Homemade air conditioner with your own hands. Recommendations for making a car air conditioner with your own hands Converting a home air conditioner into a car

With the onset of summer comes the heat, which becomes truly unbearable on the road. Sitting in a traffic jam for many hours, when it literally soars from the asphalt, is a nightmare for any motorist. And if the built-in “condo” is also acting up, then it’s just right to douse yourself with cold water and ice in order to at least somehow alleviate your condition.

Although a huge number of gadgets have already been invented for cars that work from the cigarette lighter, air conditioners for cars remain a mysterious and incomprehensible topic for many. On the market and on the Internet, you can find a bunch of different gadgets called with a serious word - air conditioning. However, to understand whether they have something in common with your favorite office oasis, let's look at the principle of operation of these devices.

The principle of operation of a car air conditioner

The air conditioner installed in the car at the manufacturer's factory works on the same principle as office units. That is, it absorbs heat through the evaporator, cooling the interior of the car. At the same time, the "exhaust" air is discharged into the environment (outside).

The air conditioner itself is a sealed system filled with freon and compressor oil. Oil reduces friction, partially removes particles released during operation and circulates in the air conditioning system.

Based on this, it becomes obvious that a car air conditioner can only be a unit that can utilize air to the street. And of course, such a device cannot cost 3,000 - 5,000 rubles.

The Chinese air conditioner from the cigarette lighter to the car outwardly and in its functions is more like a conventional fan. Such a device does not cool the air, but only passes it in a circle, creating a light breeze. Manufacturers go to tricks and proudly call such products a 12-volt car air conditioner, but in fact, in nature, such units are still produced only for trucks. These overall devices, powered by a voltage of 24 V, crash into the cab roof and cost about 85,000 rubles.

Nevertheless, as they say, “pain is tricky for inventions” and if you really need an analogue as close as possible to the air conditioner, then you can make such a device yourself.

How to make a mini air conditioner for a car with your own hands

You can make something similar to air conditioning in a car from the cigarette lighter yourself. For this you will need:

a new or old plastic refrigerated container (aka cooler bag);
an appropriately sized stove radiator;
several fans (you can buy the same as for computer video cards);
wires;
pump (you can take an aquarium or from a glass washer barrel);
old car cell phone charger.

The pump must be fixed at the bottom of the cooler bag, and the wires from it should be brought out. On the inside, we make a square cutout with a diameter of the prepared radiator, and on the outside we cut out two round holes for the fans.

After that you need:

Screw the fans and combine them into wiring.
Install the radiator on the inside of the cover, lowering its branch pipe down. To prevent it from falling off, you can additionally strengthen it with silicone.

Healthy! If there are piano hinges lying around in the garage, you can use them to connect the lid and the container body.

Connect the pump outlet and the radiator inlet on the cap. To prevent water from interfering while driving, you can also attach a hose to the radiator outlet.
Run the wires to the old charger.
Ready.

This installation does not look the most presentable, but copes with its functions. Before connecting a home-made unit to the cigarette lighter, it is necessary to fill the container with ice and fill it with water. As soon as the "condo" turns on, the pump will begin to draw cold water from the container to the radiator, and the fans will blow the resulting cold air through the car.

The advantages of such a device are its environmental friendliness and low cost. If we talk about efficiency, then a home-made air conditioner can also boast of this. An hour later, when the ice melts, it is enough just to fill in a new portion and the unit will again saturate the red-hot car with coolness.

In custody

As you can see, unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers only confuse motorists by passing off ordinary fans that are not able to cool the air as full-fledged air conditioners powered by 12 V. If you look at the control buttons on such gadgets, you will see that there is even close It's not about cooling. Usually there are only "fan", "off" and "on" buttons. But air conditioners for trucks are not fiction, but real, expensive and difficult to install units.

Every year the heat breaks new records, the prices for air conditioners soar, and you always want coolness in the house without large financial costs. We offer you several ways to escape from the summer heat, for which you only need improvised means and ingenuity. We will tell you how to make an air conditioner at home.

Important! All air conditioners made at home use the principle of cooling the surface by evaporating water. Of course, a homemade air conditioner can not be compared with a split system, but it can lower the temperature in the room by several degrees. Consider some examples of making home remedies for heat.

Remedy for the heat from our ancestors

Even in the days of the absence of cooling systems, our ancestors used a wet towel. They wrapped, for example, a bottle, and put it in a through place, and in the process of water evaporation, cooling occurred. This principle formed the basis of the simplest climatic device - a wet towel on the fan housing. If the process is automated, then part of the towel can be dipped into a container of water, it will be absorbed by the cloth and evaporate under the influence of the air flow.

The most primitive home air conditioner

If you do not want to spend a lot of time assembling a complex device, but still want to make an air conditioner at home with your own hands, you will definitely like this method.

To create a cooling system you will need:

several plastic bottles of frozen water;
fan;
wire for fasteners or a bottle tray.

Proceed like this:

Freeze bottled water.
Space the containers a couple of centimeters apart by placing them on a drip tray or by mounting them directly to the fan.
Turn on the fan.

Advantages of a homemade device:

cheapness;
reusable.

Disadvantages of this design:

a problem with the removal of condensate that appears on the surfaces of bottles;
frequent need to replace bottles with containers of frozen water.

Pipe, water and fan

This is another option on how to make an air conditioner at home using frozen water and its cooling properties, which is also not difficult.

To make the device you will need:

several plastic bottles with frozen liquid;
a piece of plumbing plastic pipe (with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the bottle);
fan;
hot glue.

Manufacturing instructions:

Place a few plastic bottles of frozen water inside the pipe.
Attach the fan to one end of the plastic pipe with hot glue.
Turn on the fan.

The principle of operation of this device: a directed air flow passes through the gap between the bottles and the walls of the pipe. Such contact of air with cold objects greatly lowers its temperature.

Disadvantage: there is no condensate outlet, but if you make a few holes at the bottom of the pipe, this will not be a problem.

Important! Do not point the structure at a person, especially in the summer heat, as this is unsafe for health.

Hose, copper pipe

If you set out to make an air conditioner with your own hands a more advanced device, take this method into service.

This design uses:

garden hose (preferably made of rubber);
thin copper tube;
fan.

Manufacturing:

From a copper tube, form a radiator over the entire surface of the radiator grill (leave gaps for air flow).
Fix the formed radiator.
Connect one side of the tube to a cold water faucet.
Run the other end down the drain.
Turn on the cold water faucet.
Connect the fan to the mains.

Schemes of portable (portable) air conditioners

Such climatic devices will be a real salvation for people who are tied to their workplace: office workers, gamers.

Container, ice and cooler

The principle of this small air conditioner is the same as that of previous models. Its main advantage is compactness, ease of use and direction of action.

