Home air conditioning advice needed

tallac

I'm having my house renovated which will also include brand new windows and thus there is a lot of flexibility right now hence this question.

I'd like to get air conditioning for those unbearably hot days (which seem to increase each year). I do not want to fit fixed air conditioning throughout the house as I do not think this would be great value for money.

I was thinking of those small portable air condition units that can be moved into the rooms that specifically need it. For example, would be ideal for bedrooms at night time. As I understand, these units have a vent pipe that must exhaust out of the building (usually out of the window).

What's the most cost effective way to do this in a house? Where the units could be moved between rooms that need it cooling?

A previous place I worked at, had these units and their pipes exhausted out of the sliding windows. The pipes had a plastic piece that mostly blocked the entire open gap needed for the vent pipe so it seemed reasonably efficient. Is there anything similar for standard hinged double glazing windows? Or would I need to get sliding double glazed windows at home?

Mutton_Geoff

You could use a core drill and stick some specific 4/5" holes in the walls as you do for tumble dryer exhausts but a far neater solution would be a proper split aircon system just to cover the main bedroom(s). The portable ones are pretty rubbish in comparison.

EssexExile

Just fit a fan over the bed.

tallac

I think I found a reasonable and cost effective solution (https://smile.amazon.co.uk/HOOMEE-Universal-Window-Portable-Conditioner/dp/B07KF7CPYK) to use with the portable units. I'm sure there'll still be some cooling loss but surely got to be considerably better than without. I know the portable units aren't as great as the static ones but they give a lot more flexibility with it being able to be moved from room to room.

naf123

Portable ones are rubbish . Try do things properly .

Grenage

Get a mini-split; there are some available that will service two or even three rooms.

The portables are expensive and noisy, the mini-splits are about the same price and very quiet inside the house.

giraffe69

Agree with the recommendation for fixed aircon. Portable machines are usually poor as well as noisy. We had aircon for the main bedroom and it has been a success. Quiet and very effective. Much better sleep on hot nights!