Keeping cool isn’t a big priority in Sweden, seeing as we freeze to death for the biggest part of the year. That’s why every summer the annual heat wave is treated like it’s a complete surprise, and there is absolutely no air-conditioning anywhere on the peninsula. But after having old people and babies dying from the heat, and the rest of the population smelling like AC/DC roadies every summer for the past 12,000 years, the Scandinavian market for air con is finally growing. The MATSUI EC1000 is being sold at the leading home fixing/electrical appliances store in the country for about €100. It’s as big and chunky as any proper AC, so you’d expect it to do the job. Open it up, though, and you’ll see it’s about as useful as rollerblades to somebody who’s legs have just been blown off in a suicide bomb attack. There’s just a regular fan standing on a little built-in shelf, with an ice tray in front of it. That’s it. And there’s only one ice tray, so you’ll need to turn it off every time you re-freeze the ice. This is not a joke either, this is something people actually buy for their homes. We know a guy who works there and he tells us it (allegedly) has no effect whatsoever on temperature of the air surrounding it. What a crock of shit.
Reader Comments
July 22nd, 2006
Woha! Vice Sweden weighs in with some heavy shit
July 22nd, 2006
Thank-you very much for this long-overdue update on the status of air-con sales in Sweden. Can’t believe it didn’t make the cover.
July 23rd, 2006
Maybe the Danes should take over.
July 24th, 2006
portable air conditioners that use 1000 watts barely do shit, they look the same and are not much better. And they sell the things for hundreds of dollars then you get to pay fat electric bills while your balls gets stinky, sucks.
July 25th, 2006
it’s freezing here… brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! ice cold air con!
July 26th, 2006
equivalent of propping a fan in front of an open freezer. What a steal @ €100
June 3rd, 2007
I thought it was suspicious when i saw the price but couldnt imagine anyone actually seling a fan with an ice-tray! Not worth even €10, would just take up valuable space.
June 10th, 2008
Right on! I bought one during a heat wave not long ago, but returned it the next day. The cooling effect is very close to ZERO.
A quick Internet search revealed that this type of unit will cool only if the ambient air is very dry (20-30% RH). How often does that happen in Scandinavia?
This unit is worthless here, and selling it as a “cooler” should be illegal.