London: Believe it or not, scientists in Japan claim to have developed a jacket which has an inbuilt air-conditioning system.
A team at Kuchofuku Co Ltd says its jacket contains two electric fans powered by a lithium-ion battery pack which lasts for 11 hours on a single charge, requiring significantly less energy than conventional air conditioning.
And what the jacket lacks in the fashion stakes, it more than compensates for in cooling powers -- costing from around 87 pounds, it can draw in 20 litres of air per second
which then circulates throughout the garment before escaping through collars and cuffs, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.
Describing how the idea of "personal air-conditioning" came about, Hiroshi Ichigaya, the President of Kuchofuku, was quoted as saying, "It came to me that we don't need to cool
the entire room, just as long as people in it feel cool."
In fact, sales for clothes with their own personal aircon systems are soaring in Japan, as the country seeks ever more ingenious ways of cooling down while saving energy as the
nuclear crisis rumbles on.
The jacket is one of a range of popular cooling products made by the company - including cushions and mattresses, containing their patented plastic mesh system
allowing the circulation of air.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 14:49