Best portable air cooler 2024
The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/06/14/16/Black Decker Portable 7-litre Digital Air Cooler.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1024)
![ES Best](https://www.standard.co.uk/img/newsletters/newsletter_es_best_embed_desktop.png)
When it’s too hot, it’s all you can think about.
It’s certainly all anyone can talk about, especially if you recall the noise around the last heatwave.
British summers are set to get more predictable in terms of heat and dry spells (higher and longer on both fronts), but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing for it but to sweat it out.
While sales of air conditioning units for home use are on the up, not everyone can spare the space or expense to accommodate a unit. The sweet spot between an energy-guzzling AC unit and a fan?
Say hello to the air cooler.
What is an air cooler, and how does it work?
A less energy-hungry home climate controller than its lookalike (the air conditioning unit), an air cooler is good at reintroducing moisture into hot, dry rooms quickly and efficiently.
An air cooler works by sucking in hot air and cooling it by funnelling it through drenched cooling pads. As the water re-evaporates it is expelled back into the room via a fan or blower, gently lowering the temperature (by around three degrees).
Compare this to a fan which pushes hot air around the room, and you begin to understand why an air cooler is the superior choice.
Air cooler vs air conditioner vs fan: How to choose
Price is one of the biggest pros with air coolers. They don’t cost nearly the same amount as air conditioning units, for the initial purchase or to run - most operate at 100W or less. Compare that to between 3000 and 3500W for an air conditioning unit.
Air coolers also offer more effective cooling than fans alone, something that you can give a helping hand by adding ice blocks to the cooler’s water tank.
If you’re fed up with being a hot mess come the summertime, it might be time to invest in an air cooler for your home. A lightweight or wheeled version is best, allowing you to move it from room to room if you need to.
Best portable air cooler at a glance
- Best for coolness: EvaPolar evaLIGHT plus - £169, Amazon
- Best for stuffy bedrooms: Igenix 5L Air Cooler - £99, Dunelm
- Best for compact cooling: ProBreeze 10L Portable Air Cooler - £159.99, ProBreeze
- Best for WFH: Silentnight 3 In 1 Air Cooler 5L - £129.99, Robert Dyas
- Best for busy spaces: Klarstein Polar Tower Smart - £234.99, Amazon
- Best for kids rooms: Golofet Portable Air Cooler - £35.99, Amazon
- Best for rolling between rooms: BELDRAY EH3674 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler - White & Grey - £84.99, Currys
- Best for year-round usability: Black & Decker Portable 7-litre Digital Air Cooler - £95, Very
- Best for quietly getting on with it: John Lewis Water Tank Air Cooler Fan, White - £99, John Lewis
We’ve rounded up the best options across price points below.
Shop now
EvaPolar evaLIGHT plus
- Best for: coolness
- Power: 10W
- Tank volume: 1L
- Extra features: changing lights
Now this is one cool box. The bestselling device has rave reviews thanks to its efficient cooling and features like the removable water tank and changeable full spectrum LED lights.
What’s more, it’s highly portable and whisper quiet; you can power it through a power bank or laptop as well as mains power, making it perfect for remote working or taking on trips in place of a fan.
It offers a triple attack against hot temperatures, chilling, purifying and humidifying the space. And all on 10W. A little bit magic.
Igenix 5L Air Cooler
- Best for: stuffy bedrooms
- Power: 55W
- Tank volume: 5L
- Extra features: LED display, 7 hour timer
Offering both cost-effectiveness and functionality, this compact cooler from Igenix will help return your space to a comfortable temperature. It’s great in medium-sized spaces, with a 5L removable water tank and three-speed sweeping fan to create a cool solution to high temperatures. There’s even an integrated ice-cooling chamber to give your breeze a turbo boost.
Control the wind through the LED display or via remote, and if you want it on when you’re heading to bed, the 7 hour timer will ensure it shuts off when you want it to.
ProBreeze 10L Portable Air Cooler
- Best for: compact cooling
- Power: 55W
- Tank volume: 10L
- Extra features: Oscillation, night mode and 7-hour timer
It may look like an unassuming white box on the outside, but take a peek inside ProBreeze’s cooler and you’ll see where the magic happens.
