The California Cooler is a revival of an old technology driven by an insight that's overlooked in these days of engineered indoor environments: Cool air keeps things cool. In the days before refrigerators, pantries in Northern California homes had outside vents that preserved perishables throughout cool nights. With this project, you can bring them back. Afraid your baby's seat is getting too hot? A cooler, a bilge pump, freezer packs and tubing will keep you and your baby cool.Dew Bucket: An Evaporative Drink Cooler Consider these two facts: Evaporation cools things, and bottles can't sweat like people. If they could, they would be able to keep their own contents cool. Here's a way to give your drinks their own perspiration system. This is a $10 air-conditioner built around an ice chest. The coolant is, you guessed it, ice. It's practical and cheap, but even if you don't plan to make one, click through to read the back story of how it was conceived. The main character is an electric truck circa 1979, with cameos by store-bought $500 portable A/Cs and a Tesla Roadster.Garden-Watering A/C

Air conditioners can dump hundreds of gallons of water each year. With a pump and some creative pipe work, you can channel that otherwise wasted water into your garden. The mastermind behind these instructions built an air conditioner to circumvent a rule in the office. Apparently, they can't use A/C, but fans are just fine. So, this DIYer rigged an A/C by pumping cold water in an ice chest through copper tubing positioned in front of a fan blade.>CONTINUED: 5 More DIY A/C's >>> DIY Air Conditioner With Heat Exchanger Ugly and effective, this air conditioner costs as much as you'd pay to run a fan and water the lawn at the same time. If the water coming into your home is cold in the summer, you can divert it through a maze of copper pipes with aluminum fins, place the contraption in front of a fan, and voila: The water cools the house on its way to the lawn. Salvage a computer fan, power it with a solar cell, and surround it with wet cloth. That's the gist of this mini solar A/C.

At $5, it's cheap too. You could place a half dozen of these around the house. cost of moving hvac unitJust make sure they match the curtains.ac power supply symbol On smoldering hot days, Rob Patto derives smug satisfaction knowing that the same sun that keeps him huddled indoors is also cooling his home. refrigerant for home ac unitsHere, he describes how he gutted an evaporative cooler and cobbled his A/C together from salvaged and new parts. /id/DIY-Solar-Setup/Tiny, Portable USB Fan Air Conditioner Using only a tin can, a CD, a computer fan and ice, this is a brilliant design for a tiny air conditioner. The best thing about these instructions are that their maker doesn't speak English as a first language, so they're concise and rely heavily on photos.

How to Make a Stirling Engine Fan This must-do DIY project turns a stack of two soft-drink cans, a balloon and some intricately folded wire into a goofy and brilliant rotating area fan.Perfect for a variety of cooling situations, portable air conditioners are great alternatives to traditional air conditioning systems because they're compact, mobile, and require no permanent installation.  Moreover, because they're usually used to cool only certain parts of a home or as a supplement to central air conditioners, they can be much more cost-effective to run.When deciding on a portable air conditioner, there are many important factors to consider. Some consumers may mistakenly purchase a portable AC that is inadequate for their cooling needs. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid when shopping for a portable air conditioner:Don't be confused by terms such as "portable air conditioner" and "air cooler," because these two appliances are quite different. While they both cool, they use completely different cooling methods to achieve lower ambient temperatures.

Furthermore, portable air conditioners and air coolers (also known as "evaporative coolers" or "swamp coolers") have certain climate requirements. Portable air conditioners use refrigerants to reduce the temperature. During the cooling process, moisture is condensed out of the air and collected in a drain bucket or exhausted out through a drain hose or evaporated out the exhaust. Evaporative coolers use the simple process of evaporation to provide cooler air. A frame with a large fan is walled in by water-soaked pads, and this fan blows the warm outside air through the continually soaked pads to produce a cooling effect. As a result, the air can be cooled by as much as 20 degrees.Climate Restrictions: These two types of portable coolers have climate restrictions. Because portable air conditioners act as dehumidifiers, they're best suited for areas with moderate humidity levels. On the other hand, swamp coolers add moisture to the air, so they are most effective in arid climates. Consequently, if the humidity level in your environment is above 20%, a swamp cooler will not work and a portable air conditioner will be more suitable.

The correct way to determine a portable AC's cooling efficiency is to calculate the unit's BTUs and hope the air conditioner will provide cooling comfort in a variety of conditions. But this method can sometimes be inaccurate.  A portable air conditioner's BTUs is a good predictor of its cooling ability, but some other factors should be considered, such as the dimensions of the room and where the AC will be placed.BTU is an acronym for British Thermal Units and describes an air conditioner's cooling capacity.  The higher the BTU, the stronger the air conditioner. However, the size of the room you're cooling is also important, and if you choose a portable AC with an incorrect number of BTUs, cooling efficiency will be compromised. A higher BTU rating than its corresponding room size will result in quick cycling and the inability to dehumidify the air. Also, if a portable AC has a lower BTU rating than is required for a particular room, there will not be adequate cooling. When choosing a portable AC and its BTU requirements, consider your room's dimensions and where it will be located.

Shaded areas require a BTU reduction of 10%; sunny areas will require an increase in BTUs by 10%; and kitchens will need an addition 4,000 BTUs overall. EER stands for "Energy Efficiency Ratio" and measures how efficient a cooling system will operate when the outdoor temperature is at a certain level (usually at 95° F). This measurement is calculated as a ratio of BTUs to the amount of power the portable air conditioner consumes in watts. The following is an example of how EER is calculated for an air conditioner with 12,000 BTUs and consuming 1500 watts: Here is an example of another portable AC with the same BTU rating but using 1200 watts of power.  This results in a higher EER:12,000 / 1200 = 10EER = 10The above calculations show that the second portable AC produces the same amount of cooling as the first but is more energy efficient. With that said, if you want to save money on your energy costs, choose an appropriately sized portable air conditioner with a high EER.Despite the fact that portable air conditioners require no permanent installation, they will need to be vented either through a window, drop ceiling, or wall due to the fact that they exhaust hot air from indoors and work as humidifiers.