Air conditioning units are expensive devices both to buy and to run. When they stop working, that’s also an expensive problem to solve. Even so, if you live in a location with unbearably hot summers, an AC unit is essential. Not everyone has that option, though, but they no longer need it because the Eco-Cooler has been invented.
The Eco-Cooler is an air conditioner that requires no electricity to function and is created using waste products. It sounds too good to be true, but it exists and is in growing use across the country of its origin: Bangladesh, where 70% or residents live in tin huts without power.
To make an Eco-Cooler you take a piece of board cut to the size of a window on your house. Then drill holes in the board big enough to push a plastic neck through. Gather some old plastic bottles and cut the bottoms off, then slide the neck of each bottle through the holes and secure them with the cap. Do this until the board is full. Hang the board on the window and watch the temperature inside drop.
As the video below explains, the simple design works on the same principle as blowing air out of your mouth. To test this, hold your hand up to your mouth then open your mouth wide and breathe out. The air is warm, right? Now do the same thing but with your mouth closed to typical a blowing position. The air leaving your body is cold, right? The bottles work in the same way: the larger end takes in the warm outside air and the change in pressure as it passes through the neck pumps cooler air into the house.
The change in temperature using an Eco-Cooler is at least 5 degrees Celsius. That may not seem like much, but when you’re living in a tin hut with no power that can reach 45 degrees in summer, it makes all the difference. I think you could improve the cooling further by also creating one of these for over the door as it would be a much larger area than the window.
With the abundance of plastic bottles and easy access to pieces of board, this would make for a great weekend project. Anyone fancy giving it a go? It would be a good project to do with your kids, especially if they plan on spending their summers in a hot tree house or garden play shed
The Eco-Cooler is an air conditioner that requires no electricity to function and is created using waste products. It sounds too good to be true, but it exists and is in growing use across the country of its origin: Bangladesh, where 70% or residents live in tin huts without power.
To make an Eco-Cooler you take a piece of board cut to the size of a window on your house. Then drill holes in the board big enough to push a plastic neck through. Gather some old plastic bottles and cut the bottoms off, then slide the neck of each bottle through the holes and secure them with the cap. Do this until the board is full. Hang the board on the window and watch the temperature inside drop.
As the video below explains, the simple design works on the same principle as blowing air out of your mouth. To test this, hold your hand up to your mouth then open your mouth wide and breathe out. The air is warm, right? Now do the same thing but with your mouth closed to typical a blowing position. The air leaving your body is cold, right? The bottles work in the same way: the larger end takes in the warm outside air and the change in pressure as it passes through the neck pumps cooler air into the house.
The change in temperature using an Eco-Cooler is at least 5 degrees Celsius. That may not seem like much, but when you’re living in a tin hut with no power that can reach 45 degrees in summer, it makes all the difference. I think you could improve the cooling further by also creating one of these for over the door as it would be a much larger area than the window.
With the abundance of plastic bottles and easy access to pieces of board, this would make for a great weekend project. Anyone fancy giving it a go? It would be a good project to do with your kids, especially if they plan on spending their summers in a hot tree house or garden play shed
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