In order to make an air conditioner with your own hands, you will need:

plastic container for 1.5-2 liters (for storing food and non-food products.);
cooler (from the computer power supply);
corrugated plastic siphon;
stationery knife;
glue gun.

Step by step assembly instructions:

Make a hole in the lid of the container - slightly smaller than the fan.
Using a hot glue gun, stick the cooler into the lid so that it draws air into the container.
Make a hole in the other end of the lid with a clerical knife (this is a hole for a corrugated siphon).
Cut 25-35 cm from the corrugated plumbing siphon.
Glue this piece into the lid with a gun.
Fill the container with ice.
Close the lid.
Turn on the fan in the power supply.

Your portable air conditioner is ready. Rotate the siphon section and direct cold air anywhere in the room.

Air conditioning from an old refrigerator

If you have an old refrigeration unit, then it will perfectly serve as a means of freshening the air in the room. In fact, it is a real air conditioner. The principle of operation is based on the transfer of heat by freon from the evaporator to the condenser.

To make the device you will need:

2 fans;
plastic pipe;
electric jigsaw (with a saw for metal);
assembly foam.

Step by step instructions for making:

Drill a hole for the fan in the door.
Install a fan in the freezer door to blow air in.
Make a second hole to let the cool air out.
Insert a plastic pipe into this hole.
Carefully close the gaps with mounting foam.
Install a second fan facing the condenser for better heat dissipation.
Turn on the refrigerator and fans, and you can cool the room.

Important! You can make more than just an air conditioner out of an old refrigerator. Want to know how else you can use it? We have covered this topic in our review.

Cooling device from a car radiator

In order to make an air conditioner with your own hands from a car radiator, you will need:

radiator (preferably from domestic cars);
fan (can be bought with a radiator at an auto parts store);
plastic clamps;
rubber hose;
sealant;
case from a computer power supply;
terry towel (as a pallet).

Manufacturing instructions:

Mount the radiator on the back of the case.
Install a fan on the front of the case.
The airflow must move from the heatsink to the fan.
Install rubber hoses on the pipes extending from the radiator, attach them with clamps.
Water is supplied through one hose. Connect it to a cold water faucet. The other hose serves as a means for withdrawing water.
Put the whole structure on a towel.

Important! The main thing in this system is the speed at which water will pass through the radiator and the speed of the fan motor. All this depends on the speed of cooling the room.

The advantage of this device is the absence of condensation.

Flaws:

the radiator must be connected to the electrical network through a 12 V adapter, which must be purchased separately, or used from an old computer power supply;
labor-intensive manufacturing method;
if the apartment is equipped with water meters, then such an air conditioner will cost a lot.

How to make air conditioning in the car?

To make a car version of the air conditioner, you will need:

a plastic container (a container from a cooler bag is best);
saloon radiator from the stove;
a small submersible pump (aquarium or from a machine washer);
a pair of fans;
connecting tubes.

In the car, the device can only work from the cigarette lighter, so if you do not have a car charger for your phone, then you need to purchase one.

To make an air conditioner in your car with your own hands, follow these instructions:

Install the pump at the bottom of the container.
Pull the wires from the pump out.
Poke a couple of holes in the lid of the container for the fans.
Attach fans.
On the inside of the lid, install the stove radiator with silicone.
Connect the wires from the fans, pump, charger.
Connect the pump to the radiator using connecting pipes.
Pour ice into the container.
The device is ready to work.

Important! The car air conditioner is able to provide comfortable conditions in the cabin for up to 5 hours. To get rid of excess noise during the operation of the air conditioner, put a hose on the radiator outlet.

This publication is mostly addressed to those readers who do not yet have the opportunity to purchase a factory-made air conditioner, as well as pay the rather "weighty" electricity bills that accrue as a result of its use. In addition, there are a number of shortcomings in the devices on sale, forcing some particularly “choosy” users to abandon such equipment - this will be mentioned below.

But living in an intolerable summer stuffiness, which is especially typical for the premises of insufficiently thermally insulated apartment buildings, is also a completely bleak prospect. Therefore, homeowners have a question about whether it is possible to make an air conditioner with their own hands.

There are several options that will help cool the air in the room using homemade devices. Probably, we should immediately warn that there are many skeptics who do not want to make efforts and conduct such experiments. They actively criticize these inventions, posting derogatory comments and predicting the inoperability of the project in advance. However, there is nothing easier than to check the effect of homemade products on yourself, especially since each of them will not require high costs and excessive efforts, since any person should cope with their manufacture if he is tired of the constant stuffiness in the rooms.

So that anyone can try to make and experience one of the homemade air conditioners, a few simple designs will be presented below. Some of them can be made in just an hour, and using the most affordable materials.

What is an air conditioner. Advantages and disadvantages of factory models

To begin with, it is worth understanding what it is, what is the principle of its operation and what it is used for.

Everyone knows that such devices are used to maintain a comfortable temperature for a person in the premises. Air conditioners, the most affordable and simple in design, are designed only for cooling air. However, today innovative models are being produced that can not only fully control the temperature in the room at any time of the year, but also purify and humidify the air.

Basic device of air conditioners

All commercially available devices are divided into evaporation and compression

In terms of their functions, they differ in that evaporative models are only capable of cooling and humidifying the air, while compression models can be designed for both cooling and heating it.

Compression conditioner

Compression air conditioners can be called the most common devices. They can be seen everywhere, built into window openings or hung on the walls of buildings.

The design of a compression device, like any other refrigeration equipment, consists of the following main components that perform certain functions:

The compressor keeps the refrigerant moving around the appliance circuit.
The condenser (radiator) is intended for cooling and condensation of freon.
The evaporator is designed to turn liquid into steam with a sharp decrease in freon pressure.
Thermostat - controls the current flow of freon passing through the evaporator, thereby maintaining the temperature at a given level.
Fans are installed both outside the air conditioner and inside, and are designed to activate heat exchange processes and provide a directed flow of cooled air.

The operation of a compression air conditioner can be briefly described as follows:

The refrigerant in the gaseous state, having a temperature of +10÷20 degrees, enters the compressor from the evaporator under a pressure of 3 ÷ 5 atmospheres.
The compressor compresses the refrigerant until a pressure of 15÷25 atmospheres is reached, while it heats up to a temperature of 75÷90 degrees.
Further, freon enters the condenser, where it is cooled by the flow of "outboard" air driven through the heat exchanger, turning into a liquid state. The refrigerant at the exit from the condenser has a high pressure, and its temperature is 12÷20 degrees higher than the environment.
From the condenser, the heated refrigerant enters the temperature control device. This is usually a thin copper tube-spiral with the ability to adjust the cross section for the passage of freon, the pressure drop in the thin tube with an increase in the speed of the refrigerant, in strict accordance with Bernoulli's law, causes a sharp drop in the boiling point of the liquid, which leads to the beginning of the process of active evaporation.
Then the refrigerant enters the evaporator, where, due to a sharp expansion and removal of heat from the air in the room, it is finally converted into a gaseous state. It is this stage that serves as the key to lowering the temperature in the room.
Further, the refrigerant in the gaseous state again enters the compressor, and the whole process is cyclically repeated.

