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These tried and tested air coolers are the next best thing to air conditioning
For when a simple fan just won’t cut it
Tested by Blossom Boothroyd, Jasmin Joyce and Gemma Dawson
With our summers getting warmer, the best air coolers are becoming increasingly popular for providing sweet relief from the stuffy British heat.
Unlike fans, which just circulate the air, air coolers draw in warm air, pass it over a cold-water tank or ice packs and cool the air as the water evaporates. Just like magic. They don’t require ventilation, which you need for a portable air conditioner, so you don’t have to leave a window or door open, either. You simply switch it on and relax as the room around you gets cooler.
As they can vary in price from £40 up to £200, the Good Housekeeping Institute put them to the test– here are our experts’ top picks at a glance, but read on for our full reviews.
During hot periods, air coolers can sell out fast – so we recommend buying them while you still can!
The best air coolers to buy in 2026
Energy consumption figures have been calculated based on the current energy price cap of 26.11 pence per kWh.
How we test air coolers
We put a range of the best air coolers to the test in our Good Housekeeping Institute lab where we’re able to create a controlled environment to ensure each model is reviewed under the same conditions.
The air coolers were placed in a room with the temperature set at 30°C to see how effectively they cooled the space. We measured the temperature of the room after 30 minutes, and then again after an hour and a half, before taking a final reading after two hours.
Our experts check how powerful each model is, using an anemometer to measure the strength in feet per minute (FPM) from 50cm and 75cm away, noting the difference between the highest and lowest fan settings.
Testers also look at the oscillation range, and whether it reaches the angle claimed by the manufacturer. Along with air flow, they measure how noisy each model is on its highest and lowest settings, as well as recording energy consumption – this way, we can see which is the cheapest to run.
We combine all this data with a subjective ‘comfort’ test. This involves three testers sitting in the 30°C room and noting down how well the air cooler helped improve the environment for them (for our testers’ sakes, we always hope it’s a lot!). Finally, we consider the design, ease of use and accompanying product information before awarding a final score.
Editor’s picks
All our Tried & Tested air coolers are now out of stock due to the heatwave! To help you find something else suitable, we've been scouring the internet for other air coolers that are still in stock.
While we haven't tested the below ourselves, we've been checking online reviews and looking for important features in each model before recommending.
Evapolar evaCHILL Personal Portable Air Cooler
Evapolar evaCHILL Personal Portable Air Cooler
This small air cooler is perfect for the bedside table and should provide enough cooling power to help you get to sleep on sticky nights. We love the LED light which acts like a nightlight too.
The water tank is only 800ml but this should provide up to 6 hours of cooling, plus there are four fan speeds to cycle through so you should be able to find something suitable for your needs.
Key specifications
| Modes | 2 |
|---|---|
| Fan settings | 4 |
| Timer | No |
| Tank capacity | 800ml |
| Energy consumption on highest setting | N/A |
| Air flow at highest setting from a distance of 75cm | N/A |
| Noise level on highest setting | N/A |
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
We’ve been reviewing products at the Good Housekeeping Institute for over 100 years, which means we’ve fine-tuned our testing processes to find the very best buys at every budget.
Our quality assurance and protocols manager, Blossom Boothroyd, has five years’ experience testing homes products in our lab and is an expert at setting protocols that replicate how you would use them at home. For our air cooler tests, she ensure we collected both lab data and user feedback to create a well-rounded overview of each product.
Once testing has been completed by our in-house team, the results are then passed to our senior homes and lifestyle writer, Megan Geall. She’s written hundreds of product reviews and knows exactly how to analyse the results to pull out the most useful information for shoppers.
Megan also looks after all our air-cooling content, including our tower fan reviews, so knows exactly what features to look for when it comes to staying cool as a cucumber in the heat.
More Tried & Tested cooling buys
- Best tower fans for creating a cooling breeze in your home
- Best portable fans for keeping you cool on the go
- How to sleep in a heatwave (and the products that help)
How to choose the best air cooler
With so many models on the market, it can be difficult to choose the best option for your home. Here are some factors to consider before adding one of our tested picks to your basket.
Room size: If you’re primarily using an air cooler in a larger room, you’ll want one with good air strength so you can feel the breeze from the fan on the opposite side of the room. Our winning air cooler, the Swan Nordic Air Cooler (currently out of stock), is a great option for a family room, whereas the JML Chillmax Air Pure Chill 2.0, would be a better pick for a study or small bedroom.
Features: Some of the more premium air coolers have extras such as programmable timers, castor wheels for better portability, and remote controls. These aren’t necessary but can make a difference day-to-day, so it’s worth considering whether you’ll find them useful or not.
Energy consumption: All the air coolers in this list are fairly energy efficient, with the most expensive costing just five pence an hour to run. The model that used the least energy in the lab is JML’s Chillmax Air Pure Chill 2.0, but this is due to its small size. For a larger model with low energy consumption, opt for Swan’s Nordic Air Cooler (currently out of stock).
Noise level: If you’re planning to use an air cooler to help you sleep in a heatwave or while you work, you’ll need one that makes minimal noise, while still being effective at reducing the temperature of your room. The quietest air cooler when used on its highest setting in the lab was Swan’s Nordic Air Cooler (currently out of stock).
The verdict: What is the best air cooler?
All our Tried & Tested air cooling units are out of stock so check out our page on the best fans that are still in stock to help you through the heatwave.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Jasmine is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. With a background in design, she is committed to sorting the good products from the great –and helping Good Housekeeping readers do the same.
Throughout her career, Jasmine has written extensively about product quality, craftsmanship and sustainability, and is passionate about consumer rights. She previously worked as a writer and researcher at the product longevity platform Buy Me Once.
If she isn’t reviewing the latest gadgets for your home, you can probably find Jasmine cooking elaborate meals or crafting something weird and wonderful!
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
Jasmin is a Household Product Specialist at the Good Housekeeping Institute, with extensive experience testing products across kitchen, sleep, laundry care, household cleaning, refrigeration, dish care and more. Her work ranges from detailed performance analysis of washing machines, dishwashers and refrigeration appliances to hands-on assessments of cookware, cleaning products and sleep essentials.
With a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Imperial College London, Jasmin combines technical expertise with a strong aptitude for interpreting large datasets to deliver clear, evidence-based consumer insights.
Gemma brings a unique blend of skills to the Good Housekeeping Institute's homes testing team, with a degree in physical product design and experience working in UX research and product management at NBCUniversal’s Hayu. She played a key role in platform projects, including supporting the launch of The Real Housewives of London (the streaming platform's first original show), so she knows a thing or two about efficiency and detail.
Passionate about making shopping smoother and more intuitive, she's on a mission to help consumers feel confident in their purchases, because let’s be honest, no one has time to scroll forever!
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