Bangladesh's cooler that runs without electricity could be the answer to India's heat
Suffering from the
hottest summer in recent times, India could consider looking at a cooling
innovation designed and deployed in neighbouring Bangladesh. The best thing
about this cooler? It needs no electricity. Like in India, rural
homes in Bangladesh too are often made of corrugated tin, which make the heat
even more oppressive indoors.
Enter the zero
electricity cooler, called the "Eco-Cooler" (video above). It's
nothing but a grid made from half cut out plastic bottles, which can be placed
in windows. Hot air enters the open end of the bottle and gets compressed in
the bottle's neck, making it cooler before it passes into the room.
According to the
video, the cooler can reduce the temperature in a room by five degree celsius.
The device is the brainchild of a partnership between the advertising agency
Grey Bangladesh and Grameen Intel Social Business, a Dhaka based “social
business Information Technology company”.
“After initial tests,
blueprints of the Eco-Cooler were put up online for everyone to download for
free. Raw materials are easily available, therefore, making Eco-Coolers a
cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution”, says Syed Gousul Alam
Shaon, managing partner and chief creative officer at Grey Dhaka.
Says Grameen Intel Social Business’s deputy GM Abdullah Al Mamun,
“Since most rural homes in Bangladesh are made with corrugated tin, the
Eco-Cooler has the power to provide relief to millions of Bangladeshis.” Could this cooler
bring some relief this summer to rural homes in power- and water-scarce parts
of India too?