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A 'solar shirt' to keep the summer heat away

A 'solar shirt' to keep the summer heat away

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 15 April 2013 19:38 IST

A Kolkata-based scientist has come up with a concept of a "solar summer shirt" which will come with with inbuilt solar cells and fans to keep the wearer cool during hot days.

"We are trying to develop technology to fix small solar cells either into the fibre of a shirt or in its pocket," said Santipada GonChaudhury, a specialist in photovoltaic system engineering and design.

GonChoudhury says the shirt could produce around 400 watts of energy with the help of solar cells whose size will vary from 2.5 inches to 3 inches.

He said the shirt would store enough power to charge cell phones, tablets or other digital devices.

Explaining the concept, the scientist said the shirt will have two layers, one of which will have two to four small "fans" which will work on solar energy. The size of these miniature fans will be smaller than those found inside a computer.

"Suppose a person is 5.5 feet tall. Then the amount of sun rays that fall on every square feet of his body is sufficient to create 400 watts of energy by using solar cells - enough to charge mobiles, tablets, ipods etc," GonChoudhury told PTI.

The Ashden award winner, who teaches at the Bengal Engineering and Science University, has submitted the research proposal to the Science and Technology Department of the central government.

GonChaudhury said it was not necessary to wear the shirt all the time. Its exposure to the sun for a specific period of time would allow the gadgets to be charged.

Asked about the price of the shirt, the scientist said, "If the cost of a normal shirt is Rs 1,000, the cost of the same shirt equipped with solar cells will be around Rs 1,600."

He also ruled out adverse reaction of the solar shirt on the human body. The scientist said the cost of solar energy is bound to come down with more and more research in the field all over the world.

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