Herman Miller's tiny C2 creates office micro-climates

Battling over control of the office thermostat / air conditioning tends to be a passive aggressive flashpoint in any place of work, so even though this will undoubtedly set off some environmental alarms, the C2 climate control definitely fills a niche. Replacing the role of a regular personal fan, the C2 from Herman Miller allows users to adjust the surrounding temperature up to a 40 degree increase, and an 8 degree decrease, taking 72 degrees F (22 degrees C) as the starting temperature. The aforementioned environmental issues does raise the question of how far this technology should go, especially since office unity can't be that great if an issue as trivial as temperature can't be agreed upon. Still, we're not one to complain about having things easier in our work environments: not that we'd know anything about working in an office.

[Via Reuters]

[eh @ Jun 10th 2007 6:32PM]

it looks like a macbook!

[Wardell Latham @ Jun 10th 2007 7:42PM]

LMAO! good one

[Tim @ Jun 10th 2007 6:46PM]

Does this have a heat sink that has to be placed outside the area? If not, how does it cool the air?

[Chuckles McGee @ Jun 10th 2007 7:53PM]

I'm personally just as baffled at how it can cool the air without some sort of exhaust or tubing connected to the outside. The actual article says that it cools the air by as much as 8 degrees- in the 6 inches in front of the unit. Perhaps it really is just a horrible air conditioning unit, which will produce cooler air right at the vent, but end up heating the entire room eventually.

[Mike @ Jun 10th 2007 9:41PM]

Holy crap, this thing is just an entropy generator. When the heat death of the universe arrives, and we're all undifferentiated matter and energy in every direction for all eternity, don't come running to me!

[hacksto @ Jun 10th 2007 10:49PM]

Point of fact, a refrigerator cools a great deal more than it heats via the compressor, and DC refrigerators more. You don't see an exhaust on your fridge at home.

The volume of air consistently modified for temperature would need to be known, but even a plain fan can affect by a few degrees difference.

Also, this may not be the end of the world.

[Matt H. @ Jun 11th 2007 2:22AM]

Thats rubbish... ^
The heat a fridge exhausts IS the amount it has cooled.
It's what was taken from inside, plus the extra heat from the inefficiencies of the motors.

The perfect fridge, AC unit or freezer would at best be able to cool on par with the heat it's exhausting.

[hacksto @ Jun 11th 2007 11:40AM]

Dear Matt, try working in the refrigeration industry for a couple of decades. You will find out just how much cooling relates to how much effort from the compressor. The cooling process in a fridge is a gas reaction, not a motor conversion of energy.

I think you're sitting there with a more basic idea of science than I would assume from someone who is more than 18 years old. Energy is not matter.

And by the way, that-is, in short form has an apostrophe.

[Michael @ Jun 11th 2007 12:03AM]

I think some of you are missing the point. This is not a room air conditioner. It is a space air conditioner. It will used forced air to cool (or heat) in certain direction. It will likely exhaust the heated air (when cooling) in the opposite direction.

And in response to the comment about refridgerators, unless there is some super advanced technology, refridgerators produce more heat than they cool. They are better than they used to because they are better insulated.

[Bert @ Jun 11th 2007 12:15AM]

"You don't see an exhaust on your fridge at home."

Haha, yes you do! It's just small. The fridge is just keeping air cold, and so only needs to provide cooling to counter whatever thermal leakage there is. Open a fridge in an enclosed room and come back later, I'd bet my left arm that the room would be warmer. The exhaust is usually on the very bottom towards the front (it would be blowing on your feet). At least that's where all the ones I've seen have had it.

[QUOW @ Jun 11th 2007 3:02AM]

True. You can't get something from nothing (or "To obtain, something of equal value must be lost." for you FMA fans). Older refrigerators have hot coils around on their backside, and newer ones have an exhaust that fans out the bottom of the front of the machine. They make good use of that hot air, though: it's used to evaporate the water the refrigerator collects when it defrosts. After a defrost cycle, if you were to put a barometer in front of the exhaust, you would see that the air is very humid.

Anywhoo, back to your internet idiocy, everyone.

[Major Malfunction @ Jun 11th 2007 4:01AM]

@hacksto

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SUB-ZERO-SUB-ZERO-REPLACEMENT-CONDENSER-FAN-MOTOR_W0QQitemZ320122789054QQihZ011QQcategoryZ71259QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[nate @ Jun 11th 2007 11:27AM]

2 words: Peltier Device

[spyboy @ Jun 11th 2007 1:56PM]

you misread...it cools your cube by 8 degrees WHILE heating your neighbors cube (vented hot air) by 40 degrees.

Nice... :)

[acummins @ Jun 11th 2007 2:47PM]

The larger version,the C4, is reported to provide far greater air conditioning capacity.

[NH3MAN @ Jun 11th 2007 2:56PM]

I know that this is hard concept to grasp for some but it will be simpler to make the point that in any refrigeration cycle you are not "cooling" anything. the term "cooling" is mis-leading. You have to remove heat (BTU's) to lower the temperature to achieve this "cooling effect". Heat is tangible. Cool (or cooling) is not. The heat removed must be moved somewhere else. If this device lowers the temperature then it must get rid of the heat (BTU's) somewhere!. In the case of a refrigerator/Freezer the heat is exhausted into the room through the action of the condenser coil (usually on the back of unit) and then it is the room air-conditioner that removes this additional heat through its condenser coil outside. The gas in these refrigeration units is how the heat is controlled (or moved). The gas has to be compressed in this cycle which actually adds more heat in the room!

[NH3MAN @ Jun 11th 2007 2:58PM]

Also a Fan actually creates more BTU's (heat) with its motor and it does not change the air temperature. it creates a "cooling" effect with "wind chill". A typical wind chill can be a couple of degrees "colder" but it is an effect. It does not lower the actual air temperature.

[Brian Lucey @ Jul 28th 2007 5:46PM]

So far none of you seem to understand how this product works. It is NOT and air conditioner. This is a new technology that with a little more time and efficiency will replace the Heat Pump. The Peltier device turns electricity to heat or cold, depending on which direction the current is flowing through the device. It ALSO can turn heat or cold back into electricity! This is NOT a compressor/refrigerant based device. There is no waste heat like all AC. This is the tip of what we investors hope will be a large iceberg of product that, if the efficiency continues to increase, will not only eliminate compressors and refrigerants from residential and commercial spaces but also turn predictable forms of waste heat into electricity. Alternators? Gone. Industrial exhaust? Harnessed. This, again, is NOT an air conditioner and NOT a traditional radiant heater based in resistance and convection/conduction (toaster, car seat, electric blanket). It has a small fan and the Peltier device ... and that's it. No waste heat is produced from cooling. If you want to investigate, see Amerigon (ARGN).