Our DIY swamp coolers can’t compete with air conditioning, but they are certainly better than nothing. Jennifer Bardsley publishes books under her own name and the pseudonym Louise Cypress.

With about $30 and a trip to the hardware store, you can build your own AC unit, otherwise known as a swamp cooler, which uses hot air to evaporate water and a fan to circulate cool air.

How to make a swamp cooler for under $35. ... After that, trace and cut out a hole for your fan on the lid of the cooler. The bulk of this project's cost is the fan so if you have one, use it!

DIY cooling can take many forms. ... Evaporative coolers that work in this way, also known as swamp coolers, haven’t been put into computers before because they are full of sloshy water.

Flip through the gallery for 18 eco-friendly ideas for staying cool this summer, from chilly frozen water bottles to a DIY swamp cooler that's surprisingly powerful. NEWSLETTERS Emailed Daily.

By Steph Rowe, Newstalk ZB social media producer Desperate times call for desperate measures. And given these are desperate, heat-stricken times, let us introduce Mike Hosking's DIY swamp cooler ...

How to make a swamp cooler for under $35. It's not the same as having a high powered unit but making a small, portable AC is as easy as having some ice, elbow pipes, a fan and a cooler.