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COOL FOCUS Portable Air Conditioner Review (Close Comfort)

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Read time: 6 min.

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Ever wanted an aircon that could cool you down and be almost half as eco-friendly as a fan? Or thought about having one while camping or working at a garage? Let us introduce you to COOL FOCUS Portable Air Conditioner, originated from Australia! 

It is built on the idea where the aircon should only cool the user and not the entire room.

Executing this correctly translates to affordable and efficient cooling to everyone who needs it, without ever compromising sustainability.

Here’s our review on Close Comfort’s portable aircon.

How Does The COOL FOCUS Portable Aircon Work?

Close Comfort utilises special patented technology to focus a stream of cool air and send it towards you, keeping you comfortable.

There are 2 flaps – the bigger one for the focused stream of cool air directed for you, and the other for the hot air (similar to the fridge in your kitchen).

The unit consumes very little energy so the heat extracted to cool the air can simply be directed to the atmosphere where it is absorbed. 

The heat released into the room is pretty much similar to the fridge in your kitchen so there is no need for any exhaust hose that comes with conventional portable air conditioners. 

In short, this personal portable no-frills aircon standing at 17kg offers the following: No hoses, no windows and no vents. 

At the same time, it does not need recharging, water or ice, and even adjusts automatically to work harder in high humidity.

But you definitely need to be comfortable with and enjoy having a direct stream of cool air blowing at you. 

Personal Aircon vs Regular Room Aircon

Power Efficient – More Eco-Friendly & Lower Electricity Bills

To put it in numbers, a normal home air-conditioner has a power consumption of 1000 – 2000W while the Cool Focus has a power consumption of only 300W. 

It’s not cool to warm the planet.

It is a known fact that CO2 output is always on the rise due to 60% of the energy used coming from air conditioners that are running continuously in both residences and commercial areas. 

As claimed by Close Comfort, Close Comfort’s ACs use 80% fewer refrigerants compared to conventional split system ACs and produce less than 50% the amount of CO2 than conventional split system ACs, which is quite a substantial difference. 

With the more power-efficient component, the cost of running this unit is less than $0.60 for 9 hours, which makes it highly affordable during the recent times of crisis.

With most of us working from home right now, electricity bills are at an all-time high so this can help offset some of your bills while keeping yourself cool.

‘Selfish’ Aircon

The most important thing to bear in mind is that Cool Focus is a PERSONAL aircon and when they say it’s personal, they mean it. Don’t expect the aircon to cool everyone in the room but 1-2 people directly in front of it. 

You will be in the cool zone when you are directly in front of the aircon, up to 1.5m away. So be sure to position yourself properly when you place the aircon in front of you to sleep or at your tableside, to enjoy the maximum cooling effects. 

But in hindsight….due to the fact that it only cools YOU but not the whole room with its low energy consumption, isn’t this ‘selfish’ aircon pretty selfless to the world? 

Close Comfort’s Portable Aircon is Multi-Purpose & Versatile

The unit is half the size and weight of traditional portable aircon. 

Close Comfort works in any room, even outdoors in sheltered places. 

It creates a microclimate, a cool zone, up to 4-5 square metres. As mentioned, there is neither a vent nor hose attached to it so you can bring it along for camping, road trips (if applicable) and your barbecue sessions. 

Not a Smart Device But… We Can Still Transform It!

A portable aircon like COOL FOCUS doesn’t really need a smart feature built into it, since it is assumed that users will be moving it around rather frequently (hence the 4 roller wheels installed to it). 

And that the remote controller that comes with it would usually suffice.

On the flip side, if you’re certain that your portable unit will only be used within the same space and Wi-Fi network on a day-to-day basis, a simple device like Broadlink IR Universal Remote will do the trick.

These universal remotes allow you to control any IR controlled device, such as COOL FOCUS, from your phone. 

That means any IR device in the house can potentially be voice-enabled with popular voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa.

Think switching on/off with your voice and setting up routines for the COOL FOCUS portable aircon.

How cool is that!

Igloo Bed Tent is Optional, Here’s What You Can Do Instead

We all know how hot and humid some nights can get in the tiny red dot we call home. Not to mention, the sharp rise in the number of dengue cases recently.

Fortunately, there are a few optional add ons to the COOL FOCUS portable aircon. One of which, called the Igloo Bed Tent, has been custom-designed to keep you extra cool during humid or steamy nights. Close Comfort estimates that using the portable aircon with an Igloo Bed Tent can bring down its energy needs by up to 40% (170w); more savings on your electricity bill.

The Igloo Bed Tent is easy to set up, fits most bed sizes and forms an enclosed space for cooling. Its design also allows it to act as a 360 degrees mosquito net.

Additionally, the tent panels are relatively translucent, allowing you to watch TV while staying cool and bug-free for the rest of the night.

The only sign that may put you off is the price point of the bed tent – 99 SGD (includes free shipping).

If you think 99 SGD is too high a price to ask for, a similar DIY cooling effect can be achieved by placing your blanket above the cool air deflector.

Final Thoughts

Just like any product, this portable personal aircon can definitely be improved in certain areas.

For starters, an oscillating feature can be introduced to address the rigid ‘cool’ zone, just like how a fan would swing to cover a larger area of a room. 

When pushing the COOL FOCUS unit around, we also noticed that it is fairly challenging to keep the cables off the ground and prevent it from being dragged against the floor despite keeping the cables neatly in the cable drawer.

Close Comfort could consider making the rollers at the bottom of the unit slightly bigger or make an opening on the case cover for the cables to fit through, which would address the aforementioned problem. 

At a price point of 649SGD, it may be a bit on a steeper side but thinking long term…

The COOL FOCUS portable air conditioner could well possibly be the answer to sustainable and efficient cooling. 

The concept of not cooling the room and only the user may be hard to grasp at first, but this portable personal aircon is positively a versatile and viable alternative to traditional aircon and even other types of portable aircon.

The Guidesify Team is thrilled to see future iterations and developments of what Close Comfort has to offer.

Related:

HEPAS Air Purifier (By Cosy Cool) – Refresh Your Indoor Air Quality

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