Cheaper and more environmentally friendly: modern houses want to cool according to the technologies of Ancient Egypt

One research group hopes to use 5000-year-old ideas from ancient Egypt to combat rising temperatures. Ancient Egyptian 'air conditioner' could help cool modern buildings, reports PopScience.

Photo: IStock

As the planet continues to endure scorching, unprecedented temperatures, the 5,5 square meter shipping container serves as a testing ground for passive, sustainable cooling solutions.

As detailed in a new study published in the journal Energies, a team of engineers from Washington State University are searching for and improving ancient cooling methods that don't generate any form of greenhouse gases—like the evaporation of water from repurposed wind towers.

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Buildings require approximately 60 percent of the world's electricity, nearly 20 percent of which is allocated each year to keep these buildings cool and comfortable. As society grapples with the most devastating impacts of climate change, demands on air conditioning systems are only expected to increase in the coming years, potentially creating a feedback loop that could exacerbate carbon emissions. Therefore, looking for environmentally friendly ways to reduce indoor temperatures in businesses and homes will require solutions other than simply increasing the number of unnecessary AC units.

This is especially important as the world's growing population requires new construction, especially in developing countries. According to Omar Al-Hassawi, lead author and associate professor at WSU's School of Design and Construction, this will become a major problem if designers continue to rely on mechanical systems—traditional AC electrical units.

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“Many more air conditioning systems will be needed, especially given the growing population in hotter regions of the world,” Al-Hassawi said.

New solution

By upgrading the shipping container's test chamber with a self-contained solar-powered battery, Al-Hassawi's team can heat the chamber to over 54C to test their solutions while simultaneously measuring factors such as air velocity, temperature and humidity.

The team is particularly focused on optimizing the passive cooling method using large towers and evaporative cooling, which dates back as far as 2500 BC in ancient Egypt. In these designs, moisture evaporates at the top of the tower, turns into cool, heavier air, which then sinks into the living space below. According to the team, moisture can be generated using spray nozzles, shower heads, or simply water-soaked pads.

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“This is an old technology, but an attempt has been made to innovate it and use a combination of new and existing technologies to improve the performance and cooling capacity of these systems,” Al-Hassawi explained.

“That's why studies like this can really help,” he adds. “How can we get into building design and revive some of these older strategies and incorporate them into modern construction?” The test chamber becomes a platform for this.”

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