Nature's Cooling Solutions Eco Breeze Smart Window Fan

It’s too soon for me to give a comprehensive review, as the unit just arrived this week and I installed it today but haven’t used it much yet. A few notes so far:The Good* The unit came well packaged* Installation was not difficult and I could easily do it by myself. The unit is light weight and easy to maneuver.* The unit looks very neat once it is installed. The side louver design is much more attractive than the standard accordion design on most window air-conditioner units. It seems well sealed, except for a small gap along the top where the window sash meets the top of the unit (even with the foam waterproofing tape applied there). I used a piece of white vinyl tape to seal the gap.The Iffy* Before I ordered this, I thought I had done a lot of reading and research about the unit. I thought that in manual mode you could choose to have the unit operate on either an intake mode, bringing air in from the outside, or an exhaust mode, pulling air from the room outdoors. This was a feature I really wanted. But the unit does not operate in this way. It does both intake and exhaust simultaneously, pushing outside air in through the bottom louvers while pulling inside air out through the top louvers.* Furthermore, the air being pulled into the room blows straight out from the front of the unit, which is already just a couple feet above the floor. As cool air falls, I am concerned that the cool air will simply puddle to the floor. Our window air conditioner units used to do the same thing, until I added a baffle directing the cool air up towards the ceiling -- adding the baffle made a huge difference as it really helped to circulate the room air and made the entire room more evenly cooled and comfortable, rather than having hot and cold spots; plus, the air did not blow directly on people seated near the unit. I don’t know if I can add a similar baffle to this fan, because the baffle would direct the air above the unit where the unit is pulling the air for the exhaust; thus, a baffle might interfere with getting the room air to properly circulate.I will be able to draw a better conclusion on these points after we’ve used the unit for a bit.The Bad* The company really needs to improve its installation instructions. The main "Installation Guide" is all written instructions, with no photos or diagrams. The “Eco Breeze Sealing” instructions (about how to cut down the packaging foam to seal around the unit) contains three grainy / blurry photos. They need to include more pictures and higher-quality pictures, either in the manual itself or on their website -- or even better, a video walking you through the installation steps. I think I installed it correctly following the written steps, but I would have felt more comfortable and confident if there had been photos or a video to follow.* Also, some of the Sealing steps need to be completed before the Installation steps, but the Installation Guide doesn’t tell you this. So make sure you read through both instruction pages before you begin.* The glue on the provided stick-on waterproof tape was not sticky. I added some double-sided tape that I had at home to help it stick into place.* Made in China.

I have been using the Eco Breeze in my bedroom since June 25th, when it was delivered. The controls function as the manual describe them. The mechanical operation of the louvers and fans also work. So what I am about to describe below is not due to a defect, IMHO, in the Eco Breeze I received.I have not experienced that it can cool my room when the outside temperature and humidity should be able to bring cool air into my bedroom. Now here is the 'experiment' I conducted. I have four double hung windows in my bedroom. One of the windows is where I have positioned the Eco Breeze. With all of the other windows closed and the door leading out of the bedroom closed, I turned the Eco Breeze on in automatic mode. I also have a wireless thermometer in the bedroom that I can monitor from my living room. I watched the temperature in the bedroom increase as the Eco Breeze was running. Also I wasn't in the bedroom at the time, not were any heat generating appliances turned on, other than the Eco Breeze. At first I thought the temperature was just going through normal fluctuations. I gave it an hour and watched the room get 2-3 degrees warmer. So I then went in and turned off the Eco Breeze and opened the bottom sash of two of the windows. So at this point it was only the outside air that could change the temperature in the room. I waited for another hour and watched the room get 5 degrees cooler.So here is my thinking. The actual running of the Eco Breeze is generating heat which is increasing the temperature in the room. (BTW the thermometer is positioned right under the Eco Breeze so than I should be picking up the optimum cooling of the room.) Yet when the Eco Breeze is running and I put my hand to feel the air being blown into the room, it feels cool. I can't really tell how much hot air is being sucked out of the top louvers but when I put my hand on the side of the Eco Breeze which faces outside of the window, there is quite a strong flow of air being pulled out of the room and blown out of the top portion of the grills on the back.I did contact customer service in order to get additional extenders so that I could try this in a window in my 2nd home. I haven't had an opportunity yet to try it there, but I will do a similar test. Since I didn't request the extenders when I placed my order, I was asked to pay a very modest shipping charge to have them sent to me. Customer service was very prompt and polite.So why do I give this 3 stars. I just love the concept of the Eco Breeze. It should work as its advertised to do. Why then in my experience does it heat my room, rather than using the cool night air to lower the temperature? The home I am currently testing it in is in the country. So even when during the day the outside temperature has gotten above 95 degrees, at night the temperature typically drops to the low 70's, and sometimes to the mid 60's.Now on the low fan setting, it is a louder than just white noise for my ears. For others it may not be an issue. Putting the fan to medium and high positions is really loud, which I think anyone would say the same.The fan fits in my window very easily. I also think it is light enough for any one person to pick up to place in the window. I used the foam padding that can with it in the packing box, to further seal the Eco Breeze on the bottom and also on the top. I am happy with how that has worked. I have used it through some very heavy rains. No water came in through the louvers because they close promptly and securely when the rain starts. I am able to keep my screen in the window even with the Eco Breeze positioned in the window.