It uses a honeycomb waterfall system to cool warm air and turn it into cooling vapour. This is then propelled into the air with a three-speed fan that works in four operational modes to create the right environment.
Other features include a 7-hour timer and Night Mode to keep the cooler working quietly as you kip.
Silentnight 3 In 1 Air Cooler 5L - White
- Best for: WFH
- Power: 39W
- Tank volume: 5L
- Extra features: remote control, timer
Thought the buck stopped at bed stuff at Silentnight? Think again. The brand also offers a range of home appliances including this five-litre air cooler. It’s a hardworking thing, packing a fan, air cooler and humidifier under one roof, and it’s on wheels to boot.
A wide-oscillating fan means cooler air can reach every corner of the room, leaving no hot pocket unturned. There’s also a timer that can run up to 7 hours, and a remote control to operate if you’re too comfortable to get up to use the digital control panel.
Klarstein Polar Tower Smart
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/06/14/16/Klarstein Portable Air Cooler Unit.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=640)
- Best for: busy spaces
- Power: 85W
- Tank volume: 7L
- Extra features: 24-hour timer, double filter, remote control
Promising cooler vibes than Elsa’s castle, Klarstein’s device offers no less than five functions in one - how’s that for bang for your buck?
The 85W remote-control operated unit cools, humidifies, ventilates and ionises as well as offers a Night Mode to keep you cool while you snooze.
Everything can be controlled via a phone app for ultimate convenience while a generous 7L water tank means you won’t need to refill it constantly. A double filter expands the cooling surface while trapping dust particles at the same time. The timer also runs up to 24 hours, so you can set it to turn on when you get home and walk into a lovely, cool room.
Golofet Portable Air Cooler
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/04/30/10/53/Golofet Portable Air Cooler.jpg.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=640)
- Best for: kids rooms
- Power: 8W
- Tank volume: 300ml
- Extra features: mist sprayer, three speed wind modes
If you’re looking for something to cool a nursery or child’s bedroom, it can be tricky trying to find the right balance. A cooler offers less of a temperature extreme than an air-con unit and one like this comes with rainbow lights too, working double duty as a night light.
This futuristic-looking cooler also operates as a table fan and mini humidifier, making dry gritty air softer and more comfortable to breathe.
Set it up and forget about it; well until the 300ml water tank runs dry that is (around five hours). Perfect for any room that’s hot and bothered.
BELDRAY EH3674 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler - White & Grey
Best for: rolling between rooms
Power: 65W
Tank volume: 6L
Extra features: ice packs
Offering ionsed air as well as chilled and purified, this is an air cooler at an excellent price. It’s set on castor wheels and has integrated handles for ultimate portability, while the 6L water tank is a decent size for day or night use.
As well as the device, it comes with a set of ice packs to cool the water vapour even further. Prepare to feel very refreshed.
Black & Decker Portable 7-litre Digital Air Cooler
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/06/14/16/Black Decker Portable 7-litre Digital Air Cooler.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=640)
- Best for: year-round usability
- Power: 65W
- Tank volume: 7L
- Extra features: timer, three speeds, three airflows, remote control
An air cooler is the sort of device you can use year-round: from cooling in the summer to reintroducing humidity into dry spaces in winter.
Black & Decker’s 7L machine uses dual ice packs to enhance the cooling system and return your home’s temperature back to comfortable levels. There are three wind modes to choose from to customise your breezes and a 7.5 hour timer to keep it running without supervision.
John Lewis Water Tank Air Cooler Fan, White
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/04/30/10/46/John Lewis Water Tank Air Cooler Fan%2C White.JPG.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=640)
- Best for: quietly getting on with it
- Power: 45W
- Tank volume: 4.5L
- Extra features: 3 mode settings, 3 speed settings, and oscillation
With a 4.5L water tank and two ice packs, refreshing breezes are guaranteed with John Lewis's cooler in your corner.
There are three modes and speeds to twiddle with to find your sweet spot and the fan can oscillate too, dispersing cool air evenly across the whole room. Comes with a two-year guarantee.