It was hard enough to buy fans last year in summer, this year it'll be harder. Either order some now or look up how to open your windows properly so they let in cool air but vent out hot air. If your windows aren't built for it, find a way to bodge it.

If you're not bothered by a bit of noise, get yourself one of these bad boys. Cold air sinks, so a really beefy floor fan will keep you cooler than anything bar an air conditioner.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/hf-45b-18-industrial-floor-fan-220-240v/754hy

>>27418
Cheap at £35 it'll increase your electricity bill by as about as much as keeping yourself warm with an electric heater in winter.

>>27418
How noisy are we talking about? I can't seem to get a decibel spec but don't want something that'll piss off the neighbours.

Get a swamp or evaporative cooler off banggood or somewhere. They use evaporation of water to cool the air and they can make a real difference in dry heat.

>>27419
It's only about 100w so it's not nearly as much as a heater. At least not until the day everyone has a smart meter and the power companies are able to start charging residential customers for reactive power

>>27420
I have one thats very similar it's not that loud, but it took a few nights of having it on before I got used to it.

>>27421
What are the downsides to evaporative coolers, then? I've always fucking hated summer even with a desk fan blowing whenever I'm inside but I've never been anywhere close to affording any kind of proper aircon.

>>27420

You're not going to bother the neighbours, but you'd need to turn the telly up a couple of notches. I'd guess at about 50dBa on the lowest setting and 70dBa on the highest setting. It's a low-pitched thrum from the impeller and a I need a humour transplant of air noise, so it's not terribly intrusive.

>>27419

It'll cost about 10% as much as a one-bar electric heater, no more than 2p an hour at full power even if you're on a crap tariff.

>>27420
>>27422
They're effective at moving air, but everybody knows those silver floor ones are noisy cunts, so don't expect a quiet, modern motor or fan design.

Desk fan design these days seems to be more concerned about the depth of the blades. I guess this is a balancing act - no doubt it's unpopular with consumers, who'd rather everything be tiny and wafer thin, but it's intuitive that a deeper fan is more efficient and thus quieter. I'm a very picky sleeper, but during the hottest last summer I could literally only just hear my desk fan (a Meaco 650, cost me about £60) pointed at me at night in bed.

I put up with one of the attached for years, and a variety of the vertical column ones, and I really fucking wish I had spent a little bit more a little bit sooner.

>>27424
>and a I need a humour transplant of air noise
Haven't seen that one in ages, and can't guess it. Someone help me out.

>>27427

An onomatopoeic word for air movement, or for the context of the word filter, the sound of a joke flying over one's head.

I bought a few USB clip-on fans last year, and they were surprisingly good.
Like https://www.amazon.co.uk/IREENUO-Rechargeable-Operated-Portable-Personal/dp/B07CWPYS5M - I just searched if USB battery fan.
They go for quite a while on battery, and if you just want to blow the sweat off, they're great. Obviously no use for doing a whole room.
Wondering about a ceiling fan for the bedroom this year, the Mrs likes her pedestal fan, but it's annoying.

>>27423
The main downside is that they only work in dry heat. On a humid day they're useless to worse than nothing.
Otherwise, the small cheap ones you can get from china for £20-30, I really don't know how good they'll be, just for the fact that they probably can't physically move enough air through them to be useful. There's some bigger units around £100 that may be a better but then it's ending up being quite expensive for something that's only going to be needed a few days or weeks a year.

I wonder how hard it would be to turn a car A/C compressor into a room-sized air conditioner. You'd need some sort of motor to drive it, but I suppose a 500W electric motor should do the job.

It'd be more the supporting pipework, and putting the radiator mounts in appropriate places, and I'm no plumber.

>>27430
How humid are we talking? We don't get real humidity here, do we?

Anyway, I am effectively non-functional for ~2 months of the year when the heat arrives. If there's something out there for shy of £100 that can help, it's getting fucking bought.

>>27431
I've often pondered this. I'm happy to get stuck in with DIY but mounting radiators on a wall two storeys up is a bit beyond me.

>>27432
Not him but I reckon this comes down to where abouts you live. Near any rivers or lakes you will already be aware of the humidity difference, fucked if you get hot-rain like we had last year.

I just copied >>27425 and ordered a Meaco 650. Seems to have rave reviews and will hopefully be enough for one person.