Information and Communications Technology Academy

Yakal, Makati City

Eco-friendly Cardboard Air-con to Decrease

Heat in Impoverished Urban Areas

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course

STECHSOC

Submitted by:

SIMBE, John Simon J.

BSAN - AN1E

Submitted to:

Sir Juco Antonio Rivera

MAY 2019
I. Design Thinking Statement

“We need a way to decrease heat in impoverished urban areas using environment-

friendly materials.”

II. Background of the Study

a. Increasing Philippine Heat Index

Heat index measures human discomfort, in contrast to the actual air

temperature, and is computed by factoring in the humidity as well as other

conditions. According to the 2019 PAGASA Heat Index, more and more locations

within the country are experiencing increases in their heat indices and is becoming

an observed trend for coming years. Within the month of July, thirteen (13)

locations reported a heat index considered to be “dangerous” or 41°C and above,

most of which are urban areas. Among these are:

Calapan, Oriental Mindoro: 46.8°C Tuguegarao City, Cagayan: 41.5°C

Infanta, Quezon: 43.5°C Sangley Point, Cavite: 41.4°C

Ambulong, Batangas: 43.2°C Aparri, Cagayan: 41.4°C

Casiguran, Aurora: 42.6°C Cotabato City, Maguindanao: 41. 3°C

Pasay City, Metro Manila: 42.5°C Baler, Aurora: 41.3°C

Dagupan City, Pangasinan: 42.4°C Iba, Zambales: 41°C

San Jose City, Occ. Mindoro: 42°C

Urban Heat Island

The term “heat island” describes the area that is hotter than nearby

areas. Urban heat island, which means that the city is hotter that its

surrounding rural areas, can affect communities by increasing peak energy

demand, air conditioning costs, heat-related illness and mortality, and water
 quality. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency

(USEPA, 2008), the annual mean air temperature of a city with 1 million

people or more can be 1-3 °C warmer than its nearby rural areas.

In the National Capital Region, the difference in the temperature of

Metro Manila from its surrounding rural areas are around 0.4 °C - 2.3°C.

One reason for this is the number of commercial and residential buildings

that are scattered inside Manila. Buildings increase surface roughness as a

result of reducing the rate of ventilation in urban areas (Vallar et al., 2015).

b. Urban Poverty and Lack of Electricity

With the overall temperature rise across the globe and the sweltering heat these

summers, one can safely assume that households will see a furious shoot-up in their

electricity bills this year. While the well-off urban population resorts to air-

conditioning to escape the heat wave, the poor clamor for shade in varied confinements,

especially tin huts. In the 2016 study titled "Accelerating the Deployment of Renewable

Energy Mini-Grids for Off-Grid Electrification - A Study on the Philippines," the level

of household electrification in the country stood at 89.6 percent, leaving 2.36 million

households without electricity and many other areas with a limited service of only four

to six hours per day."

III. Objectives

General Objective

The general objective for this research, based on the design thinking

statement, is to make a tangible product capable of decreasing heat within poverty-

stricken urban areas with the help of eco-friendly and sustainable materials.
 Specific Objectives

- Create a tangible product that effectively reduces heat and is preferably

independent of electricity;

- Develop the product using recyclable and readily-available materials.

Following the initial objectives, the proposed prototype will be an eco-friendly

air conditioner made of cardboard and plastic bottles. The product would be a device

which consists of grids of repurposed bottles which are cut into half and the brims are

inserted into a cardboard sheet. The device is then fixed to a window which is in the

direction of maximum air flow so that the wider end of the bottles faces outside. The

air passes through the bottles and gets compressed while passing through the neck. The

compressed air while leaving the brim will expand rapidly and gives cooler air.

IV. Materials

Since the product is supposed to help the poor, the materials used should also be

readily available and environmentally friendly. That said, the materials for the

prototype proposed are:

1. Cutter or Scissors

2. 2mm Cardboard

3. 2L Plastic Bottles

V. Procedure

1. Gather as many used soft-drink and water bottles. The bigger the size difference

between the body and the rim of the bottle, the better.
 2. Measure the window you want to make the Cardboard Air-con for and cut a

sturdy 2mm cardboard or similar in the same size. Make sure to keep at least

1/2” flushed around all sides.

3. Cut holes in the board according to the measurement of the rim of the

corresponding bottles. Make sure the cuts are spaced out alongside the size of

the bottles.

4. Using scissors, cut the bottles in half along its body.

5. Cut away the top of the bottle cap. This makes a lock for the bottle to the

cardboard and ensures air to travel inward.

6. Pushing the cut bottle from the outer side of the board, twist the cap from the

inner side and tighten it. Repeat for the remaining bottles and fix the Cardboard

Air-con from the outer side of the window.

VI. Conclusion

The Cardboard Air-con is placed on the window in the direction of maximum air

flow. The wider open ends are placed outside the window allowing the air in without

letting additional solar radiation to come in. When the air enters the wider end of the

bottle facing towards the wind direction outside of the window the air passes through

the bottleneck and gets compressed in there.

Joule-Thomson Effect

The phenomenon involved is called the Joule-Thomson Effect, also known as

the Joule-Kelvin Effect. Continuing, this compression will increase the velocity of

the air at the expense of its pressure. This compressed air undergoes rapid

expansion soon after it exits the brim of the water bottle. This rapid expansion
 lowers the temperature of the air stream and creates some sort of low pressure there

which in turn draws the surrounding air into the stream (Bhanuprakash Ch et al.,

2018).

VII. Bibliography

PAGASA (2019), Maximum Heat Index Actual (Observed) as of May 28, 2019. IAAS,

pppppppppCAD, DOST-PAGASA. Retrieved from:

ppppppppphttp://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/climate/climate-heat-index

IRENA (2017), Accelerating renewable mini-grid deployment: A study on the

sxsxsxsss Philippines, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.

USEPA (2008), Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies_Urban Heat

cccccccc Island Basics. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of

xxxcccccxAtmospheric Programs.

Vallar, et al. (March 2015), Effect of the Urbanization of Metro Manila on the Climate

ccccccccc of Selected Urban and Rural Areas using WRFV3.4.1. DLSU Research

ccccccccc Congress Vol. 3 2015

Bhanuprakash Ch et al. (2018), Performance Evaluation of an Eco-Cooler analysed by

ppppppppvarying the Physical and flow Parameters. IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

pppppppp377.