I have a CPAP user in my household who goes through a lot of distilled water. I don't like bringing home gallons of water in plastic, as it creates a recycling problem, and transporting water on trucks to stores creates a carbon footprint problem. I don't know the carbon footprint of manufacturing this product and transporting it, but it's probably not small either, but hopefully it will last a long time, and I'll appreciate the convenience! As for how it works, I'm very happy with it. It's quick, starts producing water in just a few minutes. I will say that it's not perfectly manufactured, as I had to use some violence to install the spout correctly. I also don't know what the carbon filter is supposed to be for - distilled water should be nothing but H's and O's. Any volatile contaminants in the water should blow off and not get into your container (the cooling is a fan, not an ice bath), and particulates shouldn't be evaporating/volatilized. So that filter is probably not needed, and the water I've made is really clean without it. The unit is really big, and takes up a lot of space, as well as being hard to store. It isn't too hard to keep clean and remove the scale, but you do have to carefully handle the bulky unit as you clean it so the electronics don't get wet. Overall, I'm pleased with it.