omg the future is going to be full of stupid tech that only worsens the actual problem :(
this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2022
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It uses peltier effect, which isn't very efficient. There are more efficient ways. Also, personal peltier coolers are really old tech. The article says Sony incorporated their cell phone heat dissipation technology, which means patents. But overall it seems like good product design with mediocre tech.
Using it outdoors probably isn't too bad. It can remove heat faster than skin can conduct heat from the air, and faster than sweat. It can also help during all these wet bulb weather events that are increasingly common.
As far as battery usage, I can't find anything on capacity. They say 100 minutes charge, commenters say it lasts about 2 hours on full charge. Given the size it's probably similar to a cell phone battery. A blurry image I found looks like it says 1.5 amp charging rate. This would put energy usage at around 5 watts with a smaller than average cell phone capacity. According to physics Substack, people generate around 3 watts of heat at rest. So it is just powerful enough to cool you. Also why it says only "light exercise" in the ad copy presumably.
As for energy efficiency, it's actually probably very environmentally sound. But it has lithium ion batteries, plastic, integrated circuits etc. So in that sense, not so great.
Also it's best use case is for riding mass transit to work. Working from home would be so much more environmentally sound.
The point about wet bulb events is what I see as their best application. Being able to distribute a bunch of precharged ones for people to use in the afternoon of a deadly hot day would be a literal lifesaver.
Definitely agree.
Most air pollution! Yay!
Also I am sure this works like shit.
I have split feelings on this. Sometimes I need something to cope with heat, since I don't have AC at home and almost all travel I do is via biking, walking, or transit. My city is temperate so usually the temperature isn't a problem. When it is a problem, I have usually used a simpler solution like a wet $10 cooling towel around the neck. That said, it would be kind of nice to have something that isn't so visible and wet. This is also based in Japan, with a larger amount of transit use where people are going straight from the office to transit stations while in clothing that is not good for a heat wave. If it's keeping people out of cars, I'm all for it.
Looks like it will only cool your back & nothing else
That can be enough. I use wet cooling towels during heat waves. Even just some evaporation off the nape of the neck can make a somewhat warm room be at least tolerable.