If the different types of air conditioners we looked at don't fit your budget, consider this affordable DIY hack: A YouTuber created an air conditioner replacement using a Styrofoam cooler and dryer vent in about 10 minutes. The total cost, excluding the fan she already had, was just $8. First, divide the top of the cooler into three sections with a marker, then tightly trace the dryer vent onto the two outer sections.
Next, trace and cut out the fan in the center piece and remove any remaining pieces from the styrofoam. Add the dryer vent and fan into the cutouts in place and make sure your creation works with the fan and vent. Finally, put a bunch of ice-filled bottles and ice in the cooler and place the vent and fan on top and it should emit refreshing air just like an air conditioner.
So does this great idea actually work? Many who have tried it confirm that it works well. One commenter wrote, “My room is cooled with a styrofoam cooler and life is good,” while another commenter said that they use this method to cool their car and it works very well, while another said that while the setup works well, the parts actually cost more than $8 and can be noisy to build.