What are the top air conditioning solutions for my London apartment?

Last year’s hot summer was particularly unbearable for some London apartment dwellers. This made it difficult to relax at home or sleep comfortably.

All signs point to hot summers becoming the norm in the UK. So take the time to check out the best air conditioning for apartments London offers.

This way, you’ll get a head start on the summer ahead and can cope easily when the temperatures start to rise.

Best air conditioning for apartments in London

The experts at Cool You have put together the following apartment air conditioning guide to help you decide.

Different air conditioning solutions for apartments include:

1. Portable air conditioning units

Portable air conditioning units can be an affordable purchase. However, they do have several drawbacks.

For example, they can be expensive to run and take up a lot of floor space in an apartment. This can be a problem if you have limited available space. Moreover, these portable units have large hoses that need to expel air to the outside.

This means you need to open an outside window when your unit is operating. This defeats the purpose of owning an air conditioning unit. Heat and humidity will enter the home through the open window.

Another drawback of portable units is that they’re quite heavy to move around. Also, they only cool a limited amount of space. For example, if your apartment has a completely open-plan living/dining/kitchen zone, it’s unlikely that a portable unit would cool the entire area.

2. Through-the-wall air conditioning unit

A through-the-wall air conditioning unit is a type of portable unit that is fixed to an outside-facing wall.

To fix these units, you must drill three holes in the exterior walls. Two large holes need to be 162mm in diameter, and a drain hose needs to be fitted to expel water droplets.

No matter whether you run your unit in heat or cool mode, all three outlets are operational, and the dripping drain hose will likely contradict your apartment tenancy or ownership agreements.

Other drawbacks of through-the-wall air conditioners are that they usually need to be fitted by professionals and cannot be moved once in place.

The advantage of these units is that they are ‘plug and go’ air conditioning solutions and can work well for smaller homes, not necessarily London apartments.

3. The conventional air conditioning unit

A conventional air conditioning unit sits on your apartment wall, blowing out cool air. It features refrigeration pipework that runs around the interior wall and must be fitted to an outside box on your apartment balcony or garden.

This will be the cheapest option; however, most London apartment dwellers have regulations preventing any penetrations to their property’s outside walls.

Ultimately, the building owner retains ownership of the exterior of your home. Hence, you are also unlikely to have the ability to sit an external air conditioning unit on the balcony.

One significant advantage of conventional air conditioning units is that they quickly cool rooms quickly. They are more powerful and have better fans.

However, one unit won’t cool your entire home, and you must check out the cooling coverage area before making any arrangements to purchase.

This tends to be one of the most affordable cooling solutions. But only if your property ownership or tenancy agreement allows their fitment.

4. Fully internal residential air conditioning from Cool You

Chances are, if you’re living in a London apartment, you will know by now that the above air conditioning systems are not the best air conditioning solution for flats in London.

That’s why we have developed a completely internal air conditioning solution that requires no penetrations to the outside.

The Cool You internal air conditioning works very much like conventional units work.

The units can be located on the wall or in concealed cupboard units, so the wall-mounted unit or vent is the only area on display.

Refrigerated pipes run from the wall unit to a concealed location where a small internal condenser is housed.

This works much the same way as balcony-mounted external cooling condensers. They can operate several air conditioning systems.

There are many more benefits associated with fitting internal air conditioning units. You can find out more here.

Our top-quality internal air conditioning units don’t compromise quality or performance. They offer a complete cooling solution for London apartments.

Legalities of drilling through to the exterior of apartment homes

Finally, your apartment is subject to some landlord and head landlord restrictions.

One of the principal regulations is that you cannot deface external walls or impact your neighbour’s property in any way. This means you cannot drill through the walls or fit drainage pipes that will likely cause water ingress to your or a neighbour’s home.

Many existing regulations set by apartment block owners are due to fire safety requirements and compliance with building regulations.

Drilling holes in the exterior walls of your apartment could compromise the safety of all other people in surrounding homes. This is one of the reasons freehold block owners and landlords are so stringent in their requirements.

Our internal residential air conditioning solutions are ideal for London apartments. The compact condensers take up little space.

They are also a perfect solution for listed buildings, where fitting traditional air conditioning would be out of the question. Our internal solutions offer the best air conditioning for apartments London residents can opt for.

If you have any doubts, research all the details noted above!

Take time to browse our website to find out more, or give us a call today and speak to one of our expert team of advisers.