make your own air conditioner out of cheap materials
Such a pet peeve of mine when I see basic evaporative cooling called air conditioning. A/C is pretty specific in how it works using refrigerant, condensers, etc. to move heat from one place to another. They also dehumidify the air in the process. A/C and heat pumps are the same thing, just running in opposite directions. They use a lot of electricity to accomplish this movement and are effective in a wide range of temperatures.
Evaporative cooling simply moves air past/through a colder medium to lower the ambient temperature. Most commonly the only electricity used here is a simple fan, and maybe a water pump. This adds humidity to the air so it’s effectiveness drops off dramatically and the ambient humidity gets higher.
The only thing they have in common is making the air cooler, in completely different ways with dramatically different effectiveness and efficiency.
Air conditioning units actually condition the air.
I grew up in a house that had an air conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler (we called it a swamp cooler). Swamp coolers are awesome when you live in dry place. Only when the humidity gets too high you need to switch over to the AC. Swamp coolers are cheaper to run so cue arguments on trying to get my parents to switch to the AC when it starts getting humid. 😆
most efficient at its task (heating and cooling large volume of air)
Air Conditioning is SIGNIFICANTLY less efficient in all conditions where evaporative cooling is effective at all.
This of course assumes the right conditions for evaporative cooling to be effective in the first place, primarily ambient humidity lower than 50%. It works by adding cool humid air, so it’s only effective as long as it can add that to the existing ambient air. An Air Conditioner on the other hand dehumidifies as a side effect, so ambient humidity is not a factor, but the components are more complicated, more expensive, require more maintenance, and more electricity to operate since it needs to contain and move the pressurized refrigerant around the system loop to transfer the heat energy from one place to another.
An evaporative cooler on the other hand is effectively just an absorbent medium, usually with a basin and water pump to ensure it stays wet, and a fan to move the air. People create these all the time without realizing it. Soaking a towel and putting it in front of a box fan is a makeshift evaporative cooler.
Which are not magical, or new. Just an AC running in reverse. Just moving the heat from the outside in rather than inside out. They use the same amount of power as an AC, because they’re the same thing.
“Cardboard Cooler” with cooling function using frozen plastic bottles.
I thought it was ridiculous to make your own air conditioner out of cheap materials, but apparently it’s actually quite cool.
However, the author of the article says that “the wind smells a little like metal.”
The article is in Japanese, but for details, please refer to the link below.
大人も楽しい自由研究(6) 【結構涼しい】凍らせたペットボトルで『ダンボールクーラー』を作ってみた | マイナビニュース
Such a pet peeve of mine when I see basic evaporative cooling called air conditioning. A/C is pretty specific in how it works using refrigerant, condensers, etc. to move heat from one place to another. They also dehumidify the air in the process. A/C and heat pumps are the same thing, just running in opposite directions. They use a lot of electricity to accomplish this movement and are effective in a wide range of temperatures.
Evaporative cooling simply moves air past/through a colder medium to lower the ambient temperature. Most commonly the only electricity used here is a simple fan, and maybe a water pump. This adds humidity to the air so it’s effectiveness drops off dramatically and the ambient humidity gets higher.
The only thing they have in common is making the air cooler, in completely different ways with dramatically different effectiveness and efficiency.
Air conditioning units actually condition the air.
I grew up in a house that had an air conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler (we called it a swamp cooler). Swamp coolers are awesome when you live in dry place. Only when the humidity gets too high you need to switch over to the AC. Swamp coolers are cheaper to run so cue arguments on trying to get my parents to switch to the AC when it starts getting humid. 😆
while it’s an appliance and therefore power hungry, it’s by far the most efficient at its task (heating and cooling large volume of air)
Air Conditioning is SIGNIFICANTLY less efficient in all conditions where evaporative cooling is effective at all.
This of course assumes the right conditions for evaporative cooling to be effective in the first place, primarily ambient humidity lower than 50%. It works by adding cool humid air, so it’s only effective as long as it can add that to the existing ambient air. An Air Conditioner on the other hand dehumidifies as a side effect, so ambient humidity is not a factor, but the components are more complicated, more expensive, require more maintenance, and more electricity to operate since it needs to contain and move the pressurized refrigerant around the system loop to transfer the heat energy from one place to another.
An evaporative cooler on the other hand is effectively just an absorbent medium, usually with a basin and water pump to ensure it stays wet, and a fan to move the air. People create these all the time without realizing it. Soaking a towel and putting it in front of a box fan is a makeshift evaporative cooler.
heat pumps, that is what I was replying to
Which are not magical, or new. Just an AC running in reverse. Just moving the heat from the outside in rather than inside out. They use the same amount of power as an AC, because they’re the same thing.
I’ve seen amazon listings call a fan an ac
I’ve stayed at Airbnb’s that do that.
If your freezer is in the same room as the ice you get from the freezer, this just warms your house more…