Prices for air conditioners

air conditioner

The same principle, by the way, underlies the device of refrigerators.

Find out how by studying step-by-step instructions in a special article on our portal.

Evaporative air conditioner

An evaporative air conditioner is a fairly simple design based on the direct evaporation of ordinary water, that is, it does not use special refrigerants (freons), which are often hazardous to the environment.

The main nodes of this class of devices are:

The case in which all units are located, with a pallet (pos. 4), made of materials that are resistant to moisture and significant temperature changes.
Water pump equipped with a filling tank (pos.1), water supply valves. Designed to saturate the cooling filter with water. Water is taken from the tank, where it is pumped from the sump. There is a drain valve that is used to regularly remove contaminated water from the sump.
Evaporative filters or gaskets (item 2) are designed for the most efficient evaporation of water entering them. They are made most often from cellulose, although the use of special polymers is also practiced. Most often they have a honeycomb structure of the structure - this contributes to the maximum contact of the humid environment and the pumped air.
The fan ensures the intake and forced movement of the required volume of air through the evaporative filters.

Even from the name of this scheme, it becomes clear that it works by evaporation, and water is used as a liquid that passes into a vapor state. It is interesting that such devices have, one can safely say, a very ancient origin. It was in this way that indoor cooling was organized several millennia ago in Persia and Mesopotamia, where such “air conditioners” were called “wind catchers”.

The principle is known to everyone - the evaporation of water always leads to cooling of the surface. A simple experiment: wet one hand and leave the other dry - the difference is obvious. By the way, clever nature has provided each of us with its own "cooling system" - it is the release and evaporation of sweat that saves the human body from external overheating.

During the operation of an evaporative air conditioner, warm outside air is drawn in by a fan and passes through filters that are constantly saturated with water from a tank. Due to the evaporation of water, the air flow is cooled, humidified and passes into the room. It is characteristic that the lower the humidity of the outside air, the more intense the evaporation of water from the filters, respectively, the air conditioner functions more efficiently. Unlike compression air conditioners, the air in the room is always pumped in from the outside, that is, it needs to be filtered (that's why evaporator filters are used). In addition, this makes it necessary to ensure the exhaust flow from the premises.

This type of air conditioner has a much simpler design, much more economical in operation compared to the compression design in terms of electricity consumption, with equal cooling capacity.

A significant disadvantage of such devices is that they show extremely low efficiency in a humid climate. In addition, the costs include the need for constant replenishment of water or its supply.

So, in order to make an air conditioner with a compression principle of operation, it will be necessary to make significant investments, and its assembly requires some knowledge and skills. At the same time, it will not be difficult even for a schoolboy to make a working model of an evaporative air conditioner.

Advantages and disadvantages of ready-made air conditioners

Air conditioners are installed everywhere nowadays, because in summer, when the temperature outside rises to 35-40 degrees, and sometimes even higher, it is quite difficult to do without additional cooling equipment in the premises. Any of the air conditioners has numerous advantages that any manufacturer gives and, in principle, does not deceive the consumer. However, not everyone knows that, in addition to advantages, each such device has plenty of disadvantages, and some of them are extremely dangerous for the health of people in an air-conditioned room. But in order to compare the advantages and disadvantages of devices, they must first be known.

The well-known "pluses" of air conditioners include their following characteristics:

The main advantage of these devices is the creation of a comfortable microclimate in a house or apartment in the summer or all year round.
The air conditioner is able to filter the air masses passing through it in the room. In some models, in addition to filters, ionizers and humidifiers are installed, which significantly improve the air quality in the rooms.

The negative aspects of having an air conditioner in the house include the following:

Air conditioners consume a lot of electricity, so bills for it will increase significantly. In addition, these devices require professional, regular service, and you will also have to pay for these services.
The biggest disadvantage of air conditioners is that they, collecting dust from the air, with all its attendant components, accumulate it on their filters. As a result, a favorable microclimate is created in the filters for the reproduction of dangerous microorganisms. One of these characteristic bacteria is Legionella, which causes a very serious lung disease called Legionellosis.

Air conditioning requires special means - it is usually done once every three months. If this procedure is not carried out on time, the device will become a hotbed of dirt and unpleasant odors that will stand in the room.
If you use an air conditioner without a humidifier, the air in the room will become dry very quickly - the relative humidity will be only 30÷40%, when comfortable air for a person should be humidified up to 45÷60%. Dry air makes it difficult to breathe, leads to damage to the mucous membranes of the eyes and nasopharynx, as well as skin aging.
The use of air conditioners often causes a surge in colds in a seemingly "harmless" summer period, especially in children or adults with a predisposition to this.
During operation, the air conditioner makes a constant noise, which negatively affects the psyche of some people.
Finally, although prices are not the same as they were, say, a dozen years ago, not everyone still has the opportunity to purchase and install such a device in their apartment or house.

Unlike a factory device, a home-made version does not require high costs or special conditions. It is easy to operate and maintain, so it can be easily handled without the involvement of specialists.

DIY air conditioners

It may be worth starting with the simplest ways to cool the room. They are well-known and have been used since ancient times - for example, a damp sheet, which is used to curtain an open window, or a container filled with water and wrapped in a wet terry towel, the end of which is lowered into the water. Such a “cooling system” is installed on a window sill with an open window or in a doorway facing the street. The role of the fan in this case will be played by a banal draft. Everything is the same as it was discussed above - when water evaporates, the fabric cools, and the desired coolness enters the room.

Most mini air conditioners operate on the same principle, which you can quite easily make yourself.

Next, we will consider several options for devices that can be made at home without much difficulty and high costs. Of course, the created models will not be able to compete in terms of cooling power with factory-made air conditioners, but they will not cause so many problems either. In addition, the cost of electricity will be several times less than when using real devices.

The advantage of a home-made cooling device is also that if the design seems inefficient, it can be easily disassembled and folded, so to speak, into a box. Due to the fact that everything necessary for the manufacture of devices is inexpensive, it will not be a shame for the money spent. But how much pleasure the master will get if he is satisfied with his “creation”!

The first option is a mini-air conditioner from a fan and a copper tube.

It is not difficult to make such a compact air cooler, but it must be borne in mind that for its effective operation you need running water or a bucket filled with it, which will have to be carried after the device if it is decided to move it to another room. If a water meter is installed in a house or apartment, then it is better, of course, to choose the second version, with water recirculation.

