While technology exists to help grey nomads keep cool while they’re in their caravans and motorhomes, doing the same while they’re ‘chilling’ in the annexe or under the awning has proved a mite more challenging.
But that could be about to change … thanks to a US university researcher’s determination to help keep the temperature down while camping.
University of Connecticut student, Al Kasani, has developed a new technology that allows a tent’s internal temperature to cool up to 11°C below the ambient temperature … and there’s no need for power!
Instead, the tent requires four litres of water every 24 hours to keep it cool. Mr Kasani said he took the inspiration for his evaporative cooling technology invention from nature.
New evaporative technology could soon help keep tents like this significantly cooler. PIC: Pixabay
“Plants wick water from the ground and then sweat to cool themselves, and they get the required energy from the sun,” he said. “What I did was simply to find a material that could do the same job.”
Here’s how it works.
A proprietary fabric wicks water from a reservoir up through the entire surface area of the tent, leading to an electricity-free temperature decrease far more substantial than existing cooling technologies.
Research assistant, Al Kasani, developed the cool tent technology. PIC: UConn
The tent is made from lightweight fabric that makes it packable and far more portable than electric fans, and its cooling system is ‘powered’ by endlessly repeatable reactions between water and titanium nanoparticles – eliminating emissions and utilising renewable resources.
The wide availability of titanium ensures that the tent’s production will remain cost effective for producers and affordable for consumers. The moisture-wicking technology apparently also has the added benefit of offering an air-purifying effect provided by the antimicrobial nanoparticles.
The water and the nanoparticles are said to be undergoing a reversible reaction over and over as the water leaves. But the water is getting in contact with this catalytic material, and the process of that generates radicals and it will reportedly kill infectious material that’s in and on the tent.
The University of Connecticut’s Technology Commercialisation Services department says industry interest in Kasani’s technology has been high. It says it hopes to see it on the market soon for recreational campers, as well as foresters, military personnel … and all who could benefit from a cooler place to take shelter.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
