Is the EcoFlow Wave 2 Portable AC the Best Portable AC?

It has been almost a year since I posted my first EcoFlow Wave 2 portable AC unit review. After using Wave 2 for the past year, I have found some exciting things I want to share with you. Make sure to watch this video before you buy the EcoFlow Wave 2, especially if you live in a hot climate!

If you haven't seen my last review, then watch that by clicking this link 👇

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[rileyclarkfineart]

What do you use for your AC system in your van?

[bcloetta]

My Promaster is white and insulated. I bought the Ecoflow wave 2 last year as a fail safe for a trip to Texas and for those times when maybe I need to sleep with the van closed and locked at night. I would NEVER trust it to cool my dog if I’m away. I have experimented with various setups and concur that the wave 2 is only capable of about a 10 degree cooling. However with that said, my results absolutely contradict the idea of “recirculating” the intake air. I set mine up in the swiveled driver seat (yes that prevents an emergency getaway), with both hoses connected to the Etsy window insert. The exhaust hose is short and insulated separately. All windows are covered with van essentials magnetic covers and when I go to bed, I curtain off the cab and use that extra long hose to duct the cold air to the back of the van. If temps are 80-90 at night, this system will allow me to sleep comfortably. The battery is likely not worth it, but again I wanted this setup for those times when maybe I don’t feel safe with my doors open. I hate the storage space and setup time, but didn’t have an appetite for upgrading my batteries, solar, and drilling holes. Would I buy it again…most likely.

[zeak]

I think really the misconception of this AC unit is people think it’s going to replace a larger system like a home AC or a vehicle AC. Our home AC is too small for our house with this Texas heat. Something that I fought with the builder and they insisted 3 tons was enough (but that’s a whole Nother story).I put this in my son’s room and It was able to bring his room down to a set temperature of 70° without any issue. Here in Texas this summer is already starting to get going and his room is generally the hottest room during the summer time. I’m pretty happy with this unit. It’s doing exactly what I wanted. After catching Covid 2 yrs ago I now struggle when it gets really hot especially doing outdoor projects or just being out in the heat with direct sun beating down for long periods of time. So now we just take this with us. With the battery it’s pretty easy to turn on and literally point the air right at me and I stay nice and cool. This is exactly what I was hoping for and it totally works for me. I think it’s gonna be a use by use cases. Looking at your situation being in Vegas. I would not expect this thing to be able to keep up with that type of heat, maybe two of them, but this alone comparing to a vehicle’s a/c which most are 20-30k+ btu, I think it’s a bit of skewed comparison, especially for that type of heat. Another thing like you mentioned, the exhaust hose emits a good amount of heat. Amazon has insulation kits ($25) for these hoses and I would highly recommend that. They do help out quite a bit and cuts down on the heat emitted from the exhaust hose.

[Florida_Adventure]

Great video. For anyone reading...the exhaust duct must be insulated and the shorter it is the better. Get this correct and your results will improve dramatically. Take a laser thermometer and shoot the duct and the machine and you will see there is a ton of heat coming off of the machine and the exhaust duct. I wouldn't be surprised if you're getting readings over 130-140 degrees.

[wildcatste]

Thank you for talking about its use in small indoor spaces! I've been looking at this for a small room in my apartment because the floor space in the room is at a premium and typical portable ACs just take a lot of floor space. Most reviews focus on van use-which I get is the main intended use- and I'm sure it's a bummer that it's not so effective for that purpose but good to know that it seemed to have a better result for you in a small indoor space. Options are slim in small rooms with no ac!

[ScalzoPhoto]

For any air conditioner to work best in a van- step 1: the windows need to covered with an outward reflective INSULATED window cover. Step 2 park in the shade………
Those two steps are necessary to give any air conditioner a chance to cool instead of just battling the heat.
** Otherwise run a more powerful air conditioner off of a gas generator for anything over 90 or 100 degrees

[onewayofliving]

You should also add how how it would get if you DIDNT have the wave 2. It would probably be around 150 degrees in the car. (117 outside, lots of non shaded glass windows and a black van). Put insulated shades in the windows and try again.

