AIR CONDITIONING
Compare portable air conditioner prices across UK trade & DIY merchants
Pricing up a portable air con shouldn't mean ten browser tabs. Check the same unit across dozens of UK trade and DIY merchants in one search — cheapest first, with live prices and stock.
Search air conditioningPrice it across the merchants — not just one shop
Most air-con comparison sites lean on the big consumer retailers. BuildCompare is built around the merchants the trade actually buys from — so the trade counters and DIY sheds line up side by side, cheapest first.
Trade & DIY merchants
Dozens of UK merchants in one place — Screwfix, Toolstation, City Plumbing and more — not just one consumer retailer.
Live prices & stock
Prices and stock are checked at each merchant and refreshed regularly, so you're comparing what you'd actually pay today.
Priced with the whole job
Air con sits alongside plumbing, electrical, timber and tools — so you can price a whole job in a single search.
What size do you need? A quick BTU guide
Cooling power is measured in BTU. Too small and it won't keep up; too big and you've overpaid. As a rough guide, match BTU to room size — then compare prices for that size on BuildCompare.
Small bedroom, home office or box room — up to about 18 m².
Living room or double bedroom — roughly 18–28 m².
Large or open-plan room — around 28 m² and up.
South-facing rooms, lots of glazing, top-floor rooms or heat-producing kit all push you toward the higher end of each band.
Cooling the workshop, site office or van
Cooling a workshop, a site cabin or the back of a van is a different job from a spare bedroom — dust, run-time and a plug that's already working hard all matter. A portable unit that vents through a window or louvre is usually the practical answer, and you can price it alongside the rest of your kit rather than buying blind from whichever shop you happen to be in.
Search the unit once on BuildCompare and see where it's cheapest across the merchants you already use.
Portable AC, fan or evaporative cooler?
Portable air conditioner
Genuinely lowers temperature and cuts humidity. Best for hot rooms you need to work or sleep in. Needs a window or louvre to vent, and costs more to run.
Tower / pedestal fan
Cheapest to buy and run, but moves air rather than cooling it. Fine for taking the edge off; won't rescue a genuinely hot room.
Evaporative cooler
Cools by evaporating water — cheaper to run than AC and no venting, but works best in dry air and adds humidity.
Air conditioning — common questions
Which merchants does BuildCompare compare for air conditioning?
Dozens of UK trade and DIY merchants across plumbing, electrical, heating, tools and DIY — including Screwfix, Toolstation and City Plumbing. BuildCompare shows live prices and stock, cheapest first.
What size portable air conditioner do I need?
As a rough guide, match BTU to room size: around 5,000–7,000 BTU for a small bedroom or office (up to ~18 m²), 8,000–10,000 BTU for a living room (~18–28 m²), and 12,000–16,000 BTU for a large or open-plan room (~28 m² and up). South-facing rooms, lots of glazing or heat-producing kit push you toward the higher end.
Can I compare air con and the rest of my materials in one place?
Yes. Air conditioning sits alongside every other department on BuildCompare, so you can price a whole job — plumbing, electrical, timber, tools and cooling — in one search.
Is the air conditioning price data live?
Prices and stock come from live checks at each merchant and are refreshed regularly, so the comparison reflects what you'd pay right now.