Air conditioning units have been flying off shelves across the UK as households grapple with sweltering homes during increasingly hot summers. Retailers have seen stock sell out rapidly, with online units also disappearing, according to the BBC's Michael Race.
The country is experiencing more regular heatwaves, yet British homes have historically been designed to keep heat in rather than out, leaving many residents struggling. Air conditioning is already common in cars, hotels and public places, but its adoption in homes has been slow.
“Air conditioning sales soar as UK heatwaves push households to seek cooling, with costs ranging from £149 to £10,000.”
Three main types of home air conditioning are available. Portable units are the cheapest, standalone devices that plug into a socket, draw in warm air, cool it and vent heat outside through a window pipe. According to Checkatrade, they cost on average between £350 and £650, though Lidl recently sold them for £149 in its middle aisles.
Split systems involve two units – one inside and one outside – fixed to a wall and linked by a pipe. The outdoor component expels unwanted heat. LG, the appliance retailer, says you can buy one for a single room or connect multiple indoor units to one outdoor condenser. British Gas describes such ductless systems as one of the most common options for UK homes. The unit alone costs £750 to £1,100 per room, according to Checkatrade, but installation firm Heatable puts the full cost typically between £2,000 and £3,500, rising to £6,000 for multiple rooms.
Ducted air conditioning serves the entire home via a central unit that pushes cooled air through a network of ducts with vents in each room. This requires invasive renovation work. Checkatrade estimates the unit cost between £990 and £1,750 without installation, while Heatable suggests a total of £5,000 to £10,000 depending on property size and layout.
As temperatures climb, the question is whether air conditioning will become a permanent feature in most British homes.