Eco-Cooler

The City College of New York
Computer Engineers Team
Taiseer, Tamara, Arleny, David
December 3rd, 2018

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Statement of the Problem

III. Objectives

IV. Plan of Action

IVa. Design

IVb. The Mechanism

V. Management Plan Cost and Labor

VI. Conclusion

VII. References

I. Introduction

The months of summer are known to be filled with massive heat waves affecting everyone in the world. Temperatures are known to spike up to be almost unbearable. Ollie Milman, an environmental reporter, suggest that “nearly a third of the world’s population is now exposed to climate conditions that produce deadly heat waves” (Milman, 2017). The effects of the rising temperature have become deadly, prominently in areas where people live in