[hershey]

I'm glad I came across this review. I own a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 170 with an 8000 BTU AC on the roof. However, the AC drains my battery quite fast. I'm considering running the AC on Eco mode and using the Eco Wave system simultaneously to aim for a temperature of 70°F inside the van when it's around 95°F outside. I recently bought the Eco Wave along with the add-on battery, so I'm optimistic that with both systems, I can maintain a temperature between 70°F.

Am i reaching for the stars?

[johntate]

Not really sure what model of the Sprinter van you have and what's on the roof, so i will be a little conservative. If you have the 144" wheel base version, the roof alone will absorb about 88, 500 BTU's of thermal energy from the sun per hour between probably 11AM to about 4 PM not even looking at the sides. That's almost 1/3 of a ton of AC. It's not really surprising that the wave 2 doesn't have much of an impact. For times when you aren't driving, perhaps the easiest and cheapest thing you can do is to throw a white tarp over the top of the van which should at least reflect a fair portion of the incoming direct heat of the sun away from the black van. That should make what ever AC solution you chose to have a better chance of cooling the inside somewhat better. Thanks for all of your observations and the long term report:)

[GriffinConway]

Nice video. I’m doing the 48v nomadic x2 on my 144 sprinter. It’s the Tenorite gray so it gets super hot in the sun as well. Hoping if I use a cab partition it will cool the back half of the van for sleeping and occasionally getting out of the heat during the day. Did you figure out what you’re going with in the future?

[kf]

I bought the Wave 2 the day it came out (in May 2023) with high hopes of it heating and cooling my van (white extended high roof Transit). Long story short: I was disappointed. It could never stay ahead of the heat. The van has a 30, 000 btu A/C, so I use the van to cool the van down, but when I shut the vehicle off; the Wave 2 could not keep it down. I built an insulated bulkhead (1" XPS foam sandwiched in plywood) to completely block off the cab. I have 2 to 3 layers of Thinsulate all around. As for the Wave 2 heating...I was not knowledgeable about heat pumps (which the Wave 2 uses) but I am now. It will not heat AT ALL if the air it is pulling in is colder than 40 degrees. So when I went to Montana and it was 30 degrees outside, the Wave 2 would blow 40 degree "heated" air. Joy.

The Wave 2 is nothing more than a spot cooler. I had to place the inside duct so it was blowing right on me for me to feel any benefit. I am now trying an under-bench 8000 btu unit. My testing is not complete but first glance it seems much better. But I don't have enough time with it yet to know if it will do the trick for the Florida summers. As for heat...I need to purchase and install a diesel or gasoline heater similar to what you have. Thanks for the video!

[Florida_Adventure]

One major oversight in the use of the Wave 2 in this video...the duct that is expelling hot air must be insulated. #1 mistake made by users of the wave.

[OriginalJetForMe]

What bummed me out about this when I first saw it was that they had fittings to connect two separate hoses for ejecting waste heat when placing the unit inside the conditioned space, but not fittings for both intake and output air if placing the unit outside the conditioned space.

I wanted to put it outside my yurt for noise reasons, and circulate return air directly to it.

[sages]

The thing I really hate about the wave 2 is that the battery can't be charged as a stand alone. Like, wtf is the point than? Biggest waste of money ever.

[sailingmsmalachite]

Extended tubing, made your life a lot easier
says it all
So life without it life was difficult 😂

[functionalvanconversion]

Its too bad they don't make these units so you can mount it outside of the vehicle and let you run it on 12v like the Autoclima UGO AC.

[samsin]

If you don't want it can I buy it from you?

[knfduut]

Can you just run it off a little gas generator?

[parodoxis]

Insulating the exhaust tubing is a must, and is recommended by the manufacturer. You're spilling heat back into your van...
Also, having the intake inside creates a negative pressure in the van, meaning the hot air will get sucked in from outside via... every little gap and leak. That's not better than pulling it in via a controlled intake tube from outside, keeping the outdoor air separate with a neutral pressure.
All this is to say, due to the way you tested it, I'm not sure I can learn much from your conclusions. That said, if your van isn't insulated, spending the money on a professional spray foam job will completely change the outcome here, so much less waste.

[thaiden]

van needs to be insulated to keep the cool air in. If its not insulated the cool air cancels out into the atmosphere.