Air Conditioning for UK Homes
Air conditioning for UK homes: what it costs to fit and run, the planning rules, split and portable units, the £2,500 air-to-air heat pump grant (not open yet), and cheaper ways to keep cool.
Air conditioning isn't banned (the government said so in June 2026), and an efficient split system costs about 19.9p an hour to run at its rated output. In our view the choice that matters most is whether it heats as well as cools: in England and Wales a split you use for heating is usually permitted development, where one used only for cooling needs planning permission.
A split that heats is a heat pump, and one designed to heat your whole home is an air-to-air heat pump: it can replace expensive heating (though not usually your hot water). In a home you own, replacing gas, oil, LPG or electric heating, it could qualify for a £2,500 grant in England and Wales once MCS certifies installers and the scheme opens to these systems. The Energy Saving Trust says the scheme may not cover every type.
Prices are the ones installers and the Energy Saving Trust publish; running costs come from the manufacturers' own power figures at the Ofgem price cap; the rules are read from the legislation.
Work it out for your home
Estimate your fitted cost from the published prices we found, check a quote, see what a unit costs to run on your electricity price, and find out whether your install needs planning permission.
Air conditioning cost estimator
What will your air con cost to fit?
Built from published UK installation prices, for the rooms and the house you have.
Our estimate for one room, fitted
£1,500 to £3,500
Supply and fitting. It usually takes half a day to a full day.
- One wall-mounted split, fitted£1,500 to £3,500
OVO £1,500 to £2,500 (£1,500 to £3,500 in its summary), MyBuilder £1,500 to £3,000
Other published prices
- Energy Saving Trust: air-to-air heat pump, one room£1,900
- BOXT: wall-mounted unit, fittedfrom £2,199
- Glow Green: Daikin Perfera 3.5kW, fitted (around, February 2026)£2,970
In England and Wales, a unit that heats as well is usually permitted development. A whole-home air-to-air heat pump replacing fossil fuel or electric heating, in a home you own, could qualify for the £2,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in England and Wales once MCS certifies installers and the scheme opens to these systems (the Energy Saving Trust says it may not cover every type); neither had happened when we checked. Check the planning rules.
Get quotes from up to 3 local installersAn estimate from published prices, not a quote: installers survey first. Get at least two quotes.
Air conditioning running cost
What will it cost to run?
From the manufacturers' published figures (for a split, its power worked out from Daikin's EER), at the 1 October to 31 December 2026 price cap rate unless you change it.
An hour at its rated output
19.9p
It draws 0.76kW to give 3.5kW of cooling (worked out from Daikin's EER of 4.63 for its FTXM35A / RXM35A). On the hottest days it can boost to 4.4kW of cooling and draw more.
Your summer at rated output
£48
240 hours at its rated output. An inverter split slows down once the room is cool, so it usually uses less than this; boosting on a very hot day uses more.
The energy label's year
£35
132kWh, Daikin's figure: the label counts 350 hours a year at full output and divides by the seasonal efficiency (SEER 9.25, class A+++). The label uses the same hours in every country, so treat it as a yardstick, not a UK forecast.
Electricity only, at the unit rate; the standing charge is the same whether it runs or not. Bigger rooms, sunny windows and hotter days make it work harder.
Air conditioning planning checker
Do you need planning permission?
Built on the permitted development rules for heat pumps in England and Wales, which are the rules that cover air conditioning.
Our reading of the rules
Probably permitted development: no application needed
It still has to meet the limits: an outdoor unit (with any housing) no bigger than 1.5 cubic metres, noise of no more than 37 dB a metre outside a neighbour's habitable room (bedroom or living room) window or door under the MCS planning standard, and sited to keep its effect on the building's look and the area to a minimum. Your installer should do the noise check. In England it also isn't permitted development if there's a wind turbine on the building or in the grounds, or on a scheduled monument.
In a flat or leasehold home, check your lease for whether you need the freeholder's consent too, whatever the planning answer.
Our reading, not legal advice. The government says there's no blanket rule and to check with your council, so if you're unsure, ask before you buy.
Bottom line
If you're fitting air con, fit one that heats too, and use it for heating. If you only need it for a heatwave, buy a portable.
Split, portable or air-to-air at a glance
Running costs at 26.32p per kWh. Highlighted column is the one to aim for if you're fitting.
| Split air con | Portable | Air-to-air heat pump | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitted cost | £1,500 to £3,500 for one room | No fitting | About £3,700 to £4,500 (typical costs from the Energy Saving Trust and the government) |
| Per hour at rated output (Daikin Perfera 3.5kW, Meaco Cirro 12,000 BTU) | 19.9p | 35.5p | 19.9p per 3.5kW unit |
| Heats in winter | One room, if it has a heating mode | This model: no (cooling only) | Yes, if sized for the whole home (not usually hot water) |
| Planning (England and Wales) | Needs an application if cooling only | None | Usually permitted development |
| Grant | None | None | £2,500 in England and Wales: gov.uk lists it, but it can't be claimed yet |
Sources: OVO, MyBuilder, Energy Saving Trust, Daikin, Meaco, Ofgem price cap, GPDO Class G, gov.uk Boiler Upgrade Scheme. An air-to-air heat pump is a split system designed to heat the whole home.
What it costs to fit and run
A split system for one room costs a couple of thousand pounds fitted, and pence an hour to run. A portable costs nothing to fit and more to run.
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GuidePlanning permission and who can fit it
The planning rules for heat pumps cover air conditioning. Whether yours heats as well as cools decides most of it.
Split, portable, or a heat pump
A system designed to heat the whole home is an air-to-air heat pump, with a grant to come once the scheme opens to them. If you just need a few cool nights, a portable will do.
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