lookinto.co.uk Research
Published 18 July 2026. Analysis by the lookinto.co.uk Research team. Free to cite with attribution.
Most British homes still get through summer with open windows and a fan, but that is changing. Around 4.3% of homes in England, about 1.06 million, now use air conditioning, roughly double the share of 2017. With the Met Office flagging another 30°C week, we pulled together the public data on who has AC, what it costs to run at today’s electricity prices, and where ownership is heading by 2050.
Six things our analysis found
- AC use has roughly doubled since 2017. In 2017, just 2% of English households reported using a fixed or portable air-conditioning unit. By the 2023-24 English Housing Survey, analysed by the Energy Demand Research Centre, that had risen to 4.3%. The two surveys asked slightly different questions, so treat the doubling as a direction of travel rather than a precise multiple.
- There is a cooling divide. 8.2% of the highest-earning fifth of households use AC against 2.5% of the lowest-earning fifth. Households with someone aged 75 or over, the group most at risk in a heatwave, are less likely to have it (3.0%) than households with nobody that age (4.6%).
- Where you live matters. London and the East of England lead at 6.5% each; the North East sits at just 1.5%. Detached homes (6.2%) and homes built since 2000 (6.6%) are the most likely to be cooled.
- Running one is cheaper than most people think. At the July-September 2026 price cap unit rate of 26.11p/kWh, a typical 1kW portable unit costs about 26p an hour, £2.09 for an eight-hour night, and roughly £88 for a six-week summer of nightly use.
- Britain is an outlier. More than 90% of households in the US and Japan have air conditioning, and fewer than a third of households globally own one. England, at 4.3%, is near the bottom of the developed world.
- 2050 could look very different. UKERC modelling puts English AC ownership at anywhere from 5% to 32% of households by 2050. In the highest scenario, domestic cooling would add around 7GW to Great Britain’s summer evening peak electricity demand.
The numbers at a glance
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| English homes using air conditioning, 2023-24 | 4.3% (~1.06 million) | EDRC / University of Reading, EHS 2023-24 |
| English households using AC, 2017 | 2% | BEIS Energy Follow-Up Survey questionnaire, 2017 |
| AC use, highest vs lowest earning fifth | 8.2% vs 2.5% | EDRC / University of Reading, 2026 |
| Highest and lowest regions | London & East 6.5%; North East 1.5% | EDRC / University of Reading, 2026 |
| Projected AC ownership by 2050 | 5% to 32% of households | UKERC, Domestic Air Conditioning in 2050 |
| US and Japanese households with AC | More than 90% | IEA, The Future of Cooling |
| Heat-associated deaths in England, 2025 | 1,504 (2022 record: 2,985) | UKHSA heat mortality reports |
| UK temperature record | 40.3°C, Coningsby, July 2022 | Met Office |
What it costs to run air conditioning in 2026
The July to September 2026 Ofgem price cap sets electricity at 26.11p per kWh for a typical direct debit household. Portable air conditioners typically draw between 0.8kW and 1.6kW depending on size, with a common 9,000 BTU unit drawing about 1kW. That gives:
| Scenario (1kW typical portable unit) | Energy used | Cost at 26.11p/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| One hour | 1 kWh | 26p |
| One 8-hour night | 8 kWh | £2.09 |
| One heatwave week (8 hrs a night) | 56 kWh | £14.62 |
| Six-week hot summer, nightly | 336 kWh | £87.73 |
Smaller units (0.8kW) run at about 21p an hour and larger ones (1.6kW) at about 42p. Real-world costs are typically 20-40% lower once the compressor starts cycling in a cool room. We compare running costs across fans, air con and dehumidifiers in our running costs guide.
The cooling divide
The 2026 Energy Demand Research Centre analysis shows a clear pattern in who has cooling: the households most exposed to dangerous heat are the least likely to have it. Homes with someone aged 75 or over use AC at 3.0%, below the national average, despite the 85-plus age group suffering the highest heat mortality: 364 heat-associated deaths per million in England’s record 2022 summer. Single-parent families have the lowest AC use of any household type at 2.9%.
England recorded 2,985 heat-associated deaths in 2022, the year the country first passed 40°C, and 1,504 in 2025, the UK’s warmest summer on record. Retailers feel the demand spike in real time: over the June 2026 heatwave weekend, Currys reported fan sales up nearly 3,000% and air-conditioning sales up 330% week on week.
Where this is heading
UKERC’s Domestic Air Conditioning in 2050 modelling puts future English ownership anywhere between 5% and 32% of households, depending on climate, prices and behaviour. The top end would add roughly 7GW to Great Britain’s summer peak electricity load, concentrated in the evening when solar generation has faded. Separately, modelling for the Climate Change Committee suggests 92% of UK homes could fail an overheating test by 2050 if nothing changes, which we covered in our UK overheating bedrooms report.
For most households the practical question is smaller: whether a portable unit is worth it for a few weeks a year. We test that question, including the catch with single-hose units, in our guide to the best portable air conditioners and in do portable air conditioners work?
This research is free to reproduce for editorial and educational use, with a credit and link to lookinto.co.uk. Suggested citation:
lookinto.co.uk Research (2026), UK Air Conditioning Report 2026. https://lookinto.co.uk/energy/uk-air-conditioning-report/
Journalists and researchers: for a comment or the underlying workings, contact us through the site. Figures may be quoted directly.
Methodology and sources
This is a synthesis of existing public data, not new fieldwork. Ownership figures come from the Energy Demand Research Centre / University of Reading analysis of 15,846 households in the English Housing Survey 2023-24, published June 2026. The 2017 baseline is the BEIS questionnaire survey linked to the Energy Follow-Up Survey. Projections are from UKERC’s Domestic Air Conditioning in 2050 report. International comparisons are from the IEA’s The Future of Cooling. Heat mortality figures are from UKHSA’s heat mortality monitoring reports; the temperature record is from the Met Office. Running-cost calculations were made by lookinto.co.uk Research using the Ofgem price cap unit rate for 1 July to 30 September 2026 (26.11p/kWh, direct debit, including VAT) and typical portable AC power draws of 0.8-1.6kW; annualised figures are usage hours multiplied by wattage and unit rate. The 2017 and 2023-24 surveys used different question wording, so the doubling in ownership is indicative rather than exact. Robust survey data covers England only; no verified whole-UK figure exists.
FAQ
How many UK homes have air conditioning?
About 4.3% of homes in England, roughly 1.06 million, use air conditioning, based on analysis of the English Housing Survey 2023-24. That is around double the 2% recorded in 2017. No robust whole-UK figure exists, but England makes up the large majority of the housing stock.
How much does it cost to run air conditioning in the UK?
At the July-September 2026 price cap rate of 26.11p/kWh, a typical 1kW portable unit costs about 26p an hour, or £2.09 for an eight-hour night. A six-week summer of nightly use comes to roughly £88, and often less once the compressor cycles down.
Will most UK homes have air conditioning by 2050?
Probably not most, but far more than today. UKERC modelling puts ownership at between 5% and 32% of English households by 2050 depending on climate and prices. The top of that range would add about 7GW to summer evening electricity demand.
Sources
Ownership and cooling divide: EDRC, Socio-technical drivers of air conditioning adoption and use in UK homes (2026) and University of Reading. 2017 baseline: BEIS, Cooling in the UK (2021). Projections: UKERC, Domestic Air Conditioning in 2050 (2020). International: IEA, The Future of Cooling. Heat mortality: UKHSA (2026). Temperature record: Met Office. Electricity prices: Ofgem price cap, July-September 2026. Retail demand: Retail Gazette (July 2026).