It’s summer in the Northern hemisphere, and for many, that means going on holiday to warm, tropical locales. And using air conditioning. Lots of it. In fact, in some tropical places, nearly 80% of energy use in a hotel room is for air conditioning. 1200 to 2000 watts on average.
Evening Breeze is an interesting solution: It’s a canopy bed that has adjustments for both temperature and humidity, and delivers it quietly, overhead, using only 400 watts. As it’s focused just on the place where coolness is desired, there’s no need to try and cool the whole room. Simple, brilliant. The resulting energy savings can mean 4MWh, $1000 and 2.5 tons of CO2 reduction annually.
Since windows and doors can now be left open since there’s not a need for an air seal, this increases the indoor air quality, often an issue in just about any indoor location. Further enhancing the environment, Evening Breeze has an air filter that removes 99.97% of air particles. Mosquito netting is included, to keep out what may come in with those open windows. No joke, as dengue fever is a wide spread issue in much of the world.
Beyond the energy savings, Evening Breeze’s makers took into consideration what goes in to making it and what goes into the atmosphere from their product. All FSC certified wood for the frame, and R410A (chlorine free, not damaging to the ozone) coolant in the air conditioning, which as they put it “allows a higher heat transfer” as compared to conventional R22 coolant, making it further energy efficient.
From the looks of the site, Evening Breeze is early stage at this point. How do they cost in comparison to other beds? A fairer comparison would be how it compares when factoring in annual energy/cost savings.
Readers: What other simple, thoughtful, well designed ways to increase energy efficiency and sustainability in homes, hotels and other indoor structures are you interested in these days?
an admirable solution to meet the energy requirements of a former “luxury” that has long since become a “necessity”. In a bedroom where a mini-split might just be too big for efficiency, this looks like it could be a good first-choice solution.
Well put.
This sounds really great. I never thought about a canopy serving that purpose.
This is cool! No pun intended. LOL
@greenlasagna I’m calling the Pun Police!
As with most people, they hate having to turn on the A/C for an entire house when they are sleeping in a single bed the entire night. I would imagine people would buy this type of bed if it became for cost effective simply because people might be scared away by a high initial cost.
@Patrick: Agreed re pricing. If there was a model that focused on the directed AC/humidity, at a lower cost, or they offered financing on the current offering, this could draw more people to the table. Or bed, as it were
canopy beds are fun, but bulky and pricey. However, buying FSC wood is something that everyone can do with anything…I’m buying a murphy bed for a studio. Studios, need less energy because they are smaller.
Ah, Murphy bed, that’s bringing back memories of San Francisco flats! Yes, true, a smaller space has less energy needs. As long as there’s good venthilation, light