London gets hot in the summer, which is unfortunate, as we live up to Europe’s reputation for not having air conditioners. It’s not simply that apartments don’t come installed with them, but that it’s almost impossible to buy them, and most solutions available are overpriced and subpar. Even if you do have air conditioning, the problem with them is that you’re fundamentally cooling an entire apartment or house when you might just want to cool yourself if you’re working from home. You just want that easy comfort in the heat, and you don’t necessarily want to rack up the electricity bills to cool down rooms you’re not in or spaces you don’t need.

That’s where the Morphy Richards S1 Pro Ductless personal air conditioner comes in. It does all the features you’d expect on a Dyson fan in one — it dehumidifies if you need it, can serve as a vent-free fan, it oscillates in all directions, and has smart-home connectivity — but most importantly, it’s a personal air conditioner. Namely, there’s a container of water in the base of the unit, and when it’s warm, it uses this to cool you down rapidly with the press of a button. And it works.

I’ve tested this device throughout the hot summer months, and whether I use it at my desk or point it at my bed, it has instantly cooled me down — to the point where I usually don’t need to use it for more than 10 minutes at a time. It gets icy, and it is a lifesaver on hot days. You can adjust the air flow, though, and the slower modes use less water and produce less noise, particularly when using it in the bedroom. Also, its four castor wheels and long cable make it easy to roll away when not in use.

The critical thing to keep in mind, though, is that this is not like a standard air conditioner. Instead of cooling a whole room with the windows closed, Morphy’s Air Conditioner works to cool you and anyone within a six-foot radius, and it works best with the windows open. When I heard about it, I was initially skeptical that this would be more effective than a premium fan, such as those from Dyson, which now often come with a cooling element. In short, it’s nothing alike. The cooling component in those fans makes their output cooler than that of a standard fan, but this immediately produces icy air in a direct jet.

You can also control it through the smart home app, with the included remote, or directly on the front touchscreen surface. Compared to Dyson, this software doesn’t pair as easily with Google or Apple’s smart home systems, and it also lacks the same level of airflow control fidelity. You can’t adjust the level of swivel, for example, just whether it does. However, this isn’t a problem, as all the essential controls are on the device and are easy to use.

It’s not yet available in the United States, and costs £700 in Britain ($950 USD). That’s a lot of money, even compared to a Dyson. However, it’s significantly cheaper than installing a complete air conditioning system; and nothing this compact can cool you as quickly or as cold as the S1.