You don’t need us to tell you how hot it is, but look: we’re British and it’s hopelessly entrenched in our national psyche to discuss the weather.
Guys: it’s boiling.
Temperatures reached a year-high earlier in June, setting the tempo for the rest of summer (fingers crossed). But while blue skies and golden rays are welcomed with open arms at the weekend, when you’re trying to work or sleep, most of us end up a sweaty mess while cursing the ceiling.
Part of it has to do with living in the city; all that concrete, traffic and sheer number of people means that heat gets trapped in the capital, more so than in the countryside or by the coast. Another issue is that new builds are so packed with insulation to keep us cosy in the winter that nobody thought about how all that padding would make us feel come summertime.
It’s getting so hot that fans aren’t even cutting the mustard any more. It’s time to call in the big guns. Enter: the portable air conditioner.
Designed for domestic settings, these machines plug into the mains and exchange warm, stuffy air for a much cooler kind. These ice boxes offer similar cooling effects as integrated versions, but without a hefty builders quote or need to call the professionals.
As the mercury nudged past the 30 degree mark in early June 2023, I decided it was prime time to take the Russell Hobbs 9000BTU Portable Air Conditioner out for a spin.
Key specs
- 2 in 1 - Air conditioner and dehumidifier
- Energy Efficiency: A
- Dimensions (CMs): H68 x W42 x D31
- Product Weight: 29kg
- Air con temperature setting range: 18 - 32 degrees
- Suitable up to room size 16m²
- LED display and remote control
- 24 hour timer
- 3 speed oscillating fan
- 1L Water Tank
- Dehumidifier extraction rate: 1.1 Litres/hour
- Noise Level: 65 dB (A)
- 1 metre drain hose & 1.5 metre exhaust hose included
- Uses R290 refrigerant gas for air con
- 2 year guarantee upon registration
- Window kit included
Packaging and design
This may be the smaller of Russell Hobb’s portable air conditioners - the other is its big brother - the 2 in 1 Portable Air Conditioner and Dehumidifier 11000 BTU- but getting it out of the packaging will still break you out in a sweat. It’s 29kg; best to rope in a pal to help.
It’s a large machine, so naturally the level of packaging is scaled up to match but it all feels necessary to keep the air conditioner safe while in transit. An alternative to styrofoam would be a heartening and conscientious touch.
Lookswise, it’s a bland white rectangle that won’t add anything to your interiors - but that’s not why you’ve got it. The mere fact that it will stop your home feeling like the melting insides of a volcano means it more than earns its keep.
Setting up
Set up is simple, if a bit fiddly. First find a good spot for it - it’s on wheels which makes it easier to roll across hard floors, although you may have some shoving to do if you’ve got carpets or rugs. The unit needs to be both close to a window and a mains socket but with a clearance of 45cm from all angles except directly underneath.
Next, screw on the inlet and outlet to opposite ends of the hose, a bendy tube that’s vital to expel all the warm air inside your home outside. This will hang outside your window, embedded in a window sealing kit to keep all your new, refreshing air inside.
The kit is designed to fit most windows but is not suitable for ones with wooden frames. If you have such frames, don’t despair. You can still get the unit to work by threading the exhaust out of an open window, it just won’t be as effective as if you had sealed yourself in.
Functions
Once you’re plugged in, with the exhaust tube in situ, you’re ready for ice cool temperatures. But air conditioning aside, this powerful machine can do so much more. It’s also a straight-up fan, great to use for warm weather that’s not a heatwave. It can also dehumidify muggy atmospheres, and warm the room when used in heat mode.
Switch through the modes via the control panel at the head of the unit. There are simple and clear buttons to flip through to set the machine to exactly how you want it, from modes to temperature, the range of which swings from 18 - 32 degrees. The settings will illuminate on the front of the machine and are hidden from sight when the device isn’t turned on returning the exterior back to an anonymous blank state.
It oscillates to distribute cool air evenly around the room, and there’s a night mode function too, which takes running noises down to whisper quiet and incrementally rising or lowering temperatures depending on which mode you’ve selected: hot or cool.
The timer is also useful for using before bed to save you sky-high bills while you sleep. You can also set the timer to turn on just before you get home to ensure an agreeable climate on arrival.
Effectiveness
As someone who has wooden window frames throughout the house, I wondered how effective the air conditioning unit would be - I couldn’t use the supplied window sealing kit as it would have torn my frames to splinters.
Yet even with the window left slightly ajar to allow for the exhaust to snake out of, the temperature rapidly decreased in my living room in the space of around 10 minutes. And that’s on the lowest fan setting.
Cranking the fan up to top speed sent icy but very welcome blasts rippling throughout the space and kept things cool and comfortable, even after I’d turned the unit off.
This was an unexpected perk. I was surprised to find that I didn’t need to run the air conditioner constantly to feel the benefits.
Verdict
The versatility and size of Russell Hobbs’s portable air conditioner makes it a winner for medium to large-sized households. While I loved it having cold, clean air on tap, especially as temperatures spiked, my inadequate storage options leaves me wondering where on earth to put it.
That said, it’s a versatile thing that heats and dehumidifies as well as cools, so it’s no one-season wonder. When you consider our climate, which is starting to go into the extremes, making room for this unit feels like a wise investment that will pay off all year round.
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Russell Hobbs 2-in-1 Portable Air Conditioner & Dehumidifier
Buy now £419.99, Amazon
