SINGAPORE – The search for innovative cooling solutions is hotting up, as countries grapple with rising temperatures caused by climate change and the ongoing El Nino weather phenomenon.
While people tend to turn to air-conditioners for reprieve, the UN had in a recent meeting in Singapore urged representatives from around 60 countries to look to alternative and greener cooling strategies instead.
This is because conventional air-conditioning is energy-guzzling and relies on refrigerants, some of which are powerful greenhouse gases.
In an interview with The Straits Times held on the sidelines of the meeting, the United Nations Environment Programme’s climate change division director Martin Krause said the scarcity of funding is the biggest challenge to scale up more innovative measures.
According to a 2024 report by UNEP and the International Finance Corporation, the market for cooling solutions in developing economies is expected to grow from around US$300 billion (S$383 billion) to at least US$600 billion, per year by 2050.
The Straits Times highlights some cooling gadgets already available on the market.
Ecoline Solar air-conditioner
Mr Colin Chia, co-founder of Ecoline Solar, with the solar thermal air-conditioning system manufactured by his firm.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
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A made-in-Singapore air-conditioner that uses up to 55 per cent less energy than conventional ones.
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Conventional air-conditioners warm the refrigerant – a fluid that absorbs indoor heat and releases it outside – by using electricity.
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The Ecoline system captures solar heat and heat from the surrounding air to warm up the refrigerant partially, saving energy.
Air cooler
NNIO’s 2-in-1 DC Motor Fan and Air Cooler.
PHOTO: NNIO
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