People Are Preordering Windmill’s Smart A/C 7 Months in Advance, But Does It Live Up to the Hype?

Windmill earned a lot of buzz early on for being wifi-connected and voice-enabled, so you could adjust the temperature with a simple command, or by using the Windmill app on your phone. But what really stood out to us was how quickly it could cool down a room. It’s recommended for use in rooms up to 350ish square feet, and in the basement where this one was installed, it took mere minutes to chill the space. That’s largely thanks to its top vents, which blow air up and out into the room, rather than all in one direction.

Another perk? “There’s no loud compressor noise when you turn it on and off,” our tester told us. It quietly runs in the background, which falls in line with the Windmill’s overall design: Every facet of the machine was conceived to blend in with its surroundings. It has a sleek, minimalist design, with dimming LED lights, so if you install it in your bedroom, the glare of the temperature display won’t keep you up at night.

In terms of energy efficiency, Windmill is estimated to cost $68 per year, based on the U.S. government's energy guide (which acknowledges that costs vary, depending on your local utility charges, and bases this price on running the machine for eight hours a day for three months). This puts it at the low end of similar models on the market, which range from $65 to $115 a year. At 11.9 for its combined energy efficiency ratio, it falls just short of the Energy Star criteria for a room air conditioner in its class (which is 12.0 or higher).

The one major downside, our tester found, was that she struggled to get the app to connect to the device. It seemed a bit glitchy in that regard, but otherwise, the air conditioner was so easy to use—and efficient—that she didn’t mind it. (On that note, the company said it's working on app updates to make it easier for users to connect.)

While Windmill units are sold out until mid-2021, the company is offering $60 off the machine, dropping the price tag from $395 to $335. And, since you won’t need it until then anyway, it could be the ideal holiday gift—or “yay, we survived 2020!” splurge that Future You needs.