My wife and I have different sensibilities to heat and cold.  She get warm very easily, a trait which has increased with age, while my sinuses do not do well with Air Conditioning.   Consequently, every summer she asks me to haul in the huge window unit and get it going much earlier than I deem necessary.  Also, as I get older, that thing gets heavier so she wants it in earlier every year and every year I feel less like rising to the task.  But, summer is here and soon I will make the mighty effort.

It gets hot in the Midwest, but nothing like it does in Bangladesh.  In fact few places on earth will reach the scorching temperatures residents experience there every year.  We’re not just talking a few hundred degree days, we’re talking many hundred degree days.  To make things worse, due to the massive poverty there, air conditioning is simply not an option for most people living in rural areas.

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say and, in this case, they would be right, for it was Ashis Paul of Bangladesh who developed a clever DIY cooling system that doesn’t need any electricity and is built from a common waste item: empty plastic soda bottles. In just three months, Paul’s company has helped install its smart powerless air conditioners, called Eco Coolers, in 25,000 households, with many more still ahead.

The Eco-Cooler is a zero electricity air cooler which is made with re-purposed plastic bottles. It helps to reduce temperatures in tin huts to make them bearable to live in. Grameen Intel employees volunteered and teamed up with Grey Dhaka to develop this project

The Eco Cooler is reportedly the world’s first-ever ‘zero electricity’ air conditioner, and its inventor wanted to get the concept out there to help as many people as possible. The Grey Group stepped in to help, using its position as a multinational advertising firm to put the plans online, at no cost, so that anyone can build their own Eco Cooler system. Volunteers from Grameen Intel Social Business helped build and install the units, as well as teach locals how to make them, so the wisdom can be passed on.

The efficacy of the Eco Cooler varies widely based on conditions, but Grey Group reports it has the ability to reduce indoor temperatures as much as 5 degrees Celsius, which is on par with what an electric centrally installed air conditioningsystem can do. In some instances the Eco Cooler can reduce indoor temperatures from a sweltering 86F (30C) to a comfortable 77F (25C). For the 70 percent of residents who live in tin-roofed huts that amplify the sun’s heat, the Eco Cooler could be a breath of fresh air just in time for summer.

To top it off the company, instead of creating a fancy package and selling the units, they are actively offering instruction on how people can create their own units,  “This particular project was an initiative by the employees of GISB,” the company press release stated. “Due to the simplicity of the Eco-Cooler, we expect anyone and everyone to adopt this idea and make their own. We urge everyone to download the how-to guide, made available on this website and make their own version of the Eco-Cooler. There are no copyrights.”

Made with re-purposed plastic bottles, the Eco-Cooler helps reduce temperatures in tin huts to make them bearable to live in.  The simple idea was born out of a simple experiment.

Blow With you mouth wide open and feel the air.

Now do the same with your lips pursed

Notice how pursing your lips actually cools the air.

The neck of plastic bottles, helps compress the air. As the hot air pushed towards the rim of the bottle, it starts expanding. The rapid expansion of the warm air-cools the air down

Due to lack of recycling facilities, raw materials are easily available and the villagers
were trained on how to make the Eco-Coolers themselves