• hoagecko(he/his)@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    “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

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      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.

      • LockheedTheDragon@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        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. 😆

    • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      I thought it was ridiculous to make your own air conditioner out of cheap materials, but apparently it’s actually quite cool.

      If your freezer is in the same room as the ice you get from the freezer, this just warms your house more…

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Yes but… If your house keeps returning to the outside temperature, then you are moving a lot of heat in a smaller area you occupy to a larger area that you don’t.