Challenge 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler Fan - White

Product Information

Its two removable 300ml tanks mean it doesn’t constantly need refilling, and you can freeze them if you want some extra cooling.

It’s also much quieter than rivals, and you can power it from a USB socket or a 5V, 2A USB power bank. This means there’s no space to add any freezer blocks, so it’s worth chilling your water before you add it. It also comes with a remote control and two window kits included, a timer function, 'night' mode for (slightly) quieter night-time operation, plus 3-in-1 air con, fan and dehumidifier functionality. Similarly, investing in a unit with a timer function gives you the ability to programme the unit to turn off a few hours after you've got into bed, or to turn on during the hottest part of the day to keep the house cool for pets, or reduce the temperature before you get home from work. Let’s be clear: these machines won’t cool your room like a proper air conditioner, but they can give you a colder blast of air than your average fan, especially when used at close range.

Affordable, lightweight and compact, energy efficient and easy to use, there's lots to love about the MeacoCool MS Series. Depending on your needs that could mean it offers better value for money, as it will be useful all year round, keeping your space cool in the summer as well as warm in the winter. Higher-than-usual temperatures mean that this year portable air conditioners started selling out fast. Because of this – and the fact that the water in the absorbent pad or membrane can grow stale – you need to keep the air cooler filled and change the water in the tank daily. What’s more, they’re a whole lot cheaper and more convenient than any air conditioner, using much less energy and with no need to expel air from a tube sticking out of a window.

Its only significant drawbacks are that it’s awkward to remove the water tank and filter block for cleaning and that it puts out around 60dBA of noise at its highest speed. Along with the wider team I've tested the best portable air conditioners on the market to find our top recommendations for this guide. Which is why we think they're the best portable air conditioner to invest in if you're looking for an affordable all-rounder. We haven't tested it thoroughly yet, but third party reviews mention it being basic – and noisy – but still doing the job of lowering the temperature when you're looking to beat the heat.The air conditioner can then draw hot air from the room into the body of the unit, cool it via refrigerant, blow the cooled air back into the room, and vent the extracted heat out to the outside world. We use a smartphone sound meter to check the noise at full power and minimum power, and we use an AC passthrough power meter to check the energy consumption at both of these levels.

One dial switches between off and the three fan settings, while the other selects cooling, oscillation or cooling and oscillation. Air coolers are growing increasingly popular, giving you a kind of halfway house between an expensive and bulky air conditioner and an ordinary fan. However, for many of us this isn't the reality, and if you struggle to keep your home at a bearable temperature during the summer months, then a portable air con unit could help. That means the air conditioner will be working very hard to cool the room and isn't energy efficient or economical. hr; Speeds: 3; Oscillation: Yes; Freezer blocks: No; Extra features: Humidification; Power consumption: 7.As part of our testing we always take a good look at all the practicalities, from the number of ice blocks provided (if any) to how easy the unit is to fill, empty, and clean. A window kit can be a bit of a faff to install the first time – especially as very few windows are a uniform size so a generic kit can sometimes fall short – but once installed you can leave it in place for subsequent use.