Review: Wood’s AC Cortina 12K AirSwitch (WAC1205G)

Swedish Wood’s has impressed us before with its simple design, efficient cooling and low noise level. We’ve had a Cortina model pass by the editorial office before. Back then it was the Cortina Silent 12K Smart Home. The model with app received a special recommendation and a high score of five.

This time we’re testing a ‘dumber’ version without app and voice control. On the other hand, Wood’s new Cortina 12K has a low-noise feature called AirSwitch.

In practice, the feature uses outside air to cool in addition to the compressor. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The function was indispensable throughout the test to avoid melting away at night.

The downside is that AirSwitch needs two flex hoses. One of them has to be packed in an insulating bag and have a sensor sticking out the window. The sensor is flexible and looks more like a chalky white insect leg.

Whether the air conditioner is worth the time-consuming installation, we take a closer look in this test.

Installation

Wood’s AC Cortina 12K AirSwitch is a bigger deal. Compared to the Cortina Smart Home, the weight has gone down from 33.4 kilos to 31 kilos. However, the AirSwitch takes up four centimetres more in depth.

Lower weight doesn’t make unpacking and installation any easier. The sides of the box are not attached to the base on which AirSwitch stands. This explains why the test unit was delivered with a pallet underneath. The bottom is loose in relation to the box.

In practice, you have to lift the box upwards. The device remains standing in the base, but all the protective wrapping (cardboard) around the device is released and falls away to the sides.

The wheels are pre-mounted. Solution. Turning the unit on its side to put wheels on would be quite a task. The unit weighs and is slightly slippery and awkward despite two notches for handles on the sides.

It is also not advisable to lay AirSwitch on its side. The device must be left in an upright position for at least 24 hours before you can use it for the first time. During this time, the refrigerant settles down after transport. A bit like a fridge.

Wood’s calls the Cortina 12K AirSwitch mobile. This is a truth with modifications. I did manage to back the device across wooden floors and doorsteps into the bedroom. The wheels locked several times and I had to lift/pull the device more than drive it.

The mess left black streaks (easily removed with a damp cloth) due to the pressure from the unit. The wheels seem undersized for the weight and size of the unit. So much for ‘mobile’.

Cortina 12K AirSwitch requires space, both behind (at least 50 centimetres clearance) and around the unit. The flex hoses take up space and are difficult to fit when there are two to consider. Wood’s provided us with a seal as the bracket with holes for the hoses is designed for American and Asian windows. Here the window slides sideways or upwards.

I glued the seal around the window frame, mounted the two hoses with screws in the bracket and wedged it into the window crack. My window is a tilting window.

After the installation, I swore not to move the arrangement to other parts of the apartment, but left the system in the bedroom for the test period. I definitely didn’t regret it.

Operation

Cortina 12K AirSwitch is controlled with the remote control or on the pressure-sensitive display on top. The model is available in a version with Wi-Fi. Wood’s cannot yet say when it will be available in the Nordic markets.

The remote control has no backlight, so the information is difficult to read at night. Instead, I let my fingers decide which button I was holding. The buttons have noticeably different elongated, round and square shapes.

Luckily, AirSwitch makes a pleasant pinging sound when the device detects an input. For example, when you change mode, fan strength or want to lower or raise the temperature. You get a quick response with Wood’s AirSwitch.

AirSwitch cools, dehumidifies or ventilates the air. In addition, there are two AirSwitch modes. Most of it is similar to what we tested with the previous Cortina model. What’s new is AirSwitch.

Cooling and AirSwitch

With AirSwitch, air is brought in from outside via the flex hose with the sensor. In automatic mode, the device switches between AirSwitch and the compressor. If the outside temperature is too high for AirSwitch to cool the interior to the desired temperature, the compressor steps in.

I decided to let AirSwitch work alone at night. The device’s display and my weather app (YR) showed that the outside temperature at the beginning of the test period (May) was usually 13 degrees. Enough to cool with AirSwitch.

After one of the first nights, my nose picked up a sour odour when I opened the bedroom door in the morning. At first I thought something had gone bad in the kitchen. I soon realised that the smell in the bedroom had been continuously changed throughout the night.

In short: Fresh air in the bedroom thanks to the AirSwitch function. Sour, stuffy air in the rest of the house (until I aired it out and created a draught).

At the beginning of June, the temperature in the bedroom rose. According to my analogue thermometer to about 22 degrees. Sometimes an inhuman 25 degrees even after sunset. I wanted 20 degrees, but here AirSwitch was no longer enough. In the light evenings and nights (both inside and outside), the compressor had to step in.

Conclusion

Over the course of a few weeks, I became quite fond of Wood’s Cortina 12K AirSwitch. Not only was the air cooled, it was also replaced. A big (side) benefit as a neighbour is a heavy smoker and the smell seeps into my bedroom throughout the day.

I’m not mentioning this to stigmatise smokers. The smell could also come from cooking or other strong odours. The problem is just the same. If I open the window, it creates an ‘accordion effect’. The more I air out, the more smells are drawn in from the neighbouring apartment and through my bedroom to the window.

AirSwitch provided a good indoor climate and better sleep. In AirSwitch-only mode, the device worked quite quietly. Here the level is 35 dB. About the same as the noise level in the library reading room. I woke up refreshed and without a headache.

The installation of the mobile air conditioning unit is laborious. Especially the flex hoses, which must be mounted on the back and screwed into the bracket. For optimal performance, you should also use a plastic seal for the window to keep out excess heat.

If you’re handy and can live with a larger air conditioner set up in your home, AirSwitch delivers great air indoors. All in all, a noticeable improvement in the indoor climate and at a low and tolerable noise level.