Air conditioning, heating & cycling: your questions answered

Common questions about buying climate kit in the UK

Why is portable air conditioning so hard to find in stock in the UK?

UK demand for portable air conditioning spikes overnight when a heatwave arrives, but retailers stock cooling as a seasonal line and don't hold heatwave-level inventory year-round. Popular models at Currys, AO and Argos routinely sell out within days of a hot spell and can take one to three weeks to restock. That's why a listing that says 'available' is often already gone — a live tracker that checks several retailers continuously shows what is genuinely buyable right now.

When will air conditioning come back in stock?

There is no fixed restock date — UK retailers replenish cooling stock in waves through spring and summer, and faster during a prolonged heatwave. The reliable approach is to watch live availability across several retailers at once, because a model sold out at one shop is often in stock at another. Set a restock alert on the specific unit you want and you'll be notified the moment any tracked retailer has it again.

Where is the cheapest place to buy a portable air conditioner in the UK right now?

The cheapest retailer changes constantly as shops run heatwave promotions and sell through stock, so a static 'best buy' list goes out of date within days. UK Air Con Tracker shows the current lowest in-stock price for each model across Amazon, eBay and Hughes, timestamped with when it was last checked, so the cheapest option that is actually buyable is always the one shown first.

How many BTU do I need to cool my room?

As a UK rule of thumb, allow roughly 20 BTU per square foot of floor space, then add capacity for rooms that are sunny, on a top floor, or hold several people or heat-generating equipment. A typical UK bedroom of 10–14 m² needs around 7,000–9,000 BTU; a large living room of 20–30 m² needs 12,000 BTU or more. Our BTU calculator gives a room-specific figure.

What's the difference between a portable air conditioner and an evaporative cooler?

A portable air conditioner uses a refrigeration compressor to actively lower the temperature and must vent hot air out of a window; it cools effectively even in humid weather but uses more electricity. An evaporative (swamp) cooler passes air over water, needs no window vent and runs cheaply, but it only works well in dry heat and adds humidity. In the UK's often-humid summers a portable air conditioner cools more reliably, while an evaporative cooler is cheaper to buy and run for gentle cooling.

How much does it cost to run a portable air conditioner in the UK?

A typical 9,000–12,000 BTU portable air conditioner draws around 1–1.4 kW. At the 2026 UK price cap of roughly 25p per kWh, that's about 25–35p an hour, or £2–3 for a warm night's use. Evaporative coolers and fans cost a fraction of that — usually under 2p an hour — because they don't run a compressor.

Do I need planning permission or a landlord's approval to use air conditioning?

A plug-in portable air conditioner needs no planning permission and no installation — you vent it through a window and unplug it when you're done, so it's fine in rented homes. A fixed wall-mounted (split) system is a permanent alteration: homeowners rarely need planning permission but should check the property isn't listed or in a conservation area, and tenants must get the landlord's written permission before any fixed unit is installed.

What should I buy before the first UK cold snap?

Retailers merchandise winter kit 4–8 weeks ahead of the weather — by the first icy week, heated airers, oil radiators and electric blankets are the lines that sell out. A heated airer dries laundry (and cycling kit) indoors without mould; a 7–9 fin oil radiator heats one room for roughly 25–40p an hour instead of firing the whole boiler; a desiccant dehumidifier stops condensation on cold windows. Check live stock rather than a summer 'best of' list — those pages go stale the week the temperature drops.

How should I cycle on a cold UK day versus a sunny one?

On a cold, wet commute the kit problem is drying, not buying another jersey: hang the wet kit on a heated airer and run a dehumidifier in the boot room so it is dry by morning without a tumble dryer. A small oil radiator in an unheated garage or workshop takes the edge off before you roll out. On a bright, mild UK day you overheat in winter layers — strip a layer, fill bottles from a countertop ice maker, and park a USB or portable fan on the desk for the office end of a commute. Full walkthrough: cycling on cold and sunny UK days.

Which UK retailers actually stock air conditioning and cooling?

The main UK sellers of portable air conditioning, coolers and fans are Amazon, eBay, Hughes, Currys, AO and Argos. Stock and price differ between them at any moment, especially during a heatwave, which is why checking a single shop is unreliable. UK Air Con Tracker monitors the retailers we earn from together and shows only what each one reports as buyable now.

Are portable air conditioners worth it in the UK?

For the handful of genuinely hot weeks the UK now gets each summer, a portable air conditioner is the only plug-in option that reliably drops a room's temperature rather than just moving warm air around. They cost more to buy and run than fans or evaporative coolers and are bulky to store, but for sleeping through a heatwave or cooling a home office they're effective and need no installation. If your priority is low cost and your home stays dry, a fan or evaporative cooler may be enough.

What's the fastest way to get air conditioning when everywhere is sold out?

During a heatwave, don't refresh one retailer's page — check several at once, because stock clears unevenly and a model that's gone at one shop is often still available at Amazon or eBay. Widen your search to any suitable model rather than one specific unit, consider evaporative coolers and high-power tower fans which sell out less quickly, and set restock alerts so you're told the instant tracked stock returns instead of hunting manually.