The UK isn’t historically known for its blazing summers, but this long-held reputation of grey skies and rain is now being challenged.
Summer 2025 was the hottest on record, according to the Met Office, with the average temperature from 1 June to 31 August standing at 16.10°C.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Households have started taking action to keep themselves cool in the heat. Sales of air conditioning units have jumped in recent years, but how much does it cost to install and run them? Here’s everything you need to know.
How much does it cost to install air conditioning in the UK?
Though it is common for commercial properties in the UK to have air conditioning, it is incredibly rare for domestic homes.
Fewer than 5% of homes in the UK have air conditioning, a government report published in 2021 found – a tiny proportion when compared to countries like the United States where around 90% of homes have AC, according to the World Economic Forum.
That said, Checkatrade says the demand for air conditioning installation in UK homes is on the rise.
The home improvements and repairs platform said installations went up by 63% between July and September this year, compared to the same three months in 2024, as more households look to keep cool amid an increase in heatwaves.
The average cost to install air conditioning is now around £2,270, according to Checkatrade. This includes the upfront cost of a 12,000 British Thermal Unit (BTU) wall-mounted unit (up to £890) and installation costs (up to £1,380).
Of course, the exact cost depends on the condition and size of your home.
If you want to get a ballpark estimate for how much installing air conditioning could cost you, air con manufacturer Daikin has an online calculator that can help.
How much does it cost to run air conditioning?
Most air conditioners work by taking warm air from inside your home and cooling it down by running it over coils filled with refrigerant. The cooler air is then directed back into your home while the excess heat is absorbed and directed out of the room.
The effect of running your AC is that the indoor climate becomes cooler, but the process takes up a fair amount of energy.
Hamid Salimi, residential product manager at Daikin UK, told MoneyWeek that “many factors can impact the cost of air conditioning, including the size of the property and rooms, location of the unit and the type of heating and cooling requirements of the home”.
However, one way to work out how expensive it is for you to run your air conditioning is by finding out the wattage of your unit and multiplying it by your energy tariff.
According to the current Ofgem energy price cap, the unit rate of electricity costs 26.35p per kWh for the period of October to December 2025.
Using the example of a wall-mounted AC unit that has a wattage of 2kW, we can estimate that it will cost around 52.7p per hour to run that unit.
However, the above example is purely illustrative and your individual circumstance will likely differ.
For broader advice on how to cut costs, we look at 14 ways to save on your energy bill in a separate article.
Can you install air conditioning in an old property?
Even if you live in an old home, the chances are you can probably install air conditioning in it.
However, Salimi says that, while air conditioning can be installed in almost any home, there are "some considerations that may need to be addressed, particularly regarding insulation".
He told MoneyWeek that in order for your air conditioner to work efficiently, your home has to be well-insulated to prevent as much heat from escaping as possible.
“A suitably qualified heating engineer can advise you on what needs to be done in your home for it to be appropriate for a heat pump system. This might include upgrading the insulation of your walls and roof,” Daikin adds.
Will installing air conditioning increase the value of my home?
Analysis by Checkatrade and Zoopla found that having air conditioning in the home you’re selling can add around £4,925 to a property’s value if it is sold during the summer – much more than the £2,270 that it costs to install on average.
Checkatrade says this data suggests installing air conditioning could be a smart investment for property owners as the UK faces ever-hotter summers.
Is a portable air conditioning unit better than a fully installed one?
Domestic air conditioning comes in two main categories, fully installed air conditioners and portable ones.
Fully installed AC units are the ones that you will most likely be most familiar with as these are the type that you find in places like hotel rooms, or in homes in the US. These are installed and fitted directly into the home and cannot be easily moved.
The merit of having a fully installed AC system fitted is that they are cheaper to run in the long term, offer better cooling for larger spaces, and are quieter.
However, fully installed units have high upfront costs, cannot be moved or replaced easily, and require professional upkeep.
Meanwhile, portable air conditioners are what they say on the tin. They operate in the same way as fully installed units, but can be moved around or stored when they are not needed.
The upsides of having a portable air conditioner is that they are cheap to buy, are not permanently installed in your home and can effectively cool smaller spaces.
The downsides are that they tend to be more expensive to run in the long term, they struggle to serve large spaces, and can be quite loud.
Salimi at Daikin told MoneyWeek that “homeowners must make decisions based on their own needs".
He added: “Portable air conditioning offers cooling only, while fitted air conditioning offers homeowners an alternative to a traditional central heating system, providing a longer-term solution to help future-proof the temperature of their homes, heating and cooling their properties whatever the weather."
Salimi said a fitted system “allows you to control the climate room-by-room, helping maintain the perfect temperature whatever the season, offering a longer-term cooling and heating solution for year-round comfort”.
“This is not possible with a portable air conditioning, which is solely used for cooling,” he added.
Help you can get with installation costs
While the government doesn’t offer a grant towards the installation of air conditioning units, you may be able to get help with the costs of an air-to-air heat pump.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) has been expanded to include £2,500 grants for people wanting to install air-to-air heat pumps in their homes. The grants are available to all households in England and Wales.
Air-to-air heat pumps work like air con units, but can provide both cold air in the summer and hot air in the winter. Installation costs are typically £4,500 in flats or small homes.
Martin McCluskey, minister for energy consumers, said: “With heat pumps more popular than ever, we want to make sure as many people as possible can benefit, especially those in flats or small homes without central heating, so they have greater choice when upgrading their property.”
Air-to-air heat pumps don’t usually provide hot water for your taps and showers like more traditional air-to-water heat pumps.
-
Parents turn to Junior ISAs pre-Budget – how JISAs could reduce inheritance tax billsRumours of Budget tax hikes have spurred more parents to open Junior ISAs for their children and grandchildren, data suggests. How can they be used to reduce an inheritance tax bill?
-
Can you rely on artificial intelligence for financial advice?AI still has plenty to learn when it comes to financial planning, research suggests
