LONDON, July 8, 2026, 19:01 BST
- Meaco’s Cirro 12,000 BTU cooling-only unit is out of stock and Meaco says it will be available again in April 2027.
- John Lewis priced the 12,000 BTU Cirro heater at £539.99. Pre-orders are sold out. Stock is due July 14.
- The Met Office said some areas in England could see highs of 35-36°C on Thursday and Friday. The heat is set to stick around into next week.
- The Telegraph pointed to independent tests showing the Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU used 2.95 kWh and cost 77p in a cooling test, while the ProBreeze used 0.64 kWh at 17p.
Meaco’s Cirro portable air conditioner sold out, showing more than a typical jump in sales during a heatwave. The move is a test for UK cooling demand, which now seems to stretch beyond old expectations. Suppliers have little buffer left when warm weather hits ahead of their restocks.
Meaco’s website listed the 12,000 BTU Cirro cooling-only unit as sold out at £519.99, next stock expected April 2027. Ideal Home said the same air conditioner was briefly back on sale Wednesday before selling out again. Meaco said other Cirro models could return for short periods this week.
The weather is driving sales right now. The Met Office said England and Wales would see temperatures above 30°C, with some English spots forecast to hit 35°C on Thursday and 36°C on Friday. Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree said a “straightforward end” to the warm weather isn’t coming, with high pressure set to stick around for much of next week. Met Office
| Supply point | Product | Price | Availability signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meaco direct | Cirro 12000 BTU cooling-only | £519.99 | Out of stock; back on sale April 2027 |
| Meaco direct | Cirro 12000 BTU cooling & heating | £539.99 | Expected soon, currently sold out, not taking pre-orders |
| John Lewis | Cirro 12000 BTU cooling & heating | £539.99 | Pre-orders filled; open to buy July 14 |
| Meaco range page | Cirro family | £519.99-£659.99 | Unavailable; can’t reserve |
Strain is clear in the table. Meaco has list prices, but right now the main cooling-only model is out of stock in the heat. At Currys PLC (LON:CURY), AO World PLC (LON:AO), and John Lewis, that means shoppers find empty shelves, stock alerts, or end up buying something else. Meaco doesn’t get an easy brand win here.
Meaco faces a risk: shoppers are searching for its brand, but other retailers or rivals could make the sale. Ideal Home reported Meaco founder Chris Michael said orders are already running 40% above 2025 levels. But the gap now shows the buying cycle didn’t match the weather cycle.
It’s more complicated than a sell-out run suggests. The Telegraph’s Greig Scott, who works as a scientist and engineer, tested nine portable air conditioners at home and said he was “not convinced” they fit every home in a heatwave. In his tests, the ProBreeze OmniCool 12000 BTU used 0.64 kWh to cool a room from 30°C to 20°C. The Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU needed 2.95 kWh for the same result. The Telegraph
| Measure from tests/pages | ProBreeze OmniCool 12000 BTU | Meaco Cirro 12000 BTU | Dreo 7500 BTU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test energy to cool 30°C to 20°C | 0.64 kWh | 2.95 kWh | Not cited |
| Test cost at 26p/kWh | 17p | 77p | Not cited |
| Test time | A bit less than 1 hour | 2 hours | Not cited |
| Noise cited | Not cited | 45 dB from official super-quiet mode | 39.1 dB from tests |
Meaco continues to push noise as its main selling point. The range page says Cirro hits 45 dB in Super Quiet mode, about half what older Meaco portables produced. Some inverter models on the site also claim up to 35% less energy use. But a shopper running into a sold-out £519.99 unit is focused on comfort right now, cost, the hassle of hose setup, and if a cheaper fan could work instead.
Set-up matters. Scott said you need a tight hose seal to keep warm air out of the room. He said dual-hose air conditioners are best for dealing with negative pressure, but they’re hard to get in the UK and EU because of energy rules.
The UK Health Security Agency has put amber heat-health alerts in place for the East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. Yellow alerts are out for the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West. The alerts start at 9 a.m. on July 8 and last until 9 p.m. on July 12.
That holds up demand but shifts how people buy. If the heat goes on next week and cooling-only supply stays off the market until 2027, buyers turn to heater-combi units, window kits, fans, and evaporative coolers, or any retailer still offering delivery before bedrooms get unbearable.
Source note: Yahoo UK couldn’t be retrieved, so nothing above uses that mirrored page.