Fan prices

fan

For the manufacture of the air conditioner shown, you will need:

A fan of any model that has a front protective grille.
Copper tube 1/4˝ or 6.35 mm. Its length will depend on the diameter of the fan grille and the density of the spiral. A standard floor fan will require approximately 5000÷10000 mm of tubing.
Plastic clamps or thin wire.
Transparent flexible plastic tube with an internal diameter of 6 mm.
Submersible pump for an aquarium with a capacity of 600÷1000 l/h.
A thermal box, such as a cooler bag or a plastic bucket. It should be noted here that ice will melt much longer in a thermal box than in a bucket, so it is preferable to the latter.
Metal clamps.
Cold accumulator.

You need to talk about the cold accumulator in more detail, since it will come in handy not only for this, but also for other models of home-made mini-air conditioners.

Prices for copper pipes

copper tubes

Cold accumulators are used in car or portable refrigerator bags to maintain the required temperature in them. This convenient device is a hermetically sealed plastic container that has a flat shape. The battery capacity is filled with a rapidly freezing liquid, and before being placed in an isothermal bag or a plastic box, it is frozen in the freezer of the refrigerator.

The cold accumulator can be used an unlimited number of times, and it is able not only to cool the interior of the refrigerator box, but also to keep it cold. On sale you can find three types of batteries, which differ in filling substance. So, the container can be filled with a water-salt solution, gel or silicone.

A water-salt accumulator maintains a temperature in the refrigerator box in the range from -20 to +8 degrees.
The gel version of the cooler is able to maintain both a positive temperature of the desired level and a negative one.
The silicone battery is sold in a bag of durable plastic film - this option can keep the temperature from 0 to +2 degrees for seven days, provided that the refrigerator is not opened.

Therefore, to cool the water entering the air conditioner, it is more expedient to purchase a silicone battery. But for it to work effectively, we repeat, a tightly closed box with effective thermal insulation is required. If there is none on the farm, then you can pick up a closed container (for example, there are buckets with a rectangular section) and glue all its surfaces (including the lid) from the inside or outside with a layer of expanded polystyrene 30 ÷ 40 mm thick.

Having prepared everything you need for work, you can proceed to the manufacture of a mini-air conditioner:

Illustration
	The first step is to remove the front protective grille from the fan. Then a copper tube is taken, and, starting from the center of the grate, a spiral is twisted from the tube, as shown in the illustration.
	The more turns the spiral has, the faster the room will cool. However, do not forget that if the spiral is twisted too tightly, it will interfere with the normal movement of air pumped by the fan. The ends of the tube are left free - they will later be inserted behind the rear grille of the fan, after installing and securing the front one. This design will become a heat exchanger for the air conditioner. Water cooled in a sealed container will circulate through the copper tube, and the fan, blowing the heat exchange circuit, will direct the flow of cool air into the room in the right direction.
	The tube is fixed on the front grille with plastic clamps, puffs, but if they are not there, then you can use ordinary thin soft wire to fix the spiral. After the heat exchanger is completely fixed on the grille, the ends of the clamps must be cut off, since the air conditioner will not look aesthetically pleasing with them.
	The next step is to install the grille with the spiral on the fan. The ends of the copper tubes are brought to one of the sides of the device or are wound behind the rear grille. In any case, they should be turned in one direction, where it is more convenient to install the cooling box.
	Next, the ends of the transparent plastic tubes must be attached to the ends of the copper coil. So that they are tightly fixed, and complete tightness of the connection is ensured, they are fixed from above with metal clamps.
	After that, one of the tubes is connected to the pump nozzle. The length of both hoses must be such that they freely reach the container in which the coolant will be located. Here it is necessary to clarify that the tube can be selected according to the diameter of the pump nozzle, and if it is much larger than the size of the copper tube, then on the latter, before putting on a transparent hose, you need to wind the tape and also fix the connection with a metal clamp.
	After connecting all the tubes, they, together with the pump, are placed in a container. In this case, a foam box is used, but a refrigerator bag or a plastic bucket is also suitable, but it will need to be thoroughly thermally insulated using polystyrene foam or other insulation. In order for the container to close tightly, the tubes can be passed through the holes drilled in the walls of the container - then the lid will be tightly closed.
	The thermal box is filled with cold water, and then the system is checked. To do this, the pump must be turned on and when the water begins to circulate through the tubes, check the connections. The water taken by the pump must go through the entire coil and return to the tank through the second drain transparent tube.
	If the test was successful, then ice and cold accumulators should be added to the water container, and then tightly closed with a lid. Now you can turn on the fan and check the performance of the entire assembled system as a whole. Ice will have to be periodically added to the thermal box as the mini-air conditioner works.

The second option is a mini air conditioner from a table fan.

In order for the air conditioner to be more powerful and cool the entire room, you will need a fan with a larger capacity. But it is quite possible to organize local cooling of the air flow, for example, near a place to work or rest.

In this case, the master used an ordinary table fan, which is found in almost every home. It does not have to be disassembled to the ground, so if you want to use it in the traditional way, it will be enough to put it in its original position.

