The EcoFlow Wave 2 is an air conditioner, heater, and fan that may uniquely be powered by a battery and photo voltaic panel. This transportable warmth pump packs a number of cooling and heating for its dimension and might be a recreation changer for some or a disappointment for others. All of it depends upon whether or not you imagine EcoFlow’s advertising and marketing.
A warmth pump’s potential to switch warmth out and in of a room is what makes these more and more common home equipment so environment friendly, however EcoFlow’s pitch for the diminutive Wave 2 is absurd and deceptive. It reveals individuals utilizing it inside a spacious lounge, a big RV, on the deck of a ship, and out of doors at a campsite. Some backpacker even carried it into the mountains to make use of with a tent.
After a yr of testing, I can guarantee you that the Wave 2 won’t cool or warmth these areas in any significant means as depicted. It definitely received’t elevate or decrease the temperature by 18 levels Fahrenheit (8 levels Celsius) in simply 5 minutes, as EcoFlow claims.
I’ve examined the $799 Wave 2 to each warmth and funky a shipping-container-sized surf shack, and to chill each a campervan and a tiny bed room in an previous Portuguese farmhouse. The quickest temperature change I’ve seen is an 8F (4.6C) drop in half-hour, nicely beneath EcoFlow’s declare. But it surely additionally saved a room at 72F (22C) or beneath on a day that reached 99F (37C) exterior. Its worst efficiency resulted in no temperature change in any respect.
Notably, in some climates, a 400W photo voltaic panel may conceivably maintain the $1,199 Wave 2 with battery add-on operating constantly with out ever needing to plug it right into a wall socket. The Wave 2 is definitely revolutionary and a really succesful gadget in some restricted eventualities — but it surely’s not the little miracle EcoFlow makes it appear.
EcoFlow’s Wave 2 is fitted with a compact compressor, condenser, and warmth exchanger with air exhaust and consumption pairs on either side of the gadget that kind two closed loops. The system works by shifting warmth from one loop to the opposite to both cool or warmth the area you’re in. This potential to switch warmth as an alternative of producing cold and warm air is what makes warmth pumps so environment friendly. JerryRigEverything has a superb Wave 2 teardown that additionally explains how every little thing works in additional element.
The Wave 2 may be very small for an HVAC unit which is each a power and a weak point. It measures simply 20.4 x 11.7 x 13.2 inches (518 x 297 x 336mm) and weighs solely 32 kilos (14.5kg). It’s rated for 1500W / 5100BTU hours of cooling capability and 1800W / 6100BTU hours of heating capability, but solely pulls about 200W to 450W in my testing. However anybody who’s ever bought an air conditioner can inform you that 5100BTUs isn’t a number of cooling capability.
Primary window-mounted A/Cs generally offered within the US often begin at round 8000BTUs. They value lower than half the worth of the Wave 2 however devour much more energy over time. You can even purchase a a lot much less transportable 14000BTU warmth pump from Midea for $100 lower than the Wave 2 should you can afford the additional area it requires.
However solely the Wave 2 may be fitted with an non-compulsory battery that provides 17.2 kilos (7.8kg) to the full weight and as much as eight hours of untethered run time. Uniquely, that battery may be charged by an environment friendly 700W DC-to-DC connection from a lot of EcoFlow’s large energy stations. Or benefit from the battery’s XT150 jack to cost it from nearly any energy station or DC-to-DC charger. It may also be charged from a regular AC wall jack (820W max), photo voltaic (11-60V / 13A, 400W max), or a car’s cigarette lighter outlet (200W max).
Placement of the Wave 2 is proscribed by a number of elements, together with the slightly quick AC energy wire and the 55.1-inch (140-cm) lengthy ducts that require five- and six-inch (12.7-cm and 15.2-cm) diameter openings in a window. You may also want a bucket inside attain of the drainage hose to seize any accrued condensation.
Final yr I attempted utilizing the Wave 2 to warmth and funky a single-room surf shack measuring about 800 cubic toes. I wasn’t impressed because it didn’t successfully regulate the temperature in each circumstances. I did, nevertheless, profit from the nice and cozy or cool air blowing immediately on me, particularly when falling asleep, but it surely didn’t do sufficient to justify the worth.
Then I learn the high-quality print. Ecoflow says the Wave 2 works greatest in areas measuring lower than 350 cubic toes (10 cubic meters), which is simply sufficiently big to suit a double mattress and two aspect tables. Heating and cooling efficiency is roughly the identical in such compact locations — it’s a wee bit louder when cooling and makes use of barely extra energy when heating. However the Wave 2 isn’t a heater for very chilly winters. As an alternative, it’s designed to function in temperatures between 41F and 122F (5C and 50C). And since EcoFlow says it’s “the trade’s strongest and compact transportable A/C,” I primarily examined its cooling skills throughout a very popular summer season.
So, with my expectations reset, I’ve been utilizing the Wave 2 for the previous couple of weeks to chill down a small 500-cubic-foot bed room and a 364-cubic-foot Sprinter van in central Portugal, the place cloudless skies have frequently produced temperatures too excessive for my Scottish ancestry.
