Student Trio From Rawang Designs Ayurvedic Air Cooler Made Of Scrap Items To Tame Steep Bills

By Lara Kramer  •  30 Jun 2022 in News

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You’ve heard of basic air conditioners, inverter ACs, and perhaps even smart portable ones you can control with your phone; but if you thought that cooling gadgets had reached their peak in today’s society, think again!

12-year-old Vyshnavi Vaneah Nithiananthan along with her friends, Yhuvhen Vijaya Vikneswaran and Kanniesh Theeran Kannigeswaran (both aged 11) have further revolutionised our basic temperature control systems with a sustainable and wallet-friendly new alternative.

The trio, hailing from SJK(T) Rawang, created a mobile Ayurvedic air cooler out of scrap materials, incorporating popular and traditionally-used, air purifying herbs such as neem, lemongrass and eucalyptus.

As a result, the portable device releases an herbal aroma within its area of use. It also has a motion detector that turns it on only when it senses movement, enabling consumers to cut expenses spared on their electricity bills.

Vyshnavi developed the inspiration for the air cooler after having heard her father grumble about the soaring energy bills caused by their home’s frequent use of air coolers.

Former engineer Maheshwaran Jayaraman guided the team.

The 46-year-old founded the Rainbow Technical and Science Development Academy alongside his wife with the aim to educate children and pass on their tech knowledge.

Maheshwaran told NST that he has been travelling from Sitiawan to Rawang for the past six to seven months to teach children critical life skills like agriculture, electronics, and pipework.

He also stated that when the pupils proposed the idea to him, they immediately started working, adding that the task was difficult. They burned a few battery operated elements during the process and were forced to make last-minute adjustments to the air cooler’s architecture.

Also, since they could only perform the work after school, they occasionally burned the midnight oil to work towards its completion.

To create the device, the students gathered components from a scrapyard, only buying a 12V thermoelectric motor and a few electrical components to aid its construction, which greatly reduced production fees.

According to him, during the trial run, the air cooler successfully lowered the room temperature down to 18°C.

It is battery operated and can also function when linked to a power supply.

Netizens have applauded the youngsters’ collective achievement and motion sensor feature which will prevent soaring bills that come from unnecessarily long-running air conditioners which are left on accidentally, especially useful for today’s era of inflation and financial uncertainty.

Parents have also noted that the device will keep their children moving.

“The air cooler can be installed in study rooms as it will turn off if the kids doze off while studying, since no movement will be detected,” explained Maheshwaran.

The students recently received the Gold Award as well as the Best Invention Award (Junior Category- Science and Technology cluster) at the 2nd International Research Invention, Innovation, and Exhibition for their breakthrough creation and are currently attempting to advance it by reducing its size and therefore increasing portability.

Our only question is, when and where can we purchase this?  😍