In the rush to secure the best cooling appliances during the UK's soaring temperatures, it's easy to end up buying something that doesn't quite work the way you expected. Whilst the best fans are fairly straightforward, there's a lot more confusion when it comes to the best portable air conditioners and air coolers – and importantly, they're not the same thing.
Whilst air conditioners and air coolers might sound like they do a similar job, they actually work very differently. The biggest distinction is that an air conditioner actively lowers the temperature of a room, whereas an air cooler mainly creates a cooler-feeling breeze.
