looking for an a/c unit or ceiling fan..any ideas?

We've been considering an a/c unit for the summer because it gets quite hot in our room, but all we've seen are wall units or split, or mobile, I've not seen any for a window...Im not even sure df's parents would be ok with fitting on in a window and I know they wouldnt do one through the wall.

Our other thoughts were a ceiling fan, totally different I know but its seeming a/c could be out of the question. Its already sooo hot at night in here, its hard to sleep. there is virtually no air movement in the evenings.

So which would you all suggest? df is mostly worried about me being pregnant and getting overheated. Not to mention himself, he has problems sleeping in the summers.

We were thinking if we went with ceiling fan wed also go with dehumidifier because it apparently gets soo humid where we are..

American-style window A/C has never really caught on here.  In fact., it's only in quite recent years that A/C of any type aimed specifically at the residential market has become easy to obtain.

A ceiling fan would be a cheap and easy way to get some extra circulation of air (and much cheaper to run than an A/C unit, but you probably realized that).    Fans are widely available now in a similar range of styles to the U.S.    So long as you have a solid joist above the ceiling, installation is a fairly easy task, and in most cases you could fit one of the combination fan/lights units to the existing lighting wiring, avoiding the need for extensive rewiring (so long as you don't mind the existing wall switch turning off the whole thing and then using the seperate pull cords on the unit itself to select whichever combination of light and fan you want).

Dehumidifers are very similar to air-conditioners in their basic operation.  Given the price difference these days, if you were going to pay out for a dehumidifer, you might just as well buy one of the smaller portable A/C units. 

I've thought about the Microwave sized Window AC units that you see all over the US (and other countries) but you're right Paul, they're not really available, plus it's a hassle to install them, they look downright ugly from the outside plus dont really have much capacity (especially for the room sizes we have)

I've spoken to a few AC engineers and the ones you see nowadays in B&Q home depot and even on eBay are satisfactory units, it's the 'installation' which is important. I got a quote for a 10KW/h ( i think thats the units!!) split AC unit to go in our large living room. The unit itself was £400 odd, and the fitter wanted something like £350ish to fit it. Haven't gone ahead with it yet, we've just got our new conservatory (yippy! after ALOT of hassle with the company) and I bought a portable unit for there.

I also saw the 'Air Coolers' at B&Q and I can tell you these type of units work well! In India 'most' homes will have a 'Cooler' and although not as comfortable as AC it certainly is a great help. So if they work in June 48 degrees celsius (sp?) temps in India, i'm sure they'll work in barely reaching 28 degrees for a couple days in UK summer!

Dehumidifiers aren't really a solution to what Aeonix has mentioned as the domestic units are mainly for moisture removal - there isn't any perceptible air movement.

however, by using a AC unit for personal cooling and comfort (sleeping) and a dehumidifier for moisture removal after clothes washing and bathing and cooking - you should find an overall greater feeling of comfort.

Cheers! Dennis! West London UK!!

I'd agree that the typical dehumidifiers on sale here are more suited to something like a garage or workshop, where you just want to keep damp at bay.   They're not going to help provide a feeling of cool air circulating, which is why I suggested that with the small price differential you'd be better off with a small portable A/C unit.
Remember that a standard A/C unit not only cools the air but also dehumidifies it as well.

The only problem with any a/c unit is it has to be vented, and we're not sure his parents would be too keen on removing the window to get the proper setup..I tried to explain the window itself isnt removed, but that  the part that opens would be taken off while the a/c is being used to vent it to the outside...obviously with a setup that has the opening blocked off save the hole where the hose vents out. If we were in our own place wed do this and not care..but unfortunately we arent and wont be at least until mid-summer.

I guess what I was saying about the dehumidifier was to get a ceiling fan to circulate the air and the dehumidifier to help it from feeling so humid in the room...I realize the dehumidifier wont help it feel cooler. Hopefully though less sticky

We've actually got a portable a/c unit which I think works quite well.  Ours came with some foam padding with a hole in it that you vent the hose from the a/c to. You just open the window, stick the padding piece in it. Run supplied vent hose from a/c to hole in padding and that's it! We didn't have to do anything to our windows. It was one of the first major purchases I made my husband buy when I came over!  Downside is, your electricity bill will be a bit higher but we didn't have too much extra of an expense.

hmm, I was thinking the window needed to be removed, is it the type that swings out to the side? If we dont have to do anything to the window we can get one, we saw some at B&Q for £82, they were refurbished but at that price I think Id take a chance

£82? what are we talking about here? a cooler, fan or a/c?  lol. Our 10,000 btu a/c was £250 two summers ago.  If there was one for £82 I would get it now myself (we would love a 2nd one!)

It doesnt really get that hot here...  cant you just sleep with the window open?
I have a table top fan that gets hauled out of the cupboard for about 1 week during the summer, but the rest of the time, i dont feel a need for it.
 

I think there were about 2 weeks last summer that were really hot and sticky in London.  My ex bought a fan for my bedroom and we were good to go.  It helped drown out the city noise too.  I wouldn't bother with an AC unit for 2-3 weeks of being warm. 

We haul our out a/c about June and use it pretty much all the time until September! It gets pretty hot where we live (but not like how I grew up in the states). We live on the 2nd floor of a flat complex and live in a duplex so our living room/kitchen/dining room is on the upper level of our flat. We would both just die if we didn't have it cause we just can not stand heat at all!  We probably don't start putting it away until September (if I can get my husband to even stop using it then!)

I guess everyone has different tolerances for heat!  Coming from central CA where it's over 100+ in summers, 85F days in London weren't hot, just pleasantly warm.   

Im with Kristi and QG, it isnt hot enough here for me to bother with an A/C, just a fan is perfy.  I was here last summer and it was warm, maybe 85f like Kristi said.  A fan wouldnt bother the window or the inlaws and is much cheaper!!

It doesnt really get that hot here...  cant you just sleep with the window open?
I have a table top fan that gets hauled out of the cupboard for about 1 week during the summer, but the rest of the time, i dont feel a need for it.
 

It may not get that hot here in general but for some reason this room in particular gets soooo hot It is in part due to the fact that theres a plasma screen tv and when thats on it emits quite a bit of heat, more than I expected. Plus a comp thats always on, and other assorted electronics all in an 11x9 room or so, not sure of the exact dimensions but Im not far off. There is also no air movement at all during the nite, we have had the window open every single nite here already whether its cold out or not because the room is so stuffy.


Also, the £82 a/c was on clearance, it was a refurbished one, so originally had some problem, got sent back to the factory and made to be like new again, and then sent back to the store at a discount, but apparently no one wanted them so they are really cheap now