At high temperatures, it can be difficult to keep your house cool. With a simple trick, you can build an air conditioner for little money.
Below, we describe two ways to build an air conditioner. For the first method, you need a simple household fan. The second option consumes no power at all and works without a fan, but requires a bit more work.
Air Conditioner 1: The Cold Bottle Trick
A fan is never enough to cool a room. Because it only blows air, on a hot summer day, it only moves the heat that is already in your room.
Now the trick: with a few old bottles, you can create cold air near the fan that is ventilated through the room. Fill the bottles three-quarters full with water and place them in your freezer. When the bottles are frozen, place them in front of the fan to blow the coolness into the room.
Larger bottles are better – then you have more cold mass to blow around. The bottle trick works as long as the bottles are colder than the room they are in. Want to freeze the bottles quickly? Wrap them in wet kitchen paper before putting them in the freezer.
Air Conditioner 2: A Bottle Board for Your Window
In 2016, inventor Ashis Paul came up with an air conditioner that requires no electricity. You only need a piece of wood or sturdy cardboard and a collection of old bottles. The system can cool a room by as much as 5 degrees and is widely used in Bangladesh, Paul’s home country, as a cheap air conditioning alternative.
First, saw the wood or cardboard until it is exactly large enough to fit in your window opening. Then make holes in the plate the size of a bottle opening.
Next, halve the bottles in width and make a small hole in the bottle cap. Attach the top of the bottles to the plate by inserting them into the holes and screwing the cap back on on the other side.
After this, you only need to put the plate in your window, with the bottles facing outward. The shape of the bottles ensures that the air is compressed as it goes into your room, causing it to cool as soon as it enters the larger room.