Challenge 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler Fan - White

Product Information

Unlike one of the best fans, which work by circulating the air to create a breeze and cool a person, a portable air conditioner is a far more powerful affair that uses refrigerant and a compressor to actively lower the temperature in a room or even a whole living space. We tested several portable air conditoners where the noise they emitted resembled the sound of a train engine chugging – a noisy, mechanical whirring noise that chopped and changed and soon drove us to distraction, making us want to switch off the unit off as soon as we possibly could.

That's a good size for most homes, but there are also 8000, 9000, 10000, 12000, and 14000 BTUoptions availble for larger room sizes and open plan spaces.And its curved front, minimal design, and gloss finish all make it far more unobtrusive in a room than you might expect.

It felt a little underpowered compared to the AEG Comfort 6000 Portable Air Conditioner, and, although its 1000W energy consumption is a lot less than the 3400W AEG comfort – making for cheaper running costs– it couldn't beat the best-in-class 780W MeacoCool MC Series 7000W Portable Air Conditioner on that front either. However, the build quality is good, it has easy-to-use controls, and its design is unobtrusive – although we think the AEG Comfort just pips it to the post in the style stakes by offering a sleeker design.The smaller models are cubes designed for desktop or coffee table use, often powered by USB and designed as a personal cooler.