What is the worst thing about the summers? Yes, the heat. A start-up based in San Francisco has launched its idea of a portable air conditioner to beat the heat begun. The AC named Zero Breeze can do more than just cooling, though. It is designed to power devices, illuminate, play music over Bluetooth and has a rechargeable battery that can last 5 hours. It has its own Kickstarter page as well.
The idea of a portable air conditioner isn’t a new one. They have been available in different sizes from a toaster to the size of a soda machine. And although they provide excellent cooling, they need continual power source limiting them to indoor usage only. The Zero Breeze team has managed to overcome this drawback without considerably affecting the cooling power of the AC.
The portable AC works with a rotary compressor refrigeration technology using Dupont R-134a refrigerant which is “environmentally- and ozone-friendly”. There is no need for refilling the refrigerant. The cooling output of Zero Breeze would be 1,000 BTU/ hour and can cool an area of 50 square feet. In its immediate vicinity, the AC can bring down the ambient temperature to about 7 C as well (44.6 F).
But what makes Zero Breeze appealing are the extra features of this device, for example, a battery with 40,000-mAh power capacity. This enables Zero Breeze to function easily for up to 5 hours on medium fan setting (on high fan setting its life is 3.5 hours). The size of the unit is 46.4 x 16.2 x 9.6 cm and its weight is 4 kg. As it can be easily carried like a portable dry ice freezer, it becomes one of the essential outdoor/ picnic gadgets.
Wait, there’s more. The AC has a pair of 5 V/1 A USB ports for charging, LED light ring and a built-in Bluetooth speaker. Yes the speakers aren’t the best out there still, they come as an accessory saving you the trouble of carrying multiple devices.
The Kickstarter campaign for Zero Breeze reached its goal of US$100,000 in just 2 days and has currently raised 500% of its original goal with 17 more days left to go. Early bird pledges would be able to save $150 off the original retail price. Each Zero Breeze AC comes with a power adapter, drain pipe and exhaust pipe.
If all went according to plan, Zero Breeze will begin shipping as early as March next year. Let us know what you think of this portable air conditioner in the comments section!