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During the winter, my office gets a little cold. I have a unit (essentially a space heater) that heats the area around it to help keep me warm.

Now that it's summer, I realize the unit also has a cool setting. I don't understand how this can work. It takes energy from the wall, and removes energy from the air. That energy has to go somewhere, doesn't it? Where does that energy go if not to the surrounding air?

Here's a picture of the unit. It's model number is 02044. Extensive investigation (i.e. shaking and listening) show no signs of water inside. Apparently it was recalled in 2008 for starting fires. Hopefully this is a newer model? :)

enter image description here

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I did a quick check and came up with a name of Air Tech Fan Heater Model 02044. Without knowing more, it is likely that in the cool mode it merely acts as a fan and moves air. Some describe the cooling sensation simply as the "wind chill effect".

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  • $\begingroup$ So it doesn't cool my office - just my skin (which is the only thing I have to feel the temperature of my office.) Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Commented May 20, 2011 at 23:01
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I could not find that exact model number, but this looks identical and is a fan-forced ceramic heater which can operate in fan-only mode.

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  • $\begingroup$ Updated with model number, although personally I feel this would be better served as a comment than an answer :-) $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Commented May 20, 2011 at 22:37
  • $\begingroup$ @glowcoder No, it's not a comment. It's an answer because it answers the question. The divide between comments and answers is based on content, not length. $\endgroup$
    – Mark Eichenlaub
    Commented May 21, 2011 at 1:20
  • $\begingroup$ @Mark if you look at the time stamps, the content of the message changed almost in its entirety. The previous answer was "It might help if you told us the model: it may be a fan, or perhaps an evaporative cooling unit (where the energy goes into evaporating water - it only works if the air is dry)." In that form, it was a comment. $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Commented May 21, 2011 at 3:52

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