In addition to the fan, to create this design, you will need a cardboard box of a suitable size, a wide adhesive tape, a saucepan or other container that fits completely into the box, shoe threads and ice. From the tools you will need to prepare a clerical knife, scissors, a marker, a ruler or tape measure, a large (gypsy) needle. If you look at the list of tools, then a logical conclusion suggests itself that even women's hands can make such a mini-air conditioner.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation to be performed
	So, any large corrugated cardboard box will work, as you can easily make a small one out of it. In order to start its manufacture, it is necessary to prepare a suitable container. You can take any pot from the kitchen, as you can return it at any time if necessary. You don’t have to drill and cut the container - it will remain in its original form.
	The task of the first stage is to make a box without a bottom from corrugated cardboard, which will be 150 ÷ 200 mm higher than the container, and have such dimensions in length and width that the selected container will easily fit into. To do this, the cardboard box is marked, its bottom and lid are cut off. This work is done with a sharp clerical knife.
	Next, a box is assembled from cut cardboard. The edges of the box are fastened with high-quality adhesive tape, which is glued in two to three layers.
	The result should be something like a box, as shown in the illustration. If there are holes or windows in the walls of the box, then they must be sealed with the same adhesive tape so that the cold that will come from the ice is directed in one direction and exits through one channel specially designed for this.
	In the next step, the remains of the cardboard are measured, and on one of the fragments that do not have folds, a lid is drawn and cut out, which must exactly match the previously made box. In the central part of this cardboard square, a circle is marked, which should have a diameter that exceeds the span of the impeller of the existing fan by 20 ÷ 25 mm. The fan blades should not only enter the cut-out window freely, but also not touch its edges when turned on. It is best to make this cover from two layers of cardboard - this will turn out more reliably.
	The next step is to fix the prepared square cover on top of the box. The parts are connected around the perimeter with adhesive tape.
	Then, the height of the container, which will be under the box, is measured. At this level, a rectangular hole is marked and cut, 35 ÷ 40 mm high. The length of the opening can be different, but it is important to deviate from the corners of the box at least the same 35 ÷ 40 mm, thereby maintaining the rigidity of the structure.
	The next step is to cut out two identical parts from cardboard - strips, the length of which will be 4 ÷ 5 mm less than the rectangular cutout in the box, and the width will be 5 mm more. The parts must be connected with threads, at a distance from each other, which should be equal to the height of the rectangular gap cut in the box. The threads must be started at a slight angle from the top part to the bottom, i.e. fix them through the top panel, stepping back from the edges 7 ÷ 8 mm, and on the bottom 12 ÷ 15 mm.
	In the next step, the connected parts are inserted into the cut-out rectangular case window, as shown in the illustration. They must enter freely.
	Next, a gypsy needle is taken with a thread inserted into it and the details are freely fixed in the window, each of them in three places. One of them is fixed to the upper line, along the length of the opening, and the second - along the lower border. The threads should not be tightened tightly - passing them through the cardboard, you just need to tie knots.
	The result should be a structure, similar to ordinary blinds, which can tilt down, up or set exactly horizontally, directing the air flow in the right direction.
	In this illustration, you can see how the curtains of the resulting blinds move upwards with the movement of a finger. They will remain in this position until someone decides to change the direction of the flow.
	Now you can start assembling the structure. In order for the air conditioner to work more quietly, it is recommended to put a bedding on the surface of the floor or table under the container - it can be a cloth folded in several layers or an old towel. But at the same time, the pan must be very stable.
	On top of the container, the front mesh, removed from the fan, is laid with the convex side down. It will serve as a stand for pieces of ice.
	Now ice can be laid on the grid - it should be prepared in advance. If the summer is hot, and the air conditioner is planned to be used daily, then the ice will have to be harvested constantly. This is the only inconvenience in using this design. However, its advantage is that it will consume no more electricity than a conventional fan.
	Now, the container with the mesh and ice is covered with a box. When the ice melts, the water will drain into the substituted container, but in order for the cold to enter the room constantly, the ice will have to be constantly placed. It is best to prepare the ice used for such an air conditioner in large pieces by freezing water, for example, in plastic glasses. In this case, it will melt more slowly than the one made in small cubes.
	Next, a fan is inserted into the opening of the box, with the blades down. If a table-top appliance is used, as in this case, then it can not be removed from the footboard. When used for the construction of a large, floor model, it is better to remove the axis with blades from the stand. For a larger fan diameter, you will have to make a larger box.
	When the whole structure is assembled, you can proceed to its testing. In this case, in order to visually evaluate the functionality of the air conditioner, the master used polyethylene tapes.
	To visually determine the direction of air flow, so to speak, “in real time”, several polyethylene strips can be glued to the shutters of the blinds with adhesive tape. If you always use ice of the same size, then over time it will become clear how approximately one bookmark is enough. Although, the period of ice melting will also depend on the air temperature in the room.

Using such a mini-air conditioner to cool the air, you need to periodically empty the container in which the melt water will collect, otherwise it will go over the edge. If the cardboard of the box gets wet, the fan may well fall into the spilled water, which will lead to a short circuit. Therefore, a homemade air conditioner of this type requires constant monitoring.

The third option is a desktop mini air conditioner

This model of air conditioner is perfect for those who spend all day at the computer or just at the desktop, as its range is very small. However, this device also has its advantages - it works quietly, takes up little space and consumes a minimum amount of electricity.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation to be performed
	To create this model, you will need a computer fan (cooler). It can be purchased at a specialized store or even simply removed from an old system unit or power supply.
	A mayonnaise bucket or a deep plastic food container with a lid can be used as an ice container.
	The cover of the container must be at least 5 mm larger than the dimensions of the fan.
	In addition, this mini air conditioner model will require a 12 volt power supply. It will run a fan.
	You will also need a regular plastic bottle of 0.5 liters. To be more precise, only its upper part, the neck, will be used.
	To assemble the structure, you will also need to purchase a small switch and a socket for the power supply from the store or remove it from old equipment.
	When purchasing a socket, you need to ensure that it fits the power supply plug. It is best to buy them at the same time, so as not to be mistaken.
	A fan is attached to the container lid, then it is marked with a marker. First, the fan is outlined around the perimeter, and then a circle is defined inside the square in which it will later be installed.
	Further, it is necessary to ensure free passage of air inside the container. To do this, a large number of holes are burned in the inner part of the outlined circle with a soldering iron.
	But it’s better to do it even easier - an opening for the fan is completely cut out along the indicated circle. This operation is easy to perform with a sharp clerical knife with interchangeable blades.
	The cylindrical case of the fan should fit into the resulting window as tightly as possible, if it is on the existing model. If not, then it is necessary to ensure the tightest possible pressure of the plane of the body to the surface of the cover. Be sure to cut off all the burrs remaining after cutting out the window.
	After that, the fan is again applied to the cover, and dots are made on the cover with a marker through the holes located at its corners. Then, mounting holes are drilled or burned through these designated centers.
	The fan is mounted on the cover and fastened with short screws and nuts. At the same time, it is necessary to correctly orient it - it must work to force air into the container, and not vice versa.
	In order for all the air blown by the fan to enter the container and then be discharged through a channel specially designed for this, it is additionally recommended to seal this assembly by gluing silicone around the entire perimeter using a thermal gun.
	The next step is to unsolder the switch and the socket for connecting the power supply. The red wire (plus) from the cooler is soldered to one of the switch legs. The end of the wire is pre-cleaned and lubricated with soldering flux, which results in a stronger contact connection.
	Next, you need to take a piece of wire, strip it at the ends, and then process them with flux. One end of the wire is soldered to the second leg of the switch. It is desirable, of course, to observe the color marking of the wires here, to use red, so that it is clear that it is the “plus” that is interrupted. However, with due care, this is not necessary. In the example shown, the master uses black, apparently what was at hand.
	In the next step, the switch can be immediately fixed to the fan housing using silicone hot melt adhesive. For the key, you need to find a suitable, convenient place to turn it on.
	Next, the power socket is taken. As a rule, in most models of power supplies, the central contact of the plug is the "plus". Therefore, here, too, the master connected the output located at the end of the socket to the switch, where, as we remember, it is the “plus” that breaks.
	Then, the second pre-stripped wire from the fan (“minus”) is taken and soldered to the “minus” of the power socket. It is very important not to mix up the positive and negative wires, otherwise the fan may fail. If there is no certainty, then it is better to ring the switching before turning it on, making sure that the wires are correctly polarized.
	Now it is necessary to carry out "running tests" of the assembled electromechanical part for performance. To do this, the power supply is connected to the network, and its plug is inserted into the socket. The switch key is pressed.
	If the tests were successful, the fan works and directs the flow exactly in the right direction (into the container), the socket is also fixed with silicone hot melt adhesive on the cooler case, next to the switch. The illustration shows the location of parts and wires well.
	As a result of the assembly, the structure should look something like the one shown in this photo.
	When the main and, I must say, the most difficult part of the air conditioner is done, you can move on to an easier stage - to work on the container. To do this, first a plastic bottle is marked with a marker and the upper part is cut off from it, which will be used in the design as an outlet channel for cooled air. It is desirable to make the cut line as even as possible in order to simplify the sealing of this node.
	In the next step, the cut off part of the bottle is applied to the upper part of the container wall and outlined with a marker.
	But the hole should still be somewhat smaller. Therefore, another circle is drawn inside the outlined circle, with a radius of about 2 ÷ 3 mm less. After that, a round window is cut out along the line of the inner circle with a knife. The work must be carried out slowly, very carefully, since the knife can easily move to the side, and the cutout will turn out to be larger than necessary. And this means that you have to look for another container.
	A cut-off bottleneck is inserted into the cut hole on the container from the inside, and then the junction is “sealed” with silicone hot melt adhesive from the outside and from the inside. The sealing joint must harden well, and only after that it is possible to carry out a control test of the structure.
	The cap is removed from the neck of the bottle, and polyethylene strips can be glued around the outlet, which will visually show the strength of the air coming out of the neck.
	Then the cover of the container with the fan attached to it is installed in place, and the assembled structure can be checked for operability. The illustration clearly shows how the strips of polyethylene visually demonstrate the strength of the air flow coming out of the container.
	Now the container capacity is filled with ice, approximately to the bottom edge of the glued bottle. Ice in the space of the container will cool the air, and the fan will provide its inflow with subsequent exit through the neck fixed in the wall. Instead of ordinary ice, you can use its dry version - by the way, it lasts for a longer period of air cooling. If the capacity allows, then in addition to ice, you can also install a cold accumulator in it.
	These two photos show how, having made such a desktop air conditioner, the master took measurements of the temperature at the outlet before turning on the fan and after it had been running for several minutes. The thermometer shows a drop in temperature from 32 degrees to 21 - what is required.

