This Ancient Technology Is Helping Millions Stay Cool
This Ancient Technology Is Helping Millions Stay Cool
Cheap, low-energy evaporative cooling devices are keeping water, food, people, and even whole buildings cool across India.
It ain't how much you've got, it's how you use it.
Evaporative coolers can work great, also known as swamp coolers. Unless your humidity is already high, then they don't do much of anything. Unless I'm mistaken, you have to be around 50% to make a big difference in temperature, but where I live it's never below 70 in the summer, so I've never actually tried one. But the idea is cool.
Reminds me of another India beat-the-heat tech that I read was widespread there for centuries.
Those who've ever been in a root cellar or basement are excused. You make a hole in the ground, then go down in it. Underground temperatures world-wide hover around 50-60 degrees all year long.
Make a BIG hole in the ground, and build stairs that people can use to go down into it. Heat rises, so not a problem.
Cool article, thanks. Your comment also reminds me of this video - an immigrant dug a huge series of caverns in California, grew fruit trees in them, and it all started because he was a day laborer and was trying to get out of the heat.
(I recommend Kirsten Dirksen's channel, she sees quite a few interesting homes.)
Neat video about a remarkable home. Starting in 1906! 10 acres! ... inspired by the catacombs of Rome ... subterranean fish pond ... I'm not much of a tourist but it'd be great to see this, wow.
I wanted to try that in my home town in the tropics but I observed that anything underground fills with water immediately and even overground structures end up suffering water damage that's very resistant to most measures I've seen.
Still wondering what's best for those kind of climates.
I tried digging a hole in my pantry, but the guy from 405 was all like "my ceiling, my ceiling!"
Need some fans to churn the air in that hole or it will become a carbon dioxide trap.
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Tl;dr: clay pots that cool the water you put inside and the surrounding air through evaporation