‘Desi AC’: Jhansi school student built budget air conditioner for ₹1,800, can drop room temperature by 5°C

Kalyani Shrivastava’s ‘Desi AC’ was a low-cost cooling device designed for families who could not afford a conventional air conditioner. It reportedly cost just ₹1,800 and aimed to provide relief during Bundelkhand’s difficult summers. Its simple design made it notable.

The device used a thermocol icebox and a 12-volt DC fan. Ice cooled the air inside the chamber. The fan pushed that air through the cooling space and toward an elbow-shaped outlet, directing the cooled airflow outward. The setup relied on moving air rather than a refrigeration cycle.

The device was also described as solar-powered, so it could run without conventional electricity. Its cooling depended on conditions such as room temperature, humidity, ventilation and available ice. It was therefore a localised, affordable cooling solution, not a full replacement for a conventional air conditioner.

Kalyani’s device could reportedly reduce a room’s temperature by around 4-5°C after operating for an hour. The figure describes localised cooling from a simple ice-and-air system, rather than the stronger, steady temperature control normally associated with conventional air conditioners.

Its mechanism was straightforward. Ice created a cooling chamber inside the thermocol box, while the 12-volt DC fan moved air through that chamber. The cooled air then travelled out through an elbow-shaped outlet. After about an hour, reports said the surrounding room could become roughly 4-5°C cooler.

The result depended on several conditions. Ambient temperature, humidity, ventilation and the availability of ice could all affect performance. The reported temperature reduction shows the device’s practical value, but also its limits as an affordable, temporary cooling arrangement.

The device was especially useful in Bundelkhand because the region experiences summers that can make daily life difficult. At the same time, the article notes that many families could not afford conventional air conditioners. An inexpensive alternative could therefore address a clear need for basic relief from extreme heat.

Kalyani said that not everyone in Bundelkhand could afford an AC because the heat was unbearable. Her design avoided trying to copy a conventional air conditioner. Instead, it used an icebox, a 12-volt fan and moving air to create a basic cooling setup at a reported cost of ₹1,800.

That low price made the invention accessible in a way a conventional AC was not. Its solar-powered description also suggested usefulness where electricity was unavailable. However, the device offered localised cooling and depended on ice and surrounding conditions. It was an affordable relief measure, not equivalent temperature control.

The device’s reported 4-5°C cooling was dependent on its surroundings and resources. It did not maintain one guaranteed temperature in every room. Ambient temperature, humidity, ventilation and ice availability all influenced how well the setup worked.

For example, the thermocol icebox needed ice to cool the air passing through it. The 12-volt fan then moved that air into the room. Ventilation affected how long the cooled air remained locally, while humidity and the surrounding temperature influenced the cooling experience. The article does not provide a separate measurement for each factor.

This means the device’s performance could vary from one setting to another. It could provide useful localised relief, but it was less predictable than a conventional AC. Its practical value depended on maintaining the ice supply and using it in conditions where the airflow and cooling chamber could work effectively.

The device combined a low-voltage fan with a solar-powered setup. The article describes the system as able to run without electricity, meaning it did not require conventional household power as its operating source. That feature could make the design useful in places with limited electricity access.

The 12-volt DC fan pushed air through the cooling chamber formed by the thermocol icebox and ice. As the air passed through that space, it was cooled before being directed through the elbow-shaped outlet. Solar power supplied the energy needed for the fan to operate. The article does not give further details about the solar equipment.

This arrangement made the device more independent from the electricity grid. However, it still required ice and depended on factors such as humidity, ventilation and ambient temperature. Solar operation solved the power requirement, but it did not remove the system’s other practical limits.

The key difference is the cooling method. A conventional air conditioner uses a refrigeration cycle to maintain a temperature. Kalyani’s setup did not use that cycle. It relied on ice and moving air, making it a simpler form of localised cooling.

In the student’s design, a fan pushed air through a thermocol icebox that acted as a cooling chamber. The cooled air then flowed out through an elbow-shaped outlet. The process could lower room temperature by around 4-5°C after an hour, but the result depended on ice, ventilation, humidity and ambient temperature.

This distinction explains both the device’s low cost and its limitations. It could provide relief without replicating the temperature control of a conventional AC. The invention was therefore an affordable alternative for basic cooling, especially for families unable to afford standard air conditioners in Bundelkhand.

Cooling systems do not usually create cold as a substance. They remove heat from one place and transfer it elsewhere. In a building, an air conditioner takes heat from indoor air and releases that heat outside, leaving the indoor space cooler. This is the basic idea behind heat movement in cooling technology.

A conventional AC uses a refrigeration cycle to circulate a working fluid through components that absorb indoor heat and reject it outdoors. Kalyani’s device works differently. Ice absorbs heat from air passing through the cooling chamber, while the 12-volt fan moves that cooler air into the room. The article does not explain heat transfer in general.

The student’s design therefore provides localised cooling while the ice remains effective. A conventional AC can maintain a chosen temperature through its refrigeration cycle. The Desi AC instead depends on ice, airflow, ventilation, humidity and ambient temperature, making its cooling more limited.