Air conditioning brands

One of the biggest names in air conditioning and a favourite with UK installers, for its class-leading efficiency and wide choice of designer finishes.

Superb build quality and class-leading quiet running. The premium pick when near-silent bedroom operation matters most.

A big-four Japanese brand whose Etherea range pairs top-tier efficiency with nanoe X air purification that runs even when you are not heating or cooling.

Premium Japanese engineering with a twist: the Haori wears a changeable fabric fascia and the Daiseikai 10 is among the most efficient units you can buy.

A long-established, installer-trusted Japanese split-system brand. Quietly excellent, broad range, and no relation to Fujitsu the computer company.

Draught-free Wind-Free cooling and the best smart-home integration in air conditioning, in distinctive designs at a competitive price.

Feature-rich DUALCOOL units with a reassuring 10-year compressor warranty, plus the ARTCOOL Gallery that doubles as wall art.

A quietly excellent Japanese brand that undercuts the premium names on price while matching much of their engineering, making it a favourite value pick with UK installers.

Dependable, well-priced engineering, now part of Bosch Home Comfort Group, with a range from value units to a high-spec flagship. Its UK profile stays lower than the premium names.

The Italian specialist behind the Unico, the best-known air conditioner with no outdoor unit. First choice for flats and listed homes, though UK support is thinner than the big split brands.

A British air-treatment specialist whose MeacoCool portables put quiet running and proper UK support ahead of the lowest price, though they are still monoblocs with the usual compromises.

The value pick from one of the world's largest AC makers: strong specification for the money, plus the unique PortaSplit for homes that cannot take a fitted unit.

The Italian small-appliance maker behind the long-running Pinguino, one of the better-designed portable ranges, with genuinely efficient dual-hose models near the top.

The German AEG badge on a premium Electrolux-built portable: the ChillFlex Pro is a capable, well-finished unit that sits at the pricier end of the category.

A UK air-treatment brand that punches above its price on portables, with a Which? Best Buy to its name, though it is still a value monobloc line.

Midea's budget brand for plug-in portable cooling. Cheap, easy and backed by a 3-year warranty, but noisy like all single-hose portables, and stock vanishes in every heatwave.

Buy It Direct's own budget brand. Keen prices, a big base of real UK owners and DIY-friendly Easy-Fit wall splits, but the portable range has been wound down and standard cover is short.

The American power-tool name now on a range of portable air conditioners: sturdy, mid-priced monoblocs that do the basics well without matching the specialists.

Design-led Dutch climate brand best known for quiet fans. Its smart R290 portables look better than any rival, but UK availability is patchy and cooling power trails the premium price.

A familiar British home-appliance name, best known for kettles, whose portable air conditioners are competent budget monoblocs rather than anything specialist.

Familiar name, simple and decent 3-in-1 portables, but Honeywell only licenses the brand. The licensee's wind-down leaves UK support and stock in doubt, so buy on price with the retailer's backing.

A budget British home-appliance brand whose portables cover the basics at a low price, without the refinement or support of the specialist names.