It will quickly cool rooms of up to 70 m² (we tested it in a room with a slightly smaller size and was amazed by how quickly it worked), and the dehumidifying capabilities were also impressive – by the end of our night-time test session, which took place on a particularly muggy evening, the air felt noticeably lighter and drier. There’s also a new R290 refrigerant inside, which Meaco says makes it more environmentally friendly. Contrary to what you might think, though, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get effective cooling. We didn’t find it any noiser than other air con units on the market, and the fact that two different types of window kits were supplied was a really bonus. But Black + Decker has launched a series of air conditioners that are smart and controllable from your phone, and they’re not too costly.

It is too noisy to have on while clients are in the room or online so beware that it is too noisy for this type of purpose.The new MeacoCool range is smaller, lighter and more compact in size making it easier to fit within a room and be comfortably moved around. Normally, we suffer through summer with the windows open – a nightmare for our hayfever – and a fan, but now, we will be turning to this air conditioner time and again. While it does look like a big clunking refrigerator, especially sitting in the corner of our room, it’s extremely powerful, cooling our room down by 6C in just 25 minutes. On the machine, you’ll find the ability to set a Timer (between one and 24 hours), set the Speed of the fan (high, medium and low), Swing to turn the top air panel known as the louvre on and off (although this must be open while on), up and down, Sleep to reduce the noise level and dim the LED and Mode to switch between the aforementioned.

But before you break out in a sweat at the idea of your electricity bills, it is energy efficiency rated A so provides an affordable way to ensure you sleep well and throughout the night. Fan Mode operates in much of the same way as a typical home fan by circulating air rather than cooling it. Energy efficient, simple to use and easy to move around your home, these air conditioners are a great choice for home owners and office managers. These won’t only trap most microscopic airborne particles, but will help to break down odours and absorb and deactivate bacteria. Fixed air conditioning units can be great, but they need to be professionally installed and once installed, you cannot move them to another room or house,” says Chris Michael, managing director of Meaco.For this, the supplied drainage hose needs to be attached to the back of the unit to provide continuous drainage. Last year’s swelter may not be as extraordinary as it appeared at the time - and that’s when you’ll be pleased you have an air conditioner to see you through. The parts including the cord need to be away from water and you don’t even need to be that close to a plug if you employ an extension cord as long as it is the appropriate voltage. We were surprised to discover the unit still managed to cool the room fairly quickly despite battling the warm air outside, though, and it reached a pleasant temperature in no time. Creating the vent is a matter of twisting the various pieces together, placing into a sliding window and filling the gap with the plates and tape provided.

While it’s a little louder (64dB) than other portable air conditioners on this list, we quickly got used to the roar of its engine. This means you can programme your air conditioner when you’re not at home, or have the luxury of turning it on and off from the comfort of your own bed.As mentioned, this unit is also very lightweight compared to most portable air con units we've tested. There’s also a slight buzzing that accompanies the unit while it cools, too, so it isn’t the ideal choice to run overnight in a bedroom. The fan can also be operated via the accompanying app so you can operate it from the comfort of your own sofa - perfect for when it’s too hot to move. Once this is released the water will flow out so it’s worth making sure you’re doing it somewhere that’s ok to get wet (outside for example!