What part of the country do you live? What type of equipment do you have now? Size of the bungalow in sq. ft. / how old is it?

How is the bungalow constructed? Do you have good insulation?

Need more information. Did your old house have AC? Does the new house have AC? Where are you located? How big is the "bungalow"? One floor or two? Basement? Attic?

Portable ACs come in two types, two tube and one tube. The latter is most common and sucks air out of the home to cool the condensing coil. The former is harder to find and has ducts to take in outside air and exhaust it. They will serve you better. I am not saying that a portable unit is the answer.

1. I live near to Birmingham, West Midlands, UK - urban area. I have a floor fan, a table top fan and 1 portable air unit.

Unsure of size of bungalow. It is small with 2 bedrooms, conservatory, kitchen, bathroom and 1 lounge. It is a 1970's bungalow. It was built with breezeblocks and bricks and is well insulated. It has 1 floor. No basement, just 1 small loft.

I had thought about a fixed unit on a dwarf wall in my conservatory with a unit outside. I do not want to put hoses through a window as I have much trouble with bees and wasps coming into my conservatory through the windows.

We all have air conditioning in our cars and I cannot understand why there are not many residential properties that have AC. I definitely need something to survive in this very hot weather.

I don't quite understand the bee problem- if you are using the A/C, won't the window be closed? There should not be room for anything to fly in around the entry/exit for the unit.

In the West Midlands, eh? You're conversing, jenkerrison, with people who live in very hot summer climates. In the West Midlands of England, fans should be adequate for the few periods of hot weather you have there.

There would only be a bee problem if I was using a hose which would go through an open window. I was told that would have to happen. I am not technically minded and do not know the ins and outs of the workings of AC!

I can assure you that even in the old UK it does get very hot and I simply do not like the hot weather! When I lived in my larger house I could have a little respite by going into our cellar and basement - that is not an option now!

jenkerrison, I'm curious how high of temps you're experiencing. Today's high where I am was 99°F (37.2°C). The pattern continues for next 3 days, then we drop to 97°F and 94°F (maybe).

single family house? Not attached too any other units? Like a row house? So it has 4 exterior walls?