Best air conditioning units 2026, tried and tested in the UK heatwave

How can I get air conditioning in my home and how much does it cost?

As summers in the UK get hotter, is it time for air conditioning to become a permanent feature in most homes?

Is there ANY place you can actually get an air conditioning unit? From secondhand appliances to hiring services (and even international train journeys) - the different ways you can try and snag a cooling gadget as the heatwave scorches on

Is there ANY place you can actually get an air conditioning unit? From secondhand appliances to hiring services (and even international train journeys) - the different ways you can try and snag a cooling gadget as the heatwave scorches on

The best places with air conditioning to take your baby or toddler in London

The best places with air conditioning to take your baby or toddler in London

To cool or not to cool: French politicians draw battle lines over aircon

As heatwave intensifies, far-right champions air conditioning while the left calls for renovations and green spaces

Europe's Come-to-AC Moment

In stifling apartments and sweaty row houses in England, Germany, and even Scandinavia, some Europeans are considering a very American idea: They really need an air conditioner. One of their most accessible options, though, might feel unfamiliar to anyone accustomed to central air. Among Europe's commonly used types of air conditioning is a clunky, inefficient unit that stands a few feet high and has a wide exhaust tube meant to go out a window. Such units are typically a panic-buy on a hot weekend, Brian Motherway, the head of energy efficiency at the International Energy Agency, told me. People grab the first machine they see and end up living with it for a decade, he said...