Function and controlled via App
- This is good for large rooms with BTU at 12,000.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 12,000 BTU/h.
- Energy Rating: A
- Also available in 9000 BTU and 7000 BTU.
- Good reviews. From 350 ratings 81% gave this a 4 star or higher.
electriQ 14000 BTU Portable Air Conditioning Unit
- Big room to cool? This is good up to 38m2 so perfect for homes, offices, boats or caravans.
- Also has heating and dehumidifying functions
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 14,000 BTU/h.
- Energy Rating: A+
- Excellent Reviews. 82% of buyers gave this 4 or 5 stars.
De’Longhi Portable Air Conditioners
De’Longhi PAC AN98 ECO Real Feel Portable Air Conditioner
No products found.
- De’Longhi are an excellent brand when it comes to air conditioners due to their skill at producing high end compressors – the heart of any AC unit.
- This one stands out with its dual use, through its dehumidifying function.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 12,000 BTU/h.
- Noise: 54-54decibels.
- Energy Rating: A
- No products found.. From 213 ratings, 74% of buyers gave this 5 stars.
De’Longhi PAC AN112 Silent Air Conditioner
- Stylish looking, great compressor unit and very quiet!
- Dehumidify Function.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 11,000 BTU/h.
- Noise: 47-50 decibels.
- Energy Rating: A+
- Very good reviews. From 594 ratings it scores 4.3 out of 5.
De’Longhi PAC N82 ECO Real Feel Portable Air Conditioner
- Dehumidifying function.
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 9,400 BTU/h.
- Noise: 50-52 decibels.
- Energy Rating: A
- Very good reviews.. From 1,089 ratings it scores 4.3 out of 5.
De’Longhi Pinguino PACEX100 Silent Portable Air Conditioner
- Maximum Cooling Capacity: 10,000 BTU/h.
- Noise: 49-53 decibels.
- Energy Rating: A++
- Very good reviews.. From 1,089 ratings it scores 4.3 out of 5.
Today’s Top Deals & Bestsellers
What Features To Consider When Buying A Portable Air Conditioner
Before buying a mobile air conditioner have a think through the importance of the following features to best help find your perfect cooling unit!
BTU Cooling Capacity
As mentioned above this is the rate at which a unit can cool a room. The higher the BTU the bigger the room the compressor can cool it.
As a general rule of thumb, somewhere between 5k and 8k BTUs is sufficient for heating most bedrooms and lounges.
Dehumidifying Function
Many portable air conditioners have a 2 in 1 function, also acting as a dehumidifier. This means you’re buying an appliance that has uses all year round.
As is the case with any unit that performs many functions if you’re specifically looking for one then it’s best to get a unit that performs that function very well.
Another factor to build in if you’re considering one with a dehumidifying feature, is expelling water that it collects from the air. You may find with a air conditioner it’s placed near a window for the hose outlet but it may not be where you want the dehumidifier to go
Heating Function
Another function that some units have is heating – this can make the device useful all year round.
It really depends on your budget and needs – generally, if one function is super important, then we would recommend getting an appliance that is most suited to that one function.
Fan Function
Many mobile air conditioners have a fan only mode – so this doesn’t cool the room, it simply circulates the air around the room.
Noise Levels
Be aware that portable air conditioners are not quiet machines – and much less quiet than full AC units.
You’ll see on each review we’ve included the decibels value. The lower the the number the quieter the machine will be.
Night / Sleep Mode
Some portable air conditioner units will have a night mode.
This will mean the compressor won’t run as powerfully and the result is a quieter room while you’re trying to sleep.
Be aware though that it certainly won’t be inaudible. If you’re a light sleeper but really want it to stay on during the night, then I highly recommend a pair of ear plugs.
Another option is to run the air conditioner on max to get the room cool before bedtime.
Fan Speed
You’ll find that most units will have fan settings, usually around three.
This will enable you to cool the room at different speeds.
At night if you do run it then you can run at a lower fan speed, this will be quieter.
Timer
This can be very useful at night time. For example, you may cool the room down before you sleep and for the first hour. You can then have the unit switch off after a period of time once its cooled and this also means you won’t be woken up by the noise it makes.
If a timer is important I’d recommend getting one that has both a clock timer and a 24 hour setting. This gives you the most control.
Controls – Remote or Smartphone
Most portable air conditioners come with a remote so you can control it from the comfort of your sofa or bed. Some also can be operated via an app on your smart phone.
Portable Air Conditioner FAQs
Look out for what an air conditioner has in terms of BTU (British Thermal Unit). In effect the higher the number the quicker a unit can cool a room. So this figure will give you a rough guide on what sort of room it will best suited for.
An approximation for your intended room is to take the dimensions in feet and multiply by 5.
So for a room dimensions of 20 x 10 x 10 x 5 = 10,000. Keep an eye out for mobile air conditioner units that then have a BTU value of 10,000.
On average, a portable air conditioning unit uses 2.7 kilowatts of energy, and costs 44p an hour to run. Source: USWITCH.
With electricity costs potentially being high look out for the units with a decent energy efficiency ratio (EER).
This is the ratio between the power input (Watts) and the air conditioner’s BTU.
Another reference point is the energy class. This is self submitted by the manufacturer and goes from A to G. Do check user reviews, as these aren’t always 100% accurate.
I hope this list of the best portable air conditioners was helpful.
If you think I left any out that should be included or have a suggestion for a future article, let me know in the comments below.
Dominic
