How To Make A Homemade AC From A Fan And A Few Water Bottles

When hard times won’t allow you to buy an AC to beat the heat, you’re forced to improvise. With a few tricks, you can cool down a room using water bottles and a fan. Once you build your DIY air conditioner, you’ll be comfortable and cool in no time! Here’s how to make a homemade AC from a fan and a few water bottles.

Also Read: Cleaning Your AC Unit At Home

Frozen Water Bottles

Pour 3 tbsp (51 g) of salt into each of your 3 plastic water bottles (size doesn’t matter)

Use disposable plastic bottles for the easiest set-up and clean up. Pour 3 tablespoons (51 g) of table salt per bottle. Put the caps back on and shake the bottles to thoroughly mix the salt.

Any standard salt you have in your kitchen will work.

Freeze all of the bottles

Leave them inside for a few hours until they are completely frozen.

Once the water turns to ice, take the bottles out and set them aside. Here’s what you should know:

Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water and makes the ice colder.
It may take longer for your bottles to freeze depending on the size of your freezer.

Set the bottles 6 in (15 cm) in front of your fan

A table fan or box fan will work best, but you can use any fan you want (no, the ceiling fan is not an option). Turn on the fan and put your bottles in front of it. The air will cool down as it passes around the bottles. Keep the fan on as long as the bottles are frozen for a makeshift air conditioner.

Spread the bottles out so they don’t block any of the fan’s air-stream.
Put the bottles on a small table in front of a standing fan.
Don’t use the oscillation setting on your fan if it has one. Keep it pointed at the water bottles for the whole time.

Re-Usability | How To Make A Homemade AC From A Fan And A Few Water Bottles

Put your bottles back in the freezer once they adjust to room temperature

When the ice melts, simply freeze the bottles again. In a few hours, you can run your fan like an air conditioner again!

Keep multiple bottles prepared in your freezer so you don’t have to wait for them to freeze again.

Optional Method | Homemade AC

Hang a few bottles (or even plastic bags) behind your fan.

Fill your bottles (or plastic bags) to half capacity
Before hanging your chosen containers behind a fan, make a few air-holes

You can use a drill or a picket to make them. Just make sure your bottles (or plastic bags don’t take damage)

Tie the bottles upside-down to the back of your fan with string or wire. Make sure your fan is turned off before tying your bottles. Feed a wire or string through 2 of the holes in each bottle. Wrap the string around the fan grating and tie a knot to secure them. To keep them in place, tie another string around the bottles’ nozzles.

Put ice cubes inside the bottles and turn on your fan. Lift the bottom of the bottle up so you can fit the ice cubes inside the cut. Fill the bottle to just below the holes. Turn your fan on high and point it towards the area you want to cool down.
The fan will pull the cold air from the bottles through the holes you drilled.
Since the bottles are attached to the fan, you can use the oscillating feature if your fan has one.