Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

Since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, energy conservation has become a very important concern after the meltdown the disaster caused at the Fukushima nuclear power facility. Setsuden, the Japanese term for conserving electricity, has become a popular trend and media discussion topic. And in cities like Tokyo which have been hit hard by Japan’s diminished ability to produce electricity because of the Fukushima meltdown, setsuden has become a necessary if uncomfortable way of summertime life. So, ever the innovators, the Japanese have started coming up with new products and ideas to help people using less air-conditioning in the often stifling summer heat of Tokyo and other cities. You may recall the story we reported a few weeks ago about the Japanese government’s Super Cool Biz campaign, which urges office workers to wear lighter, cooler business fashions. Well in addition to cooler clothes, we’ve come across a couple of tech solutions for the Japanese heat. One is a small fan that clips onto the back of a salaryman’s tie and blows (hopefully) cool air across the chest and neck. It’s run by a small battery pack which can be recharged by plugging it into a computer USB port. Another tech solution is a special jacket that has fans built into it and keeps the wearer cool with a rather unfashionable but comfortable puffy balloon of circulating air while the garment is in use. Of course, we can’t vouch for how effective these devices are for their intended purpose, but the ideas seem sound. And they must certainly be a lot less drippy and messy than those gel-filled coolers you chill in the freezer and wrap around your neck in the heat. (Red Ferret Journal – USB Tie Fan) (The Raw Story – Japanese Fan Jacket)
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