Room coolers

My first choice would be a fan - that can make a big difference to how you feel and much cheaper to run than anything that actually cools the air. In tropical countries and many other warm places, ceiling fans are as standard as lights. But a good fan on a stand that can rotate can work well unless the temperatures are very high.
Daughter who lives in a new house got a fan for bedroom and it was sufficient for them to sleep comfortably.

Many air purifiers blow out cold air. A fan doesn't cool the whole room and stirs the dust about...not good for chests and allergies.

We bought one from here 2 years ago, it’s great.
probreeze.com/collections/air-coolers

I have a new build and agree with then holding heat in summer. I had insulating cellular perfect fit blinds fitted and they do a sterling job. Upstairs I have those blinds with wooden plantation shutters on top. Perfect fit do not need any drilling

I used to have an air cooler in my last house, it was reasonably efficient, I gave it away when I moved and prefer the blinds plus a fan to push air through the house when outside is cooler than inside. The air cooler was very big and I did not want the storage problem. It is basically a fan sending air through a water-saturated substrate, which might be straw

Place a bottle of frozen water in front of a large electric fan.

I live in a new build in Spain. We didn't notice too much heat last year in the summer but - we always open our windows about 5 am to let the cooler air blow through, close about 12am - we have ceiling fans in the living room and bedrooms, usually on a timer for two hours so we can sleep - we have awnings over the south facing windows which we lower as soon as the sun moves round - last if the window glass feels hot we also drop the blinds. The walls stay cool, it's the windows that cause the trouble.

As well as having a portable fan in a couple of rooms, we keep the curtains and windows closed at the back of the house until the sun has passed around to the front.
I open the front windows in the morning and close them as well as the curtains at lunch before the sun hits them. It’s hugely effective in reducing solar gain. A case of prevention being better than a cure.

They had to re-open a coal fired power station because so many were using fans and air conditioning! Ironic that to reduce carbon we insulate better but then in the heat we increase carbon. How did they manage years ago? Open windows, keep curtains drawn, get a punka wallah - am I allowed to say that, apologies if not, no offence meant. Been thinking of harnessing the dog to a treadmill that operates a fan 😂😂

I bought an air cooler fan on Amazon.. It has a water compartment that you put frozen blocks (provided) into.. It's free standing on wheels and I found it very effective last year...
there's one on there for£54 atm

We bought an Xpelair floor standing fan 3 years ago for our living room . Brilliant!! Loved it so much we bought another for upstairs. About £70 from Amazon. Worth every penny.

25Avalon
You ask how did we manage years ago
We lived in houses that were built by people who understood air flow.

"Which" have just produced an article on Best Buy air conditioners. I bought one last year but only use it on days when it is so hot that I simply can't move. You really need to have a hole drilled through your wall for the hose to blow out the hot air.
Usually my tower fan is all I need, it definitely makes sleeping easier. I've got wooden floors so dust blowing about isn't such a problem for me.

Also I have some of those slim, concertina type blinds attached to my windows, they insulate pretty well.

My sister fills a hot-water bottle with cold water, and says it works wonders for cooling her down in the hot weather.

Insulation is good, open any windows on the shady side of the house in the day and wherever you can at night and keep windows and curtains shut on the sunny side

I open windows all day and close blinds/curtains when the sun is shining directly in and open everything in the evening. Worked when I lived in the south of Italy and works for me now 🙂☀️

If you use a fan, it works really well if you have it blowing hot air out of the window when inside is hot and reverse it in the evening to blow colder air in when outside is cold.

MerylStreep

25Avalon
You ask how did we manage years ago
We lived in houses that were built by people who understood air flow.

Also freezing in winter and air flow caused by air bricks into room and also via open fireplaces. A lot of people blocked their draughty air vents and stuffed something up their chimney, downside to that were damp homes

It is not about air flow these days. It is about warmth being held in highly insulated walls and double glazed windows. We can all create air flow but need to be careful about how we do that. Air temp outside needs to be lower than inside and then open windows and doors and place a good fan so that it sucks cooler air in to displace the warmer air

Also similar wrt lofts, loft hatch open at night will allow warmer air to rise up and out through loft vents. This only works if loft is cooler than the warm air as warm air rises

We bought one of these 5 years ago (or at least one very similar from the same company). It is fantastic! We only use it when the weather is very hot and usually only have to put it on for half an hour before we go to bed. Our room has a large south facing window and is up in the eaves of the house, so it gets very very hot!
www.amazon.co.uk/Inventor-Chilly-9-000BTU-Portable-Conditioner/dp/B07JQJBJG7/ref=dp_prsubs_sccl_1/260-5031620-2141941?psc=1&pf_rd_p=8cd14572-767f-4cb0-962b-330511e4fc43&pf_rd_r=FCSXST0ZGH9MZK4A8QCR&pd_rd_wg=Yxpyu&pd_rd_i=B07JQJBJG7&pd_rd_w=OHwpJ&content-id=amzn1.sym.8cd14572-767f-4cb0-962b-330511e4fc43&tag=gransnetforum-21&pd_rd_r=5adbbf58-4fe8-497c-b794-00b523fe6288

Thanks for all your suggestions. At least the dog is happy on his cool mat.
I’ve got lots to work with there and with give all the ideas a go.

MerylStreep

25Avalon
You ask how did we manage years ago
We lived in houses that were built by people who understood air flow.

Victorian and Edwardian builders fitted sash windows - hot air out at the top, cool in at the bottom.

Gelisajams

Thanks for all your suggestions. At least the dog is happy on his cool mat.
I’ve got lots to work with there and with give all the ideas a go.

I can’t sleep with a fan on, but I use dog cool mats for my bed. I’ve got two, I put them in the fridge so they are really cold, and alternate them at night. They are brilliant.

biglouis beat me to it!!
I put frozen freezer packs in front of the fan...

When we had a refurbishment of the house about 8 years ago, we had a ceiling fan installed in the bedroom. Thoroughly recommended. Our room faces West and although we close the blinds and curtains in the afternoon, the room still gets very warm. Don't think I'd manage these hot nights without it. Wish we'd had one fitted in the lounge as well.