The last heatwave in the UK made editor, Abigail Nicholson, re-think how she ventilated her home, especially as some rooms in the house reached a whopping 30C and above during the last heatwave14:29, 07 Jul 2026Updated 14:31, 07 Jul 2026I bought £229 air conditioner unit and this is my honest reviewDuring the last UK heatwave, my toddler's room reached a massive 30C and continued climbing, which left me at a complete loss of what to do. After moving into our home only a year ago, this was the first real test of heat in our Victorian terrace, which turned into a sauna in the June heatwave.‌Although it felt much cooler with fans blasting, my daughter's room would not cool down due to only having one window and no way of getting a current of air moving. With that, we spent the night in a hotel with air conditioning just to be comfortable and give her room the best possible chance of cooling down with the window open overnight.‌I also managed to purchase a portable air conditioner unit, which was delivered the day after things started to cool down. However, as the UK faces high temperatures and heat health alerts once again, now was the perfect chance to test out the device.‌I bought the Midea [MPPA-07CRN7-QB6(A)] air conditioning unit for £229 which is 7,000 BTU and ideal for use in small room measuring between approximately 15 to 25 m². I did, however, notice the company I bought the unit from quickly upped the price of the device to £599 in the days after I bought it, but I'm unsure if this was due to a pricing error, or taking advantage of the heatwave.Other than the fact it was one of the only air conditioners left in stock, I liked that it also had a ventilation and dehumidifier setting, meaning the device could be used year-round.‌It came with a 1.5m hose and a window kit, however, this was for a sliding window design which isn't common in the UK. The device also has a Wi-Fi controlled app meaning you can turn the device on from another room if you need to or even through Alexa.The air conditioner was very easy to set up, I did however, have to place the unit on top of a stool so the hose could reach out of the window in my bedroom.After setting up the device the temperature in the bedroom was 26C, and I ordered the device to make the room a cool 20C.‌The unit was very loud when it was being used, and for me I would say I wouldn't be able to sleep with that level of disruption. It was however, easy to keep working from the area and it was less noticeable after a certain amount of time.How quickly does a portable air conditioning unit bring the temperature down?After six minutes of the Midea unit being on the cooling setting, the room had already dropped by one degree, and five minutes after that the bedroom dropped down to a 24C.From there the progress was slower, with it taking a further hour to drop down to 23C, but I think I know why this was the case.‌As mentioned earlier, the device came with a window kit that didn't convert to my window size and type, meaning that the bedroom was not a completely enclosed space.Content cannot be displayed without consentI could, however, really feel a difference in temperature in the bedroom and it made it much more comfortable to work in.‌Although the device did bring the room's temperature down at around 3pm, by the time I turned the air conditioner off and went to bed seven hours later, the room had crept back up to 25C.How much energy does a portable air conditioning unit use?While using the Midea unit on a high fan setting, it cost around 18p per hour, which is similar to running a microwave, air fryer or a basic desktop computer.To put how brilliant this figure is into context, washing machines, dishwashers and ovens average between 50p to £1 an hour for usage.‌I was very impressed by the price-per-hour of running the air conditioning unit as I expected it to be a price I would just have to pay for keeping rooms in our home cool.What's the verdict on the portable air conditioning unit?I'm sure that the Midea unit I bought will serve our home well for a number of years through heatwaves as they become more and more common.The device effectively cooled down a room even quicker than I expected it to, and at a much better price than I thought too. The real test will be if it can keep my toddlers room cooler overnight by blasting the unit for a few hours and turning it off when she sleeps.Article continues belowI know this will be a life-saver for my family on boiling hot days when we retreat indoors from sunny days at the park or being in the garden.