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They might seem fairly mundane, but two products recently caught my eye: a portable airconditioning unit and a portable fridge-freezer. So what about them made me stop in my tracks? Well, both these products are from a brand called EcoFlow, which is producing some really innovative products in the portable power space.
Its new portable air conditioner can cool or heat a 10sq m space in just five minutes, on battery power alone for up to eight hours straight. And its portable fridge-freezer can stay cool for almost two days and make ice in around 15 minutes; the first in the world of its kind.
Also, not only can they be traditionally powered (by plugging them into a wall), they can also be charged via solar panels or even potentially powered by your electric car.
EcoFlow Wave 2
Over summer I invested in a portable air conditioner out of desperation. I needed the ability to cool any room I was working in at home, in my tiny, piping hot rental apartment. The aircon worked but it took up so much space and made such a noise.
The EcoFlow Wave 2 is, according to EcoFlow, “the industry’s most powerful and compact portable airconditioner”. Unlike my current other-brand unit, it can heat as well as cool, and it can do it all quietly or powerfully.
The all-in-one unit is surprisingly small and can be quickly set up straight out of the box. You can plug it into the wall, use a car’s lighter socket, or even power it with your electric car’s V2L system.
Otherwise, if you purchase its external battery (which I’d recommend) it can become a completely portable unit, running for up to eight hours per full charge, which is great for overnight camping or caravanning. And in the morning you could even charge the battery back up with EcoFlow’s 220W Bifacial solar panels, or other solar setups, to get free cooling or heating.
It’s IPX4 water resistant and has easy to use button controls, along with an app control in case you want to switch from heating to cooling or adjust the temperature from your phone from afar. And during my testing I found it was able to powerfully put out heat and cooling, or more quietly, in its eco or sleep mode.
EcoFlow Glacier
Speaking of cool, the EcoFlow Glacier is a really exciting product, being the world’s first 3-in-1 portable fridge-freezer and ice maker.
• Design
This product looks like a large, really sleek esky. It is fairly heavy, coming in at 23kg, so ideally it’s carried by two people, with a person on either side holding a handle each. However, there are optional wheels and a handle that you can purchase separately.
After its unboxing, I was really impressed at how quickly it could cool down its internals. There are two compartments, and both can be chilled to individual, custom temperatures, so one side can act as a fridge and the other a freezer if preferred.
There are physical button controls on the unit or you can also control and monitor the unit from an app on your phone. You can remove the internal divider to access its full 38L of cool space at once. And you won’t lose the divider as it clicks into the underside of the fridge’s lid.
• Ice maker
Of course, my favourite part was the ice maker. It’s especially awesome as this is usually something you’d have to buy as a separate appliance. All you have to do to make ice is pour some water into the ice reservoir, press the ice button and it will give you a countdown on how long it will take to make.
It seems to work by super cooling these small metal rods and it certainly works efficiently. From my tests you can make small ice cubes within 12-15 minutes and large, fully formed ones in about 18-20 minutes (even just on battery power).
In total, the ice tray will make 18 cubes at a time. Once it’s finished making ice you can press the ‘finish’ button, which allows you to easily remove the ice and tray by lifting it up by its handles. Then you can pour the ice out through the tray’s small corner cutout or use its included scoop to distribute the ice.
• Charging and battery power
The fridge-freezer can be powered by an AC outlet or work solely off EcoFlow Glacier’s battery (sold separately for $449), which will only take approximately two hours to charge up via USB-C.
The battery doesn’t take any space away from the unit’s fridge interior, and slots discreetly into the back of the freezer but it can also be removed when not in use to become a portable battery with a USB-C port for charging your laptop or phone.
You could even use solar panels to charge the battery to power this product. This essentially gives you a guilt-free appliance!
On battery power you can get about 40 hours of run time in refrigeration mode, 19 hours when using it as a freezer and you can make ice around 10 times over. The ice maker uses up the battery power the quickest.
Are these products worth it?
Both of these products can run on clean, free energy (after the initial cost investment of course) and, maybe it’s the doomsday prepper that seems to live deep inside of me, but it’s nice to know that in a power outage or unprecedented situation I could still have my creature comforts. Or, I guess more realistically, have a more comfortable time camping or caravanning.
The EcoFlow Glacier is $1499 and the EcoFlow Wave 2 Air Conditioner is $1999. They’re both certainly pushing a bit of a premium price point, but with the hope of longevity from these products and the ability to use them with solar, I feel as though they almost pay for themselves.
Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawesometech | YouTube
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