Cover the Cooler

First of all, what is this all about?

Well, I am going to cover a Desert Cooler kept in a window from the sides for effective cooling of the room.

Actually this instructable can be used as a guide to cover any cooler or air conditioner where the size of the window is much larger than the size of the equipment.

It is slightly irrelevant in most developed households where people have moved to Split Air Conditioners and Centralised Air Conditioners. But anyways, lets get started.

The pic1 shows the initial condition of the window when the cooler is kept for the first time. I have an iron grill installed in the window so I am going to make use of that.

We will merely need a sheet of cardboard, some knife or scissors and a thread for tying stuff.

Step 1: Collect Material; Measure the Cardboard

First of all keep your cardboard sheet in the window and orient it in a way to cover maximum space in the window leaving the space for the cooler grill.

Now we are going to keep the cardboard slightly oversized so that it fits tightly in the window and then we will tie it with the threads to the grill to prevent it from moving.

Mark holes at appropriate locations in the cardboard to tie the threads. I used in all 7 threads on the main cardboard sheet.

Step 2: Locating Holes & Threading

The threads need to be passed through the two holes which were located after placing the cardboard over the window grill. The pic3 shows how to thread it.

Pic4 & 5 show how to locate the holes. Generally we need four threads at the four corners and some threads (i used 3) in the space between for a tight fit.

Also it is important to drill the holes close to one of the branches of the grill to facilitate tying of the thread. If its not located close enough the thread may tear apart from the holes altogether defeating its purpose.

At each location you will need to drill two holes: one for the thread to go out & one for it to come back. These two holes should also not be very far or too close as both things will harm the card board.

Ideally this distance should be 1 to 2 cms in this case. But it could be larger for thicker grills.

Step 3: Tying the Thread

Its the easy part. After drilling holes and putting threads in them just place the cardboard in the window. Now hold both ends of the thread and tie them like a shoe lac to the window. Do this for all six.

Note that intially I used only six threads but I found that the cardboard was bulging from one location as shown in figure above. So I tied another one there.

After tying all the threads your cardboard should not move at all.

Repeat the same steps for the sides.

Step 4: The Final Result

The cooler certainly looks covered from the sides. Depending on the strength of the cardboard and threads the covering can hold up its own very well. I guess this one will be able to withstand atleast a storm or two. :)

Advantages:-



• Prevents hot air from entering the room.
• Prevents sunlight and dust as well
• Keeps the room cooler
• Looks better


All this stuff is primarily of use in villages or at remote places where you can't find architects/engineers to construct a customised window for you. Or you don't want to make any constructional changes in the wall as the cooler will come to use only during the summers as you would require the window open & the sun shining in winters.