"Cool pipes chill room naturally" — a staff article by John W. Flores in the Albuquerque Journal (August 21, 2000) describing Zomeworks Corporation's Cool Cell climate-control system.
The article introduces the Cool Cell as "a climate-control system consisting of water pipes located in a structure's ceiling" that air-conditions large buildings "without using 1 kilowatt of electricity." Jesse Rodefer, a Zomeworks spokesman, explains the cycle:
In summer, reservoirs of water in a building's ceiling absorb heat from the interior during the day, passively cooling the space. Each night, convection circulates the water through roof-mounted radiator/absorbers. The heat is radiated to the night sky, returning water is cooled and ready to repeat the cycle for the next day.
The article notes that after materials are paid for, the monthly cooling bill "would never exceed single digits — as in near zero cost."
This is the earliest known mainstream press coverage of the Cool Cell in the archive. It appeared four years before the Dear shareholders letter that solicited investment for the Double Play roll-former, and two years before the dense 2002 experimental period that produced the technical notes on di-thermal roofs and pool-heater cooling. The article shows the Cool Cell concept was already being pitched publicly while the engineering work was still maturing.