See comments for reasons to NOT buy this product.
I saw this on TV and thought it was a nifty idea, so took a look at it.
It’s basically an old-fashioned “swamp cooler” that cools air through the evaporation of water. The temperature of dry air can be dropped significantly through the evaporation off liquid water to water vapor. This can cool air using much less energy than refrigeration. In extremely dry climates, evaporative cooling of air has the added benefit of adding more moisture, which makes the air more comfortable for building occupants.
This works great in areas like the desert where the air is very hot and dry, and doesn’t work well in places like Florida and the South, where the air is already very humid.
To use the arctic air, you just fill it with water and plug it in. The unit pulls in warm air and produces cool air within a small area around you. Pretty simple. No Freon or other toxic refrigerants. You’ll also save money by cooling the space you are in, rather than the entire house.
My only reservation is that it’s made from plastic. Customer service couldn’t tell me the type of plastic, so I don’t know if it outgassed or not. If anyone has tried one of these, would you comment and let us know?
And a caveat: if you are going to use this, please use purified water as ordinary tap water would evaporate chlorine and other volatile chemicals into the air.
[link not given because even visiting site produces spam]
Bought artic air device it’s a price of junk sorry wasted my money
Thanks for letting us know.
Hi Debra,
I am an environmental HVAC contractor. That would be a high risk for mold if it’s not cleaned daily. Also because of it’s small size, it may not cool well enough to make any significant difference, unless it’s blowing right on you. Only works in dry climates. I would also check to see if it contains any toxic biocides.
Question for Vince, the hvac contractor – comment above. I saw this (a deluxe model I think) so a little different but from same company – on HSN. They said you can charge it with a usb charge or power bank so you can use it if have no electricity. I do live in Florida and not happy that you cannot take out the container that you put water in to easily clean it; however I would love to have something that would just blow some cold air on my face if we lose power due to a hurricane. I live in a condo and am not allowed to have a generator. So what do you think – would it help at all in Florida during an emergency situation like a power outage? And if answer is yes, would you know what power bank or USB port would work with it? Thank you.
Since I posted the above comment/question – I have been on HSN website reading reviews of the above, and most of the reviews say that it is a piece of junk, one or two people like it. What a shame; I thought something like this would be good to have when the power goes out during a hurricane; just to have some cold air blowing on my face (since it worked with a usb charge). If anyone knows of anything that would work that is a good product – that would work when power goes out, please reply. Thanks.
I thought it was a great idea too. I’m sorry it doesn’t work as good as it looks. Thanks for posting.
On an added note, a while ago I saw a TV ad for this product, and took a brief look at their website. I decided not to buy it, and thought that was that. But immediately I was flooded with a barrage of junk mail, both from this company and a daily increasing volume of creepy & scam emails of all kinds. So I advice against even visiting their website!