Sunday 29 December 2013

Solar jackets to make next summer cooler

Enjoy the chill in air for the time being instead of fretting over the sultry summer that will follow the brief winter season in city. By the time summer sets in, you may have a new jacket in your wardrobe to save yourself from the heat. Solar expert SP Gon Chaudhuri and scientists of the SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences are working on the final stages to introduce solar jackets some time next month.

Gon Chaudhuri, the former advisor to the state power department, said the prototypes had already been prepared and will be launched officially in the first week of January. "We will do an extensive research on how to give these jackets a smart look. One city-based company has already approached us to have a look at the prototype," Gon Chaudhuri said.

The price of the jackets also will also be very reasonable. They will be priced anything between Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,800.

"It has to be seen how we can maximize the possibility to providing comfort to the users. The SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences will conduct a study on this," Gon Chaudhuri said. He has already spoken with Kolkata Police top brass so that traffic police officers, who need to stay in the heat for long hours, can wear these solar jackets during hot summer days.

Before collaborating with SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences to work on the prototypes of solar jackets, Gon Chaudhuri, who has done various researches on solar power technologies, had been doing a research on the concept of solar jackets at the Arka-Ignou Community College of Renewable Energy.

Explaining the technology of the jackets, Gon Chaudhuri said they will be nothing but 'portable electricity". One wears a jacket in the winter to feel warm. The solar jacket will do just the opposite by making one feel cool during hot summer days. The jacket will have two layers that will have thread-like wires. They will be integrated with solar cells. Once solar cells get activated, mini computer-operated fans will start functioning. This will bring down the temperature inside the jacket. The user will feel at least 5 to 6 degrees cooler than outside temperature.

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