As parts of the UK brace for another hot weekend, adverts promising instant relief have been flooding Facebook and YouTube: portable air conditioners “designed by former Nasa engineers” that can “cool a room in 90 seconds”. But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned these products are often “too good to be true”.
Stuart Matthews, a civil engineer and YouTuber who runs the Proper DIY channel, put one to the test. He paid £70 for a device advertised with a dramatic backstory and a “liquid-compressed cooling cartridge”. Instead, he told the BBC, he received “a small, simple fan worth only a few pounds” made of “cheap components” based on “flawed science”.
“ASA warns adverts claiming to cool rooms in 90 seconds are misleading, after YouTuber exposes £70 device as cheap fan.”
The ASA said it had seen adverts that claimed a small device could cool an entire home within minutes or used very little electricity. Many of the adverts, which direct shoppers to websites selling the devices for between £70 and £120, appeared to be AI-generated, using visuals such as copper coils and metallic boxes to make the products seem more sophisticated. The watchdog also flagged fake customer reviews describing dramatic temperature drops or exceptional performance.
“It turned out to be a small, simple fan worth only a few pounds,” Matthews said, adding that the “reverse-engineered aircon unit” was nothing of the sort.
The ASA advised consumers to be sceptical of promises that sound too good to be true, dramatic backstories about “secret inventions” or “industry breakthroughs”, poor grammar or spelling mistakes, and customer reviews that read as too perfect. It said anyone uncertain should research the retailer, check for genuine contact details and a business address, and look for independent reviews rather than relying on testimonials on the seller’s website.
The BBC has approached Meta and YouTube for comment.
Anyone concerned about a misleading air conditioner advert can report it via the ASA’s website.