[MovedGoalPosts]

I have a couple of the "portable" aircon units. These were Homebase branded, but similar are available in places like B&Q. They are single units, and so need the 4" hose that you dangle out of a window to exhaust the excess hot air. There is a small bottle inside which can collect condensate, but when normally running these units do exhaust excess moisture via the window hose. We used a similar unit in an office recently, sticking the hose up a redundant chimney.

They work OK, but are noisy, and that is the biggest draw back of this type of unit. You wouldn't want one of them running, even on slow speed, in the same room when you want to sleep, or even what TV quietly. Of course they aren't that cheap to run either. They do have basic timers to enable them to start up in a few hours, or shut down, and also thermostat. Variable speeds can be set to the fans too.

Don't confuse these true aircon units with the cheap and nasty chiller fans that rely on evaporation of water / ice. Of course even these all in one units aren't aircon, but more comfort cooling, as true aircon can balance temperature and humidity.

If you want something that will be quieter, and more overall efficient, you'll have to bite the bullet for a split unit system, ie a chiller fan box wall or ceiling mounted in the room, connected by pipes to a second unit you locate externally. Of course such systems normally have to be fully installed.