Don't take my word for it...
It's always nice to hear from people who have tried the sleepbreeze personal cooler.
One of those is Vinay Gupta, of Hexayurt fame. Vinay has been over with the STAR-TIDES team in El Salvador. Here's what he had to say....
"Andy,
I just had to write to tell you that the sleepbreeze is really amazing. Well done! As you know, we're at FAHUM in El Salvador demonstrating low cost technology for disaster relief. We have a sleepbreeze we have been running continuously on one side of the booth to show people energy efficient alternatives to air conditioning. Yesterday I started to complain about how hot and stuffy the convention hall seemed. Then I noticed we hadn't turned on the sleepbreeze that morning.
When we turned the sleepbreeze on, the whole area became much cooler and more pleasant. The gentle air flow carried over the entire 10 x 10 booth, subtly keeping us comfortable. We knew the sleepbreeze was good for cooling a single person lying beside it, but I was amazed to discover that a such a small, quiet, inexpensive fan could cool a whole area so effectively.
I really am totally amazed. The difference is that striking: before we turned it on we were hot and uncomfortable, after we turned it on, we were just fine. Not bad for 4 watts!
Seriously, Andy, this is *great technology.* I didn't realize just how powerful this microclimate cooling business is. Solid.
Vinay"
Vinay told us more....
"Yep, I'm the one in El Salvador standing around in a zero-air-movement-other-than-the-sleepbreeze-70%+ humidity room all day :-)
And, yeah, it is *really* amazing. I'm guessing that somehow the airflow stays laminar over the booth or something? I wonder if I can get somebody with a cigarette to help test it...
Anyway, whatever the reason is, in this time, and in this place, the effect is huge. People preferentially linger in the booth for the coolness. What's interesting to me is that I'd never have predicted it. My "intuitive sense" was that the sleepbreeze probably cooled you if you were beside it or two feet away. In practice - maybe because the air in the hall is so still - even eight feet away there's increased evaporation - stepping into the path of the breeze is noticeable even at that distance. So something really interesting and non-intuitive is going on there that I think is worth noting.
Yeah, I think you have a major breakthrough here. We just need to make sure it's most effectively communicated when you're on the market!"
We take it that Vinay likes the product.