Summer is getting closer, and with it warmer days and possibly the need for more humidity. If you don’t already have air conditioning, trying to cool the house down can be frustrating. Fans can help, but often they are blowing the hot air around and really only cooling if you are standing in front of them. Evaporative air coolers can be an in-between solution that can cool whole rooms, often by 10-15 degrees cooler, while being less expensive both in up front costs and costs to run.
What Is the Newair Evaporative Cooler?
The Newair Evaporative Air Cooler and Portable Fan is a medium-sized unit (larger than the Quillo I’ve reviewed before, but smaller than the Honeywell units you can get) that pulls water from it’s 1.45 gallon tank and slowly drips over a filter creating tons of wet surface area. Air gets pulled down and turns into cooler air because of the water evaporation. As a result, you get cooler air blown in through the fan.
One exciting feature about this evaporative cooler is that instead of using ice, as some other coolers do, this one comes with an ice pack (actually that you can freeze and then place in the water tank before using (actually, there are two, so you can rotate them between freezer and cooler). The ice pack is supposed to last for four hours. This creates even cooler air on those really hot days.
Newair created their cooler with smart design. It is on 4 solid caster wheels that make it easier to move from room to room. It has 2 power cord brackets that allows for easy storage when you are done. The water tank is towards the bottom of the machine and has a locking knob for protection.
It comes with a remote which is always handy. With your remote, you can simply start your cooler and adjust the speed to your preference. You can also choose to try their two suggested modes; natural mode and sleep mode which will automatically adjust the airflow for you. It also features a timer and an oscillation mode for your fan.
What’s in the Box?
The Newair Evaporative Cooler includes the following parts/pieces:
- Cooler/Fan Unit
- Remote Control
- Cold Packs (2)
- Manual
How to Use the Newair Evaporative Cooler
You can download a copy of the manual here.
Setup
Unlock the reservoir tank by turning the lock knob, and then fill it with cold water (the colder the better). Include a frozen chill pack, or ice if you like. Slide it back into the fan unit, and lock it in place. Plug the fan unit in.
Use
Use the remote, or the buttons on the fan unit itself. You can run it just as a fan, or turn on the cooling unit which will start pumping the cold water over the evaporation membrane. The unit has three fan speeds, plus some special modes that will change the speeds over time. It has an oscillating feature that better moves air around a whole space, instead of just pointing it at one target. There’s also a timer so you can set the fan to shut off after a period of time.
Output
Cool air, of course! Depending upon the humidity of the ambient air and the temperature of the water you put in the reservoir, the Newair Evaporative cooler should be able to lower the temperature in your space 10-15 degrees F, or more. It’s not an air conditioner, but it can make a big difference, and cost a lot less to run.
Why You Should Get the Newair Evaporative Cooler
Over the years, we have used many evaporative air coolers on hot days. Where we live in California, it can get hot for a week or so at a time, but never long enough to warrant getting an air conditioner. Most of the coolers that we have had, although powerful, have been clunky to move around and take a while to fill up. The Newair has found a great middle ground. It is smaller, therefore easier to move around, but features a particularly strong fan that does the job well.
If you are looking for something to cool you and your family down, don’t want to spend the money on air conditioning, and it makes sense where you live (drier climates), evaporative air coolers can be an excellent midway solution. We highly recommend the Newair Evaporative Air Cooler and Portable Cooling Fan, and the folks at Newair have kindly set up a coupon code: if you use the code GEEKDADS at checkout, you’ll get 10% off the $199 purchase price in your cart (SKU #NEC500WH00).
Disclosure: GeekDad received a sample of this item for review purposes; Robin Musetti-Denmead helped with this post.
