With daytime temperatures reaching as high as 36 degrees Celsius (feels like 41-ish) in Metro Manila these past few days, people had been finding ways on how to make the weather (heat) bearable without hurting their pockets (budget) due to higher consumption of electricity.
One of the items I got during Shopee’s 5.5 Sale last week was an Arctic Air Ultra Portable Air Conditioner Personal Space Cooler unit.
First Things, First
The item I bought via Shopee is NOT THE ORIGINAL Arctic Air Ultra. As a matter of fact, if you pay close attention to the packaging photo above, will notice this product is named: ARCTLC AIR Ultra Evaporative Air Cooler.
Product Design & Make
This portable aircon unit is made of hard plastic material, which is almost the same as the original product I saw during a recent visit to the United States. Dimensions stand at 6″ x 6″ x 6″ and weighs around less than a kilogram (empty).
The package (box) contains the personal aircon unit, an air filter cartridge, an operations guide, and a Micro USB cable (same as what most smartphones are using now).
This particular model has a movable (up and down) louver attached to the front cover.
Unit Operations
Based on the operations guide included in the package, I needed to first soak the filter cartridge with running water and freeze it — yes, they suggest that you actually put the filter cartridge inside the fridge for better results.
After an hour, I decided to test the unit (with the filter cartridge still far from being frozen). Filled up the unit’s water tank (through the top lid) and installed the filter catridge.
One thing I liked about this unit: a power bank can actually run this device!
So, I filled it up with cold (chilled) water, installed the filter cartridge straight from the fridge, and powered it up!
First Impressions
For a PHP700++ worth device, I really felt that I got my money’s worth with this personal aircon unit. If you’re thinking that this device can actually make your room feel cooler — this is not what you’re looking for.
I want to categorize this device as an “electric fan substitute” or is something that may be used together with an electric fan.
On the night I received this device, our neighborhood experienced a power outage due to some line trouble with Meralco. Using a not-so fully charged Xiaomi power bank (10,000 mAh), my parents were able to use the personal aircon unit for a solid three (03) hours. I will find time to test this device using a fully charged power bank soon.
If you’re someone like me who works from home and attends online meetings (telecon or videocon) quite a number of times a day, you should know the feeling of having an electric fan pointed straight at you while speaking in front of your computer. The noise that the air (blow) generated by the electric fan is really something. Using this personal aircon unit instead of an electric fan during a telecon or videocon is a welcome relief for WFH warriors like me.
For best results, you need to have the unit within striking distance from you. Do not think something that uses a power bank as source of energy can generate enough thrust to cool the air around you.
If you have a thousand pesos to spare, you may want to get this unit from TKK [kcrosario] in Shopee. This is the next best thing to having an electric fan this hot Philippine summer.
I bought this Arctic Air Ultra and first, it came without an adapter listed on the box. So I could only plug it into my computer or other USB. I did prepare the filter by running water on it, then put a small amount of water inside because it looked pretty sketchy to be putting water into. I turned it on and it worked for 30 secs, then a smell of electrical burning came from it and it stopped. It wouldn’t run at all after that. It’s obviously junk. Even if it did work it would be valued at about $25 on the US market. NOT $90.