Establishing the Wave 2 within the Sprinter requires extra persistence than in a house — however that’s true with every little thing in vanlife. After parking, I’ve to lug the unit out of the van’s storage to position it in entrance of the passenger seat. Then, I connect the battery, drain hose, and receptacle and punctiliously run the paper-thin ducting up and out by way of the window utilizing a thick foam insert I created. I’ve acquired the entire thing all the way down to below 10 minutes.
I examined the Wave 2’s cooling contained in the van at evening and in direct daylight. For the daylight check, I closed the doorways and lined the within of the home windows with insulated and reflective covers. With the cooling set to most on the unit’s lowest doable temperature (16C / 61F), the within of the van remained roughly the identical as the skin, which ranged from 86F to a sweltering 99F (30C to 37C). That’s not unhealthy contemplating the inside may have simply surpassed 120F (49F) with out the Wave 2 operating, but it surely’s nonetheless a fail in my guide since increased capability rooftop A/Cs (costing greater than $2,000) from corporations like Dometic and Coleman would have tamed that warmth.
In fact, I suspected the Wave 2’s meager 5100BTU capability would fail this check, however EcoFlow’s pitch to vanlifers is that the Wave 2 will “cool or heat, anyplace, anytime” which simply isn’t true, particularly for RVs — a lot of that are a lot bigger than a class-B Sprinter van — that should park within the solar to recharge their leisure batteries off rooftop photo voltaic.
Cooling the Sprinter after the solar went down yielded significantly better outcomes. On the warmest evening of my testing when it was 72F to 77F (22C to 25C) exterior, I used to be in a position to decrease the interior temperature to about 66F (19C) and keep it into the morning. The van acquired so chilly that I wanted a down-filled cover at one level. That’s a significant win, with one caveat.
The Wave 2’s non-compulsory 1159Wh battery solely lasts about two and a half hours on max mode in my testing, or over eight in eco mode, its most energy-efficient setting. That wasn’t sufficient juice to maintain the A/C operating all evening in a mixture of max and eco cooling modes, so I needed to plug the Wave 2 into the a lot bigger photo voltaic generator I carry to energy issues like my van’s lighting, induction cooktop, and occasional maker. Once I awakened, that larger battery had drained to 10 p.c, leaving me with valuable little energy to begin my day.
My remaining check was to chill a small room in a restored Portuguese farmhouse. Right here the Wave 2 obtained an help from the room’s one tiny window lower right into a construction with two-foot thick stone partitions. On one more 99F (37C) day I managed to maintain the room between 68F and 72F (20C to 22C) with the Wave 2 working in a mixture of low to medium settings, even because the temperature inside the home peaked at 83F (28C). Spectacular.
Over the past yr of on and (principally) off operation I’ve seen two issues with my assessment unit. First, the buttons on the bodily management panel now solely work intermittently, maybe as a result of they acquired squashed from all of the shifting round. It’s not likely a problem, although, as a result of I want to manage the unit with the wonderful EcoFlow app which works nicely over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Of better concern is the very loud and aggravating noise the Wave 2 typically produces. I feel it’s associated to the water pump because it typically occurs when the water receptacle is full or the drain hose is looped in a means that reduces gravity’s assist. The squeal is an identical to the sound reported by a number of different customers. EcoFlow tells me that there’s a identified situation associated to the water pump clogging as a consequence of particles or trapped air. Affected homeowners can request a alternative below guarantee.
- When initially cooling a room on max setting the Wave 2 is a loud 53dB from a meter away, which drops to an inexpensive 45dB in Eco mode — that’s in step with the quietest of fundamental window A/Cs.
- The Wave 2 can mechanically evaporate condensation that develops in the course of the warmth trade course of, however solely in environments with lower than 70 p.c humidity.
- The non-compulsory battery contains 100W USB-C and 18W USB-A charging ports to your devices.
- IPX4 water resistance makes it okay for the Wave 2 (and IP65 battery) to get caught within the rain.
- The highest hose duct warms up significantly when exhausting warmth exterior the window (and thereby cooling the room). Good concept to wrap it in insulation for extra everlasting installations as an alternative of bleeding that warmth (or chilly) again into the room.
The Wave 2 warmth pump is a reasonably area of interest however fascinating product that works greatest to chill and warmth small areas positioned in temperate climates. It could actually even cool a small room in a really heat local weather if the insulation is sweet sufficient. It’s additionally a sensible choice for vanlifers on the lookout for some occasional DIY temperature management, particularly at evening and when touring past the grid. However should you frequently must warmth or cool a residing area bigger than 350 cubic toes (10 cubic meters) in additional excessive climates, it’s best to take into account extra conventional cooling and heating choices.
Nonetheless, as a budding vanlifer and off-grid adventurer, I’m excited by the way forward for battery-powered warmth pumps. The Wave 2 already improved upon the unique EcoFlow Wave, and EcoFlow tells me {that a} third era is coming in 2025.
All pictures by Thomas Ricker / The Verge