Igenix IG9703 Portable Air Cooler with Remote Control and LED Display, 3 Fan Speeds with Oscillation Function, 7 Hour Timer and 6 Litre Water Tank for Home or Office Use, White

Working from home means a bit more flexibility...but no office air conditioning. This evaporative cooler cools my office (4m x 3.5m) quite well, does not take up much space (shorter than my desk and a footprint the size of a biscuit tin), and is pretty quiet. Take a look at the photo- the "indoor" reading on the thermometer on top is the temperature on top (24.5degC) and the "outdoor" reading is the air exiting the front (21.5degC)- 3degC cooling as it passes through is pretty good and it does cool my whole office down by quite a bit more than this over time (exact performance will vary with temperature, humidity, if the window is open etc). If you need a quicker fix, sitting in front of it can actually make you feel cold. Obviously it is not an airconditioner, so it won't make your room as cold, as quickly as one would- but this is around £300 cheaper than a small model, only uses 55W and does not need a pipe out the window.It comes with ice packs to make the water tank cooler, but I have not needed them yet (and, to be honest, I doubt they will help much, as this cools by evaporating water, which takes a lot more heat that that needed to warm up the water a few extra degrees), and the 6L tank means it is not too heavy to move around, even when full (although you may want to empty it when carrying it upstairs!). It has a range of fancy functions to simulate a natural breeze, turn itself off after a few hours etc, but the fan and the cooling work well, and that is what I really care about.The only fault I have is with the instructions, which read a bit like they were written by a non-first language English speaker, and obscure a couple of important points- nowhere does it state that you need to have the humidification function turned on for it to work as an evaporate cooler, and that the button labelled "mode" in the instructions with 3 dots "..." on the remote turns this on/off (as well as the 3 drips button on the main device)Also make sure you don't remove the water tank when the power is on. Again the instructions are not clear and suggest it is possible to remove it 1/3 of the way while on. After a couple of messes, I think turning it off and waiting two minutes is a better plan (no further issues)

In the past we have installed and used portable and fixed air conditioning in our home both in the UK and abroad. When the weather is hot you really appreciate it even if the cost of running it can be expensive. Since moving into our bungalow due to health issues we’ve considered installing A/C year after year but managed to get by without. However over the past two years, as my health has deteriorated the need has grown exponentially. We know the upside but the downside is the amount of work fitting one and for what, a few days here and there.As temperatures soared again into the upper 30’s out of shear desperation we bought the Igenix to help us get by and this is what we think about it.It’s not, as many have previously said, an air conditioning unit.It is a cooling fan and it really does cool. Not nearly as much as an air conditioning unit but it can chill the air in front of it if you are close enough.It’s noisy. Not too noisy but enough to distract you. Definitely not as quite as our Dyson Cool but that has 10 speeds. It might prove too noisy for light sleepers.It has numerous functions all of which are useful. Basic 3 speed control and optional lateral moving blades. 3 Modes allow timer, random speeds and normal.It can be operated with or without water (and ice packs) however, despite the advert making things sound better than they are, ice packs shouldn’t be used when you select humidifier mode (details hidden in small print on page 5 of the instructions manual).This confuses many users who don’t understand if the additional cooling of the water with ice pack is being utilised when the humidifier is switched off.If the manufacturers clarified this point there would be less confusion and complaints.In my opinion the water is used but it depends entirely on ambient temperature evaporating it in which case it may not be as effective as when the humidifier is switched on.The blue LED lights are bright, another negative towards night use and when the water level light blinks you might be forgiven for thinking it’s the emergency services in your room.Overall the unit is very, very good. It’s carefully designed with good detail towards accessing the water container, controls and storing cable.Simple features such as movable front vanes to direct the air up and down or closed to protect from dust. Serviceable air, dust filters and water filter.The fan is very effective for such a compact device however, as stated earlier, the cooling effect diminishes over a short distance.I’ve read numerous complaints about its lack of performance but that’s unfair when you recall it’s not an air conditioning unit.Despite the adverts I don’t think it was ever designed as a room cooler. As a personal cooler it works exceptionally well.