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I've been thinking for a while about whether it would be feasible to produce an affordable 'personal cooling chamber' for lower income people in places getting

I've been thinking for a while about whether it would be feasible to produce an affordable 'personal cooling chamber' for lower income people in places getting scorched in the summer that don't have A/C. Basically an automotive air conditioning unit hooked up to a battery and solar panel, with a tanning bed type form factor (up to maybe capsule hotel size), painted or coated to reflect light & heat. Highly portable. I'm not sure if it's remotely practical, but it would be interesting to run the numbers, and I'm certain there is at least someone out there who would buy it even if the cost turned out to be higher than I envision.

lbriner 2mo ago
You can already get small portable air conditioners but until recently, most people with low incomes wouldn't spend £300 on something they might only need for 4 weeks per year and needs storing the rest of the time. That might change of course as time goes by. What some people in the UK do is go to local air conditioned public buildings like libraries (which they are welcome to do) and occasionally a large air conditioned store or shopping centre.
Moldoteck 2mo ago
Acs are not that expensive. The problem is getting approval
owisd 2mo ago
Japan already did it - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjej4y3gvzlo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjej4y3gvzlo
- slfnflctd 1mo ago
  Wow, that is really close to what I had in mind, and helpful info. Cool! Literally! Appreciate you sharing it. As I feared, though, with a price tag of $10k USD, you're halfway to buying a solid used car (preferably hybrid) with air conditioning... which could sleep at least two people fully reclined, plus kids or pets. So you might as well do that. I'd love to see a viable path to bringing this price down. Regardless, there do seem to at least be niche applications even at this price point.
dguest 2mo ago
Stick your feet in a bucket of water. My colleague does it: it's magical.
- slfnflctd 1mo ago
  It did occur to me that a small, efficient portable icemaker would be an okay runner-up solution. I think being able to cool the air in a small space would be more comfortable overall, though, and wouldn't involve getting wet.
numpad0 2mo ago
The compressor unit is just too big and heavy for that. COP is too low for Peltier cooling elements(aka Thermo-Electric Coolers). First generation of those will be/are based on regular ice of H2O or a frozen coolant pack with some engineered high temperature ice; H2O is going to be more convenient since they can be drank and replaced.

lbriner 2mo ago

You can already get small portable air conditioners but until recently, most people with low incomes wouldn't spend £300 on something they might only need for 4 weeks per year and needs storing the rest of the time. That might change of course as time goes by. What some people in the UK do is go to local air conditioned public buildings like libraries (which they are welcome to do) and occasionally a large air conditioned store or shopping centre.

Moldoteck 2mo ago

Acs are not that expensive. The problem is getting approval

owisd 2mo ago

Japan already did it - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjej4y3gvzlo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjej4y3gvzlo

slfnflctd 1mo ago
Wow, that is really close to what I had in mind, and helpful info. Cool! Literally! Appreciate you sharing it. As I feared, though, with a price tag of $10k USD, you're halfway to buying a solid used car (preferably hybrid) with air conditioning... which could sleep at least two people fully reclined, plus kids or pets. So you might as well do that. I'd love to see a viable path to bringing this price down. Regardless, there do seem to at least be niche applications even at this price point.

dguest 2mo ago

Stick your feet in a bucket of water. My colleague does it: it's magical.

slfnflctd 1mo ago
It did occur to me that a small, efficient portable icemaker would be an okay runner-up solution. I think being able to cool the air in a small space would be more comfortable overall, though, and wouldn't involve getting wet.

numpad0 2mo ago

The compressor unit is just too big and heavy for that. COP is too low for Peltier cooling elements(aka Thermo-Electric Coolers). First generation of those will be/are based on regular ice of H2O or a frozen coolant pack with some engineered high temperature ice; H2O is going to be more convenient since they can be drank and replaced.