Duux air conditioning
A Dutch design brand whose smart, efficient portables look better than anything else on the UK market. Here is where Duux delivers, where it falls short, and what to buy while its UK range is in limbo.
Stylish smart portables with a UK availability problem
Duux, a blend of "Dutch" and "luxury", is a Netherlands climate brand with more than twenty years in air treatment. In the UK it is best known for its award-winning Whisper Flex fans; this page covers its air conditioners only. Those are portable monoblocs, there are no Duux wall-mounted splits, so everything here is a plug-in unit you buy and set up yourself.
The current line is the North Smart, a 3-in-1 portable that heats and dehumidifies as well as cools, with the best smart control we have seen on a portable: the Duux app adds scheduling and energy monitoring, plus Alexa and Google voice control. Every Duux portable runs on low-GWP R290 refrigerant and carries an energy class A cooling label, and the styling is comfortably the nicest in its category.
The catch is availability and value. Duux's own UK store currently lists no air conditioners at all: the UK flagship North 9K Smart is marked discontinued at source, and the larger 12K to 18K North Smart sizes sold in Europe have not reached UK retail. Third-party retailers still hold North 9K stock, but you are buying a run-out model at a premium price whose cooling power trailed cheaper rivals in UK testing.
Availability correct as of August 2026. Duux's UK air conditioner range is in flux, so check what is on sale before you commit.
Strengths and watch-outs
Strengths
- ✓Design-led portables with proper smart control: app, scheduling, Alexa and Google
- ✓Low-GWP R290 refrigerant and an energy class A cooling label across the range
- ✓The North adds genuine heating and dehumidifying modes, so it earns its space year-round
- ✓A strong UK reputation for quiet fans and responsive customer service
Watch-outs
- !UK testing found the North 9K slower and less powerful than cheaper rivals, at roughly twice the price of the best-value alternative
- !Owners report compressor noise at night despite the "silent" billing
- !Duux's own UK store currently lists no air conditioners; stock is third-party only
- !Portables only, no fitted splits, and a 24-month registered warranty is unremarkable
The North 9K Smart, in brief
The North 9K Smart (DXMA22UK) is the only Duux air conditioner UK buyers are likely to find. It is a 9,000 BTU portable with heating, dehumidifying and fan modes, R290 refrigerant, a claimed 40 to 50 dB noise level and a 24-month warranty (12 months as standard, doubled when you register at duux.co.uk). It looks and feels a class above rival portables, and the app control is genuinely useful rather than a gimmick.
It is a qualified recommendation all the same. The one full UK test found it cooled more slowly and less powerfully than cheaper 9K rivals, at roughly twice the price of the best-value unit in its class, and owners in Europe repeatedly say the compressor is more audible at night than the "silent" marketing suggests. With the model now discontinued at source, we have paused our full review; support and spares depend on Duux honouring the warranty on run-out stock. Its older Blizzard portables have already left UK retail the same way.
If you want a portable you can buy with confidence today, start with Meaco's MeacoCool range or Midea's portables, then use our buying guides to match the unit to your room before you spend.
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Pick a portable with stock behind it
A portable suits some rooms and not others, and Duux stock is thin right now. Our buying and cost guides help you choose well before you spend.