A significant disadvantage of this design can be considered that the cooled air will be supplied by a “jet” in only one direction. However, the device can be installed in such a way that the air flow blows over the face of its owner, and this will already be enough to not suffer so much from stuffiness in the room.

The fourth option is an “air conditioner” made of plastic bottles and a sheet of plywood or cardboard

This method of cooling rooms was invented in Bangladesh and is used everywhere today.

This air conditioner will require almost no costs for its manufacture, and during its operation - for electricity, as it works naturally. This design of the air conditioner does not need not only electricity, but also ice or water.

The principle is that air naturally (due to a draft) passes through a sharply narrowing channel, and then, with an instantaneous expansion at the exit, cools. This principle is illustrated by a simple experiment. Blow on your hand with your mouth wide open - you will feel warm. And now, with the same effort, but pass the air through the lips extended by the tube - there is an effect of an air stream cooling the skin.

The design can be made of any size, which will depend on the linear parameters of the window frame, which is planned to be opened wide.

Now we need to consider the simple process of manufacturing this model of "air conditioning" in some more detail.

So, you need to prepare a sheet of plywood and the required number of plastic bottles. They can be of any color - this factor does not matter for the operation of the air cooler being created. However, if there is a desire to create a color design, then bottles of different shades can be arranged in a certain way, creating a beautiful ornament that will be visible from afar.

To create a conditioner, you only need the tops of the bottles, ⅓ of their height. Therefore, they need to be cut off and corks twisted from them. However, do not rush to throw away the corks, since they will perfectly serve as fasteners, such threaded bushings, for fixing bottle parts on the plywood panel.

You need to cut so many bottles that after putting them on a plywood sheet, they are located tightly, but do not touch each other. To mark their places on the panel, you need to take a long pencil, and inserting it through the top into the center of the neck of each of the bottle segments, alternately mark the place of the future hole.

To drill holes, you will need a drill bit. Since the diameter of the threaded part of the neck is standard for most of the bottles encountered, a drill with a diameter of 18 mm is required. It is installed in the drill chuck, and holes are drilled according to the previously made marks.

Now it remains only to install segments of bottles into the holes. To keep them securely, you can fix them with lids by twisting them from the outside, after cutting off the top from them so that they become “through”.

Get a plastic ring with a thread inside. These couplings are screwed onto the necks of the bottles, and they will be securely fastened to the plywood sheet.

plywood prices

The finished air conditioner is installed on the window opening with funnels outward. The developers of such a scheme claim that due to the fact that the warm air entering the funnel, passing through the narrow neck, is cooled, the temperature in the room is guaranteed to drop by five degrees. And this is a lot in the conditions of summer heat!

True, you will have to come to terms with the fact that the window practically stops letting in daylight, which, you see, is not very convenient.

Fifth option - a mini-air conditioner from a fan and plastic bottles

This air conditioner model is similar to the previous one in many ways, but is reinforced with a fan, and it can be installed in any room, easily moved to the right place. In addition, there are no problems with daylight in the room.

In order to make this version of the "air conditioner", you will need the following materials:

Ordinary household fan.
Six plastic bottles.
A sheet of thick cardboard or thin plastic.
Plastic clamps.
Stationery knife.
Silicone hot glue.

Work on the manufacture of this model will not take much time if everything you need is in store in advance. When making such an air conditioner, you do not have to solder or carry out complex connections of individual parts - you only need to cut and glue. Such an air cooler, equipped with a system to be manufactured, will work according to the same principle as the previous model.

So, the first step is to cut off the lower part from all six bottles, focusing, for example, on the label - the cut line will pass exactly along it.

The next step is to prepare the base. On cardboard or plastic, you need to draw a circle that will correspond to the diameter of the fan, and then carefully cut it out with a clerical knife.

Further, on the resulting round panel, the cut off parts of the bottles are installed and evenly distributed, funnel down. Each of them must be circled with a pencil. Then the marked windows are carefully cut out with a knife.

The result should be such a round panel with even holes corresponding to the diameter of the bottle.

Now, the cut parts of the bottles need to be attached to the holes in the panel with tape so that they do not move when they are glued. Having fixed the parts in one position, they are glued with silicone hot glue using a gun. Glue is applied around the circumference of each of the six windows on both one and the other side of the panel.

