Air con con is all hot air

Summer 2026. We all want air conditioning…

This means social media is awash with claims and offers for amazing ‘buy-me-now’ air-con machines. Apparently, for just over £100 we can all find our cool and be saved by cheap Chinese imports or Nasa-inspired air-conditioning technology. You don’t have to suffer the blistering temperatures produced by the latest UK heat wave.

Or do you?

Lift your head away from air-con doom-scrolling and instead browse for independent product reviews. Now prepare to be surprised. Because you will find the promise of a cool life at low cost, might as well be hot air. The Nasa-inspired technology I mentioned gets a meagre 2.5 stars out of 5. The air con appears to be an air con con, because the product is little more than a super fan. And to be honest, I am not sure about the super.

Caught by the Air con con

Given the heat, my work-at-home wife asked me to look for a portable air conditioning unit since her upstairs office felt more like an oven in a busy London restaurant. Searching for answers I found many air-con options and for some irrational reason felt £150 was an appropriate ceiling. But all the ‘cheaper’ models I tried to buy were now out of stock, such it seems is the air con demand.

Frustrated by my lack of purchasing success, I went outside into the sunshine and walked over to our only neighbours. And there, standing proud in the middle of their front room was a new portable air-con machine. The faint hum told me it was working as did my enthusiastic neighbour who was typing at her laptop. But alas, to me the room temperature was no different. The air-con was apparently working but the air con con was doing better.

Lies and Trust

This morning the BBC published an article about buying air conditioning units and it seemed very clear that we should expect to pay at least £350 for a mobile air con unit that actually does what it says on the tin. That’s a fair amount of money for something that you may use for only a few days of the year. And when the machine is working it will gobble up expensive electricity. But I for one trust the BBC. They are also not trying to sell me air conditioning.

But the lure of an instant, cheap solution that is only one click away from purchase is very well known to clever air con con marketeers. They know your dopamine will rise and then explode as your credit card is sent into action and your life into further debt. They also know that their colleagues won’t necessarily work too hard when you complain that promises are not being kept.

Or will they?

If you feel you have been scammed by an air con con and can’t make any headway to get money back or products replaced, leave your comments below.