EcoFlow Wave 2 evaluate: all-in-one A/C and heater that’s slightly overblown

The EcoFlow Wave 2 is an air conditioner, heater, and fan that may uniquely be powered by a battery and photo voltaic panel. This moveable warmth pump packs a number of cooling and heating for its measurement and could possibly be a sport changer for some or a disappointment for others. All of it is determined by whether or not you consider EcoFlow’s advertising. 

A warmth pump’s capacity to switch warmth out and in of a room is what makes these more and more well-liked home equipment so environment friendly, however EcoFlow’s pitch for the diminutive Wave 2 is absurd and deceptive. It exhibits individuals utilizing it inside a spacious lounge, a big RV, on the deck of a ship, and exterior at a campsite. Some backpacker even carried it into the mountains to use with a tent. 

After a yr of testing, I can guarantee you that the Wave 2 is not going to cool or warmth these areas in any significant approach as depicted. It actually gained’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to each warmth and funky a shipping-container-sized surf shack, and to chill each a campervan and a tiny bed room in an outdated Portuguese farmhouse. The quickest temperature change I’ve seen is an 8F (4.6C) drop in half-hour, nicely beneath EcoFlow’s declare. However it additionally stored 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 might conceivably hold the $1,199 Wave 2 with battery add-on working repeatedly with out ever needing to plug it right into a wall socket. The Wave 2 is actually modern and a really succesful machine in some restricted situations — 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 each side of the machine that type two closed loops. The system works by shifting warmth from one loop to the opposite to both cool or warmth the house you’re in. This capacity to switch warmth as an alternative of producing cold and hot air is what makes warmth pumps so environment friendly. JerryRigEverything has Wave 2 teardown that additionally explains how every part works in additional element.

The Wave 2 could be very small for an HVAC unit which is each a energy and a weak spot. 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 let you know that 5100BTUs isn’t a number of cooling capability. 

Fundamental window-mounted A/Cs generally offered within the US often begin at round 8000BTUs. They price lower than half the value of the Wave 2 however devour way more energy over time. You too can purchase a a lot much less moveable 14000BTU A/C and heater combo unit from Midea for $100 lower than the Wave 2 when you can afford the additional house it requires. 

However solely the Wave 2 might be fitted with an non-obligatory battery that provides 17.2 kilos (7.8kg) to the entire weight and as much as eight hours of untethered run time. Uniquely, that battery might be charged by an environment friendly 700W DC-to-DC connection from a lot of EcoFlow’s large energy stations. Or reap the benefits of the battery’s XT150 jack to cost it from nearly any energy station or DC-to-DC charger. It can be charged from an ordinary AC wall jack (820W max), photo voltaic (11-60V / 13A, 400W max), or a automobile’s cigarette lighter outlet (200W max).

Placement of the Wave 2 is restricted by a number of components, together with the somewhat brief AC energy twine 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 additionally want a bucket inside attain of the drainage hose to seize any amassed condensation. 

Final yr I attempted utilizing the Wave 2 to warmth and funky a single-room surf shack measuring about 800 cubic ft. I wasn’t impressed because it did not successfully regulate the temperature in each circumstances. I did, nevertheless, profit from the nice and cozy or cool air blowing straight on me, particularly when falling asleep, but it surely didn’t do sufficient to justify the value. 

Then I learn the positive print. Ecoflow says the Wave 2 works finest in areas measuring lower than 350 cubic ft (10 cubic meters), which is simply large enough 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 shouldn’t be 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 business’s strongest and compact moveable A/C,” I primarily examined its cooling talents throughout a very popular summer time. 

So, with my expectations reset, I’ve been utilizing the Wave 2 for the previous few 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 endurance than in a house — however that’s true with every part 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 right down to underneath 10 minutes.

I examined the Wave 2’s cooling contained in the van at night time and in direct daylight. For the daylight take a look at, 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 might have simply surpassed 120F (49F) with out the Wave 2 working, but it surely’s nonetheless a fail in my e-book since increased capability rooftop A/Cs (costing greater than $2,000) from firms like Dometic and Coleman would have tamed that warmth. 

In fact, I suspected the Wave 2’s meager 5100BTU capability would fail this take a look at, however EcoFlow’s pitch to vanlifers is that the Wave 2 will “cool or heat, wherever, 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 night time of my testing when it was 72F to 77F (22C to 25C) exterior, I used to be capable of decrease the inner temperature to about 66F (19C) and preserve it into the morning. The van acquired so chilly that I wanted a down-filled quilt at one level. That’s a significant win, with one caveat.

The Wave 2’s non-obligatory 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 working all night time 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 low maker. Once I awoke, that larger battery had drained to 10 %, leaving me with treasured little energy to start out my day.

My remaining take a look at 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 reduce right into a construction with two-foot thick stone partitions. On yet 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 evaluate 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 probably not a difficulty, although, as a result of I favor 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 approach that reduces gravity’s assist. The squeal is equivalent to the sound reported by a number of different customers. EcoFlow tells me that there’s a identified challenge associated to the water pump clogging on account of particles or trapped air. Affected homeowners can request a substitute underneath 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 per the quietest of fundamental window A/Cs.
• The Wave 2 can mechanically evaporate condensation that develops throughout the warmth trade course of, however solely in environments with lower than 70 % humidity. 
• The non-obligatory battery contains 100W USB-C and 18W USB-A charging ports on 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 finest to chill and warmth small areas positioned in temperate climates. It may well even cool a small room in a really heat local weather if the insulation is nice sufficient. It’s additionally a sensible choice for vanlifers searching for some occasional DIY temperature management, particularly at night time and when touring past the grid. However when you frequently must warmth or cool a dwelling house bigger than 350 cubic ft (10 cubic meters) in additional excessive climates, you must think about 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 technology is coming in 2025.

All pictures by Thomas Ricker / The Verge