Koolbreeze Solar Hat History

About eight years ago Tommie Nellon was on a hot roof completing an Unlimited Energy solar system. The day was a sweltering Fresno scorcher, and Nellon considered his solar system was powering heavy air conditioning systems that kept the people in the offices below cool and dry. His wide brimmed hat offered sun protection, but that was small comfort against the high temperature of the day. He was perspiring profusely, the sweat pouring down his head and face when he asked the question, why not come up with a small portable ‘air conditioning' device? It could be a personal unit built right in the hat and powered with a small solar electric system. He had the technology, it just needed application.

From that day forward Nellon began to experiment with various parts and panels to get the right combination for a forced air system that would be powerful enough to bring comfort to the wearer while keeping the weight down so it could be worn comfortably. Several dozen designs and builds came and went over the next few years until he finally had a workable unit. He applied for and was granted a United States Patent for the device.

Nellon wore the hat for two years, and found he was constantly asked by those who saw it to purchase one. He built a few for his friends, and soon requests were coming in by the dozens, many from people he had never met. The early models were produced with ‘off the shelf' components and while effective, the hats were quite expensive to make. Nellon knew that would have to change if the hat were ever going to be offered to the general public.

Once he made the decision to mass produce the hat, he began engineering a new design for the hat from ground up. The hat needed to be lighter; the blower needed a mounting system that allowed quick assembly and the solar panel circuitry to the fan motor needed simplification.

The new design would utilize injection molding, and that provided the opportunity to incorporate several big improvements. First, a more efficient motor was acquired and tested. Secondly, high efficient solar panels were employed which reduced the number of cells from four to two. Next, a new seven blade fan was engineered specifically for the powerful new motor which now delivered some 40% more air volume than the original units and made the hat's operation nearly silent.

Next, a brand new hat was designed from scratch. The crown height of the hat was increased to take advantage of the greater volume of air being produced by the new design. The results dramatically increased the cooling effect of the hat and the comfort of its wearer even in the hottest weather.