Ads for cheap(ish) so-called “air conditioners” that look a little like small reverse cycle split system head units have been popping up all over the web. Save your money and your time — they won’t work as advertised for a very simple reason, and may pose fire safety risks.
We had our first 40-degree+ day in Adelaide for the summer this past week. Our home’s air-conditioner and solar power system not only made things more comfortable, but cost comparatively little to run. I always think back to living in Canberra as a kid, when air-con was a luxury that we couldn’t afford and have never taken what we have now for granted.
Not everyone is so lucky. There are many Australians who will swelter through summer; particularly renters whose landlords’ glorified tents they live in are impossible to keep cool economically.
So, when what appears to be a cheap solution to keeping cool during summer presents, it can be tempting.
What Do These Portable Air-Con Devices Claim?
Leading into the warmer months, there has been an explosion of ads promoting cheap air conditioning devices that look along the lines of this:
The idea is you place it wherever or hang it on a wall, plug it in and you’re all set to (in this example) cool a room up to 30 square metres in under 3 minutes through its “special technology”; which of course was developed by an independent inventor inspired by NASA space innovations.
The vendors of this particular model claim it will help cut your electricity bills up to 80% during the summer.
That’s not going to happen.
Why Won’t These Air-Conditioners Perform As Advertised?
Aside from its puny size and very limited power, what else can you notice?
Unlike a real split air-conditioning system, or even a proper portable one, any heat it does drag out of the air has nowhere else to go. It is circulated back into the room. Proper non-evaporative air-conditioning systems pump the transferred heat from the room to outside.
Just to be clear, the devices I’m focusing on don’t use evaporative technology either. Evaporative cooling works by pulling hot, dry air through water-soaked pads. As the water evaporates, it absorbs heat from the air, cooling it down. A fan then pushes the cooler, now more humid air created into a room. A room still requires ventilation (open window or door) otherwise conditions become pretty sticky quite quickly.
I had a very small “swampy” unit for my outback property and it worked well if I was sitting in front of it. That’s how it was designed to work; as a personal, not a space, cooler.
The scam devices are sold under different brand names including:
And no doubt new brands will pop up as summer drags on, to be replaced with tiny ineffective (and some, dangerous) blow heaters come the winter that I’ll write about at another point.
Impossible Energy Star Rating
It looks like the vendor of this device has awarded themselves a 10-star energy rating for their air-conditioner. The good folks at the Australian Government’s EnergyRating website certainly didn’t.
A fake Energy Star rating for an air conditioner represents a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Act. Fines can be hefty.
But no doubt this mob is not based in Australia and will just disappear if confronted, change the name of the device and start a new website.
We saw the same sort of deal with cheap, nasty (and some downright unsafe) scam “power saver” devices promising to slash electricity bills by “up to 90%”. Unfortunately, many people bought them. Thankfully, the ads seem to have largely disappeared; but these scams run in cycles and no doubt we’ll see them again because the scam works.
Mains Power Concerns
Most of these devices use battery power, or an AC adapter to run them off mains. Given the general dodginess of the products, I’d also be concerned the power adapter isn’t cleared for use here. Mains power adapters sold in Australia must legally display the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM).
RCM indicates the product meets all applicable Australian electrical safety, EMC (electromagnetic compatibility), and telecommunications regulations. If you plug something in that needs to comply and it doesn’t, if there’s a fire your insurance company could potentially deny the claim. Even if an adapter does have the mark, again given the general marketing approach, I’d have concerns it was fake.
Energy Company Bogeyman
These scam air conditioners supposedly aren’t for sale in physical stores, but I have spotted similar items on eBay. To create an added sense of urgency to part with your cash, the reason you can’t buy this one in bricks and mortar stores according to the company is:
“Once the big energy companies learned about its existence, they quickly moved to keep it off retail shelves. The manufacturer is doing everything possible to keep it available online.”
Thousands Of “Happy Users”? Doubt It.
The promo pages of course have glowing 5-star customer reviews, the authenticity of which are highly debatable. To see reviews on an independent third-party reviews site from Australians who have had the misfortune of purchasing one, here’s dozens of Trustpilot reviews of the Breezamax device, averaging 1.4 stars at the time of publishing.
An example review:
“According to the advertising, this is supposed to reduce ambient air temperatur [sic] up to 30 degrees. I ran the unit for two hours with a thermometer in front of it and the temperature stayed exactly the same the entire time. Now I’m trying to get a refund and the company is silent. No one to answer the phones or emails. Believe the reviews and pass on this scam.”
Trustpilot’s summary of all the reviews:
“Most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Customers express concerns about the product itself, indicating ambiguity in its functionality. People are generally dissatisfied with the quality, price, and marketing of the product. Consumers also report negative experiences related to refunds.”
It looks like a good way to waste $129.
While on the topic of air-conditioning, SolarQuotes has just launched an air conditioner reviews hub; weighing in on big brands such Mitsubishi Electric and Daikin — and where you can also provide your own review. Accompanying this is a new, comprehensive guide on choosing the right air-conditioning system for your home.
About Michael Bloch
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