Portable air conditioners in stock in the UK right now
Heatwave demand empties UK retailers fast. This page tracks the live availability of every cooling unit we've tested — and tells you honestly what to buy instead when the answer is sold out.
By Tom Calder · Stock & prices checked 24 July 2026
Air conditioners — live stock
| Unit | Stock | Price | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cooling a bedroom, home office or living room up to about 28m² through summer heat spikes. | In stock | £420 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
Medium-to-large rooms (up to ~30 m²) where you want cooling in summer plus heating and dehumidifying the rest of the year from one unit. | In stock | £500 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
Quietly cooling a small-to-medium bedroom or home office through a heatwave, if you want a premium build and don't need heating. | In stock | £400 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
Cooling a single medium-sized room during a heatwave, a little more quietly than most. | In stock | £400 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
Black+Decker BXAC40006GB 9000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner Cooling a single bedroom or home office through a summer heatwave. | In stock | £350 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
Igenix IG9902 9000 BTU 3-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner Cooling a small bedroom or home office (up to ~15-18 m²) year-round, with heating for the colder months. | In stock | £280 | 20 Jul | Check stock → |
ⓘ We may earn a commission when you buy through our links — it never affects what we recommend, and we buy everything we test.
Restock & price-drop alerts
We check stock and prices on every unit above through the heatwave. Leave your email and we'll tell you when something comes back in or drops in price — nothing else.
If everything above is sold out — or £400 for a fortnight of heat feels wrong — work down instead of panic-buying: an evaporative cooler takes a few degrees off the felt temperature for a quarter of the price; a decent fan with a bowl of ice in front of it makes bedrooms sleepable; and blackout blinds on sun-facing windows, closed through the day, beat most gadgets. The units below are the ones we'd actually pick for that job.
Coolers & fans — usually in stock when ACs aren't
Meaco MeacoFan 1056 Tower Fan Quiet, low-running-cost air circulation in a bedroom or home office through a summer heatwave. | In stock | £99 | Check stock → |
Actively cooling a single bedroom or home office through UK heatwaves, where you can vent the hose out of a window. | In stock | £400 | Check stock → |
Igenix Portable Air Conditioner Cooling one small-to-medium room (bedroom or home office) on the handful of genuinely hot UK days. | In stock | £280 | Check stock → |
Rechargeable Portable Camping Fan Personal cooling in a tent, caravan or at a bedside during a heatwave or power cut. | In stock | £28 | Check stock → |
Portable Rechargeable Neck Fan Hands-free personal cooling on the move during a heatwave, or for hot flushes. | In stock | £22 | Check stock → |
Honeywell Evaporative Air Cooler Low-power spot cooling in a dry, well-ventilated room during a heatwave | In stock | £130 | Check stock → |
Common questions
Are portable air conditioners in stock in the UK right now?
Availability moves daily in a heatwave — the table on this page shows the live stock state of every unit we've tested, with the time each was last checked. In past hot spells mainstream retailers sold out of popular models within days, which is why we track it rather than assuming.
What should I buy if portable air conditioners are sold out?
Work down the ladder: an evaporative cooler drops the felt temperature a few degrees for a fraction of the price; a decent fan with ice in front of it helps overnight; and blackout blinds or closed curtains on sun-facing windows during the day often do more than people expect. All three are usually in stock when ACs aren't.
Is a portable air conditioner worth it for a UK summer?
For most homes, only for a bedroom or home office you genuinely can't sleep or work in — they're effective but power-hungry and need the exhaust hose out of a window. If your problem is a few hot afternoons a year, a fan or evaporative cooler is the honest recommendation. If it's night after night in a loft room, an AC earns its keep.
How much does a portable air conditioner cost to run?
Typically around 1kW–1.2kW per hour of cooling for a 9000 BTU unit, so an evening's use costs roughly the price of a couple of kettle boils at current electricity rates. The bigger cost mistake is buying an undersized unit that runs flat-out all day — match the BTU rating to the room size.
Why do air conditioners sell out in UK heatwaves?
The UK has low domestic AC ownership, so a hot fortnight sends a year's worth of demand at retailers in days. Stock returns after each spell — which is exactly what the restock alert on this page is for.