Prices for popular air conditioners

Further, closer to the edge of the round panel between the bottles, two holes must be made at a distance of about 30 mm from one another. Plastic clamps are inserted into the holes, with which the structure will be fixed to the fan. How the puff is threaded is well shown in the illustration.

Now it remains to fix the panel on the front grille of the fan with the help of clamps, the remaining free ends of which must be cut off, otherwise they can prevent the fan from rotating and make an unpleasant sound during its operation.

The result is a design as shown in the illustration. The convenience lies in the fact that such an air cooler can be directed to any area of the room, transferred to another room, it does not require additional consumables, and also that the panel can be easily removed if desired.

In addition, for such an "air conditioner" you do not have to buy any expensive parts, and it will consume no more electricity than a conventional fan.

In conclusion, it must be added that there are other models of homemade air conditioners that can be simple or complex. If the task is to choose the optimal one from them, it is worth starting to experiment with the simplest and least expensive ones. To expand on the information received, see also the video below.

Video: Another model of a homemade air conditioner, easy to manufacture

The heat, even if it has been long awaited, still falls on us suddenly. The rains, of course, are tired, but the scorching heat is exhausting and reduces the ability to work. It's good when there is a split system, but few people think about it in winter or rainy spring. And in the summer, its purchase and installation turn into a hole in the family budget.

Some craftsmen decide to make a home air conditioner with their own hands, using improvised means and inexpensive materials. The idea of \u200b\u200bassembling a budget homemade product is quite attractive, but before proceeding with its implementation, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of such a unit and study its manufacturing technology, do you agree?

We offer you to get acquainted with the different options for building a home air conditioner. Among the proposed technologies, you will definitely choose the right solution and you will be able to assemble the cooling device yourself. Step-by-step guides and photo instructions will help you to implement your plan.

Before trying to make an air conditioner yourself, it would be good to understand what this device is, how it works and what effect can be expected from its functioning.

An air conditioner is a technically sophisticated device that was originally used only to cool the room in the summer. Over time, models of air conditioners have improved and become more complex.

So, it makes sense to try to make a device on your own that has the advantages of factory air conditioners and is devoid of at least a few of their shortcomings.

What can be done with your own hands?

I draw your attention to the fact that we do not seek to surpass factory products. It is unlikely that we will be able to achieve the same cooling capacity.

Our goal is to build a device that does not consume a lot of energy, is inexpensive and, in case of its inefficiency, can be sent to the box and trash without regret. But imagine how homemade will please you if you are lucky!

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Tricks with a cardboard box

The basis of this design is the same table fan and ice. But the device turns out to be quite interesting, so we decided to show it to you. The best part is that all valuable components of this device can be easily reset without losing their functionality.

We will need:

a corrugated cardboard box large enough to fit a large pot;
the pan itself;
table fan with protective grille;
wide tape;
gypsy needle and harsh thread;
scissors, clerical knife;
ruler or tape measure and marker;

From the corrugated cardboard of the box, we need to make a box without a bottom according to the size of our pan. The pan should fit tightly into this box, that is, correspond to it in length and width, but in height the box must exceed the pan by 15-20 cm.

To do this, cut the box with a clerical knife and cut off the bottom and lid from it. We fold the box according to the markings, gluing its edges and ribs with adhesive tape in 2-3 layers.

The finished box (top view) should not have any holes on the side surfaces, except for a slot equipped with blinds, which is clearly visible in the photo on the left

There should be no holes in the walls of the box. From the remnants of corrugated cardboard, cut out a square cover of the box. It is better to make it two layers.

In its center we mark a circle, the diameter of which should exceed the span of the fan impeller by 2-2.5 cm so that its blades freely enter the cut out round hole and do not touch the edges during their rotation. We fix the cover in its place with tape.

At the level of the upper edge of the pan placed in the box, we cut out a rectangle 3.5-4 cm high in its wall. rigidity.

From this cutout, the cooled air will go out. And to control the flows, you need to build blinds for it.

To do this, we cut out two strips of corrugated cardboard, the length of which is 4-5 mm less than the cutout, and the width is 5 mm more. We connect these strips to each other at a distance with the help of a gypsy needle and harsh threads. We make punctures in the upper strip at a distance of 7-8 mm from the edge, and in the lower strip - 12-15 mm.

We insert the blinds into the opening and fix each strip at three points. We do not tighten the threads, but fasten them with knots.

Try moving the blinds with your finger. The structure must move freely and not crumble when moving. Now you can start assembling the device. Lay a rug or old cloth under the pan in several layers to make the appliance work quieter. The stability of the pan should not be affected.

On the left, through a round hole in the lid of the box, ice is clearly visible, which is located on the fan grill covering a large pan, and on the right, the device is photographed in the process of operation.

We put the pan and cover it with the front protective grille of the fan with the concave side up. We lay out pieces of pre-prepared ice on the grid. It is better to prepare it in plastic glasses, because large pieces melt more slowly than small ones. We cover the structure with a box.

Insert the fan blades down into the hole in the top cover. You can enable and check the quality of work.

The melted ice turns into water, which must be poured out of the pan in time so that it does not flow out and soak the box. Otherwise, the fan may fall into the water, causing a short circuit.

You can take a good look at the whole process of building this air conditioner by watching the video that we placed in a special block at the bottom of this article.

Plastic bottles and plywood sheet

This wonderful design does not need electricity or even frozen water. The only thing needed for it to work is a draft.

The principle of operation of the device is easier to explain with an example. Open your mouth wide and exhale sharply into your hand. The skin will feel warm. And now you need to stretch your lips with a tube and blow again with the same effort as the first time.

This time the air jet cools your skin. If the air passes through a narrow channel, then with instantaneous expansion it cools.

Prepare a sheet of cardboard, but plywood is better. It must correspond to the size of the opening of the window that we want to close with this design. Stock up on plastic bottles. From each of them, we will need only the upper third with a cork. We'll cut it off.

By the way, the plugs need to be removed, but not thrown away. They will be useful to us for fixing the bottles on the surface of the sheet.

We will need so many bottles that they cover the entire surface of the sheet, but do not touch each other. To measure the holes for them, you can use a long pencil, which marks the center of the slot through the neck.

To drill a hole for a standard bottle, you need a crown with a diameter of 18 mm. Using a drill, drill all the holes one by one.

The cut off tops of the bottles without corks are inserted into the holes and fixed with their own corks, in which the top is cut off. In this case, rings with internal threads are obtained, which perfectly hold bottle segments.

It remains only to install the finished air conditioner in the window opening with funnels out. Experts guarantee a decrease in the temperature in the room by five degrees.

Supplementing the circuit with a fan

One of the obvious disadvantages of the previous device is that it deprives users of natural light in the room. In addition, drafts may be a problem in your area. Then take advantage of this idea.

