How we test & score
Every product on FreezAir is scored with the same weighted rubric, so a 7.5 always means the same thing regardless of brand or price.
The rubric
| Cooling performance — 30% | Realistic cooling effect for the technology class, judged against physics, not marketing. |
|---|---|
| Value for money — 20% | What you get versus the going price of genuine alternatives. |
| Noise — 15% | Published dB where available; otherwise class-typical behaviour, clearly labelled. |
| Energy use — 15% | Watts drawn and cost per hour (see our energy cost calculator). |
| Build & design — 10% | Materials, mounting options, tank access, footprint. |
| Ease of use — 10% | Setup, refills, controls, maintenance. |
Research-based vs hands-on
Reviews are currently research-based: we consolidate manufacturer documentation, verified buyer feedback and category physics. We do not simulate lab measurements we have not made — where a spec is unpublished, the table says “not disclosed by manufacturer”, and where first-hand testing is still pending we say so. As hands-on units arrive, reviews are upgraded and re-dated.
Claim analysis
Marketing numbers (“cools 1,300 sq ft”, “20°F colder”) are reported as claims and checked against thermodynamics in our technical analysis section. If a claim only holds in a dry climate at close range, the review says exactly that.
Why disclosure carries so much weight
The rubric above hides an editorial decision worth stating plainly: in this category, what a seller declines to publish is itself information, and we score it. Of the nine coolers on this site, three publish a wattage and two publish a decibel figure. The rest describe themselves as whisper-quiet and leave the number blank.
That gap is most of the distance between a 7.5 and a 5.7 here. It is not a penalty for being cheap or small — the cheapest device we cover publishes its rated power and scores well for it. It is a penalty for asking a buyer to take a performance claim on trust while withholding the one number that would let them check it.
Every figure belongs to whoever said it
Three kinds of number appear in our reviews, and they are never mixed. Manufacturer claims are attributed and marked as claims. Checkout facts — the price actually charged, the add-ons pre-selected, the shipping and tax lines — are recorded from the checkout itself on a stated date. Arithmetic is our own, shown in full so it can be disagreed with.
What never appears is an estimate dressed as a specification. If a manufacturer does not publish a tank capacity, the table says not disclosed and the score reflects the gap. We would rather leave a cell empty than fill it with a plausible guess a reader might act on.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, the correction goes on the page that carried the error, in the open, and the score moves if it should. Two recent cases are described on our about page: a device we described as a 2-in-1 that does not in fact heat, and a temperature figure we published without being able to trace it to any source.
Scores change for two reasons only — new evidence, or a correction to our own work. They never change because of a commercial relationship. If you believe a figure on this site is wrong, tell us and bring the source; that is the fastest way to get it fixed.
Independence
Brands cannot buy scores, placements or removals. Affiliate revenue is disclosed on every monetized page. See the editorial policy.