Japanese Firm’s ‘Human Refrigerator’ Offers Relief From Punishing Summer Heat
Trusco says demand is rising as tighter heatstroke rules and hotter summers drive use of the 15°C booth in workplaces and shelters.
- Trusco Nakayama Corp. has sold about 200 Hiemon Box cooling booths priced at 1.5 million yen to steel mills, construction sites, and universities across Japan since launching earlier this year.
- Japan's summers have become increasingly hot and humid, with temperatures regularly exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, prompting national broadcaster NHK and the country's weather agency to issue routine heatstroke warnings.
- The Hiemon Box keeps the temperature at 15 degrees Celsius and blows jets of 5-degree air upon entry; Fumiaki Matsubara, general manager of Trusco's product division, said it aims to prevent heat-related conditions rather than provide rest.
- Following last week's earthquake that struck Kumamoto, Trusco deployed units to evacuation shelters; the company has also fielded international inquiries from Germany and elsewhere, Matsubara said.
- Tighter government regulations to prevent heatstroke are adding momentum as extreme heat becomes more common, with demand for workplace cooling products roughly doubling every year in recent years.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Because of rising temperatures and extreme heat, a Japanese company invented a portable refrigerator for humans.
Amidst a continuous heatwave, Bloomberg reported on the 4th (local time) that a "human refrigerator" has appeared in Japan, allowing a person to enter it to cool down. Japanese machine tool manufacturer Trusco Nakayama is producing and selling the "Do Hiemon Box," a refrigerator designed for humans. Large enough for one adult to fit inside, the product maintains an internal temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, and when a person enters, it emits 5-…
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Byung-kyu = Amidst the scorching heat raging day after day, a 'human refrigerator' in Japan, which a person can enter to cool down instantly...
New cooler should cool people in heat, but does not replace treatment.
Human refrigerator offers instant relief in Japan as summer temperatures rise
The glass door closes, and a curtain of cool air spills over your head, neck and shoulders, delivering instant relief from the punishing summer heat. This is what it is like to chill in the Do Hiemon Box, an oversized stainless-steel refrigerator that looks big enough to fit a human being, because that is exactly what it is designed to do. Trusco Nakayama has sold about 200 of the 1.5 million yen (US$9,500) booths to steel mills, construction si…
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