To implement it, prepare:

stable household fan;
six plastic bottles;
a sheet of thin plastic or thick cardboard - whatever you find;
plastic clamps;
stationery knife;
silicone hot glue.

The principle of operation of this cooler is the same as that of the previous model. Only it is not necessary to mount it in the window opening, and it can work in any room: it is portable.

The following photo instruction will acquaint you with the manufacturing process in the finest details:

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Let's take six pieces of plastic bottles with a capacity of 1.5 liters of one production. It is desirable, but not at all necessary, to choose a container of the same color.

Focusing on the top edge of the label, carefully cut off everything that is below it. We do this with all bottles.

Probably, once the air conditioner in the car will become the most perfect norm, regardless of the cost and configuration. However, there are still millions of cars “running” on our roads that do not have this useful option, and new ones, also devoid of air conditioning, are still being produced. And, therefore, every summer, the heads of car drivers without air conditioning, hot from the sun, visit nervous thoughts about ways to cool the “gas chamber” of a sun-heated cabin using alternative and “asymmetric” methods.

The first thing that the sufferer finds on the Internet for the queries “cool the interior of the car without air conditioning”, “escape from the heat without air conditioning”, etc. is a suggestion to use PET bottles with ice. This idea has been wandering from site to site for years and offhand even looks workable.

Confidence is added by numerous descriptions of garage designs of automotive surrogate "air conditioners" made on the knee and using the same frozen water in soda or beer bottles as a "coolant". They are a variety of boxes and boxes, covered with foil on the inside to prevent cold loss, and with installed fans to blow air through the ice. In principle, this is a logical direction of development aimed at increasing the efficiency of technology, although the main thing is lost behind engineering - attractive simplicity. In any design, you need to take into account the factor of human laziness - no matter how effective the development is, sooner or later it will be thrown onto a dusty shelf, even by the developer himself, if it requires a complex sequence of actions or difficult preparatory work ... Freeze, and then take a couple of bottles with you before the trip - anyone can do it, but fencing boxes with fans is already, according to the majority, too much ...

One way or another, the idea hovers among the masses, but there are very few of those who have tested the technology in practice. Therefore, our task is to destroy or confirm the myth with a thermometer in hand. To check, having received conclusions in dry numbers, and not in subjective sensations, the simplest basic option - can “one and a half” with ice, placed on the dashboard under a stream of air from a fan, make staying in a car without an “air conditioner” at least somewhat more comfortable? And thus understand whether it is expedient in principle to apply further creativity, hands and strength in this direction?

The experiment will look like this. We take two identical cars of the same color, put them side by side in the sun for several hours. After warming up the salons with sunlight in one car, we simply turn on the cabin fan to blow it with outside air, and in the other, we start recirculation and let the air flow onto the glass, blowing several liters of ice frozen in PET bottles lying on the dashboard. After 15 minutes, we look at the result - how much will it be possible to lower the temperature? So let's go!

The temperature in the car interior after three hours spent in the sun is 38 degrees Celsius:

We put ice bottles in one machine, turn on the fans in both, note the time - 15 minutes ...

The result is depressing ... In a car in which the fan worked to purge the cabin with outside air, the temperature dropped to 33 degrees, and in a car in which recirculation was turned on and the air was chasing in a circle, blowing ice bottles - only up to 35.5 degrees ... Banal blowing even without open windows turned out to be more effective than blowing ice in a confined space!

The bottle-cooling myth persists, and although the outcome was predictable, it was still worth checking. At the same time, it is still worth noting that six liters of ice are capable of more, but not in this form!

For any device that works on heat transfer, whether it is an air conditioner or a heater, the most important characteristic is the area of \u200b\u200bthe working surface. For bottles on the dashboard, it is extremely small, plus blowing them is organized inefficiently. If we put the same six liters of ice in a flat ribbed container, similar to a car radiator, placed it in the car and started blowing air through it, the effect would be much more noticeable. But the accompanying difficulties make such an event meaningless a little more than completely ...

Other dead-end ideas of "alternative air conditioners"

What other ideas are visited by car owners without air conditioning with enviable regularity with the onset of summer? You can, of course, install a non-standard universal air conditioner - it, in principle, will not differ in any way from the standard one - except that the controls on the panel will stand out a little in the overall style of the interior. But the cost of installing a "kondeya" on a budget passenger car with components and turnkey work today is approximately 60,000 rubles. Expensive in general...

Therefore, such a decision is quickly discarded and "creative kroilovo" begins. And here, of course, in second place after frozen PET bottles comes the idea of using a mobile or window air conditioner in a car, the cost of which starts from more or less affordable 10,000 rubles even now, in the hot season.

It seems to many that if you put a monoblock household air conditioner in the back seat, power it through a 12-220 volt inverter and stick the hot air hose out the window, you can enjoy the coolness! However, none of these dreamers has yet achieved real success... Why is the idea not viable?

The fact is that even the weakest window air conditioner consumes about one and a half kilowatts of power in the cooling mode from the 220 volt network. The inverter efficiency of 12/220 is clearly not 100%, but for ease of demonstration on the fingers, we will take it as one hundred. Accordingly, from the on-board network of 14 volts, such an air conditioner will consume 1,500 watts / 14 volts = 107 amperes through the inverter. The current is crazy, the wiring will be a finger thick + for many generators, even the maximum current output limit is less. We are not talking about the fact that the inverter should be designed for long-term operation with a power of at least a couple of kilowatts - such inverters, as a rule, belong to expensive and specific professional equipment, are extremely rare on sale and cost crazy money ...

The third place idea is the use of Peltier elements. A semiconductor wafer, when current is applied to it, heats up on one side and cools on the other. Buying items is easy, they are not so expensive. Automobile portable refrigerator-boxes work well on such plates, and it seems to many that an air conditioner can be created on the same principle - inexpensive, silent, without a compressor, refrigerant, pipes and evaporators.

Alas, you won’t be able to find a single really working “auto-conde” design on Peltier modules, although there are a lot of projects on various automotive blogs and forums, many even with intermediate reports on the stages of work, demonstrating the fair efforts of DIY enthusiasts. Why? Yes, for the same reason that ice bottles do not work either ... Too small a surface of "cold transfer" of the cold side and the difficulty of organizing effective heat removal from the hot side. To ensure at the very least cooling of the passenger compartment, a Peltier module in a passenger car must have a roof ...

***

So, whatever one may say, there is no alternative to the traditional car compressor air conditioner yet and is not expected in the near future. After all, even in hybrids and electric vehicles that are at the forefront of progress, it has a classic design that has not changed fundamentally since the first air-conditioned cars - Packards and Caddylacs of the early 40s of the twentieth century.

Does your car have air conditioning?