Challenge 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler Fan - White

Product Information

A powerful portable air conditioner that looks good, is easy to use, is relatively quiet in comparison to most, has WiFi connectivity, and – most importantly – can cool down a room fast, as long as you don't mind its slightly higher running costs.

The Russell Hobbs RHPAC11001 can do just that, offering 4-in-1 use thanks to air con, fan, dehumidifier, and heater functionality. Depending on your needs that could mean it offers better value for money, as it will be useful all year round, keeping your space cool in the summer as well as warm in the winter. Of the 20 products, we discovered that 17 were more expensive and 2 were cheaper than Challenge 6 Litre Portable Air Cooler. Prices from Challenge It also comes with a remote control and two window kits included, a timer function, 'night' mode for (slightly) quieter night-time operation, plus 3-in-1 air con, fan and dehumidifier functionality. In terms of cooling powers this is one of the most powerful portable air con units we've tested, but, that power does comes at a price, with the AEG Comfort 6000 using 3400W of energy compared to the MeacoCool MC Series 7000BTU units 780W. It means running costs for the AEG are higher – as is the initial outlay compared to the Meaco – but, our reviewer did find they didn't need this unit running for as long to cool down a space. In an ideal world, all of our homes would be better insulated and able to remain cool in the summer without the additional energy use or expense of an air conditioner.However, for many of us this isn't the reality, and if you struggle to keep your home at a bearable temperature during the summer months, then a portable air con unit could help.It has some downsides, but only in keeping with most portable air con units, in that it's heavy which makes it not quite as portable in reality as its name may suggest.However, the build quality is good, it has easy-to-use controls, and its design is unobtrusive – although we think the AEG Comfort just pips it to the post in the style stakes by offering a sleeker design.

Beyond that, this air con unit is bulky and heavy. It weighs in at 31.5kg, one of the heaviest units we've tested, so carrying it upstairs is a definite two (strong) person job. But, it looks good. And its curved front, minimal design, and gloss finish all make it far more unobtrusive in a room than you might expect. The build quality is also solid and robust. The next step for us was to look at all of the products that fall within the Air conditioning category, of which we found 20 products at Argos. So we pulled together all of the prices of these products to analyse the average prices as well as finding the cheapest and most expensive options. After being massively impressed by the brand's virtually silent Duux Whisper Flex Ultimate Fan, we had high hopes this unit was going to be just as whisper-quiet, but sadly that also wasn't to be, with the North Smart proving just as loud as your average portable air con. The first thing you'll want to consider when choosing the best portable air conditioner for your home is BTU.The 7000BTU air conditioner's 20.5kg weight, whilst not insignificant, makes it far lighter the 30kg average, and means this unit is much easier to move around the home than most. Plus, its 780W power consumption is one of the lowest of all the air con units we've tested, meaning it offers lower running costs too. It's generally recommended to close doors and windows in the room that you're trying to keep cool, so if you only want to keep a small bedroom cool then you can opt for a cheaper lower BTU unit, however an open plan space will require a much more powerful appliance with a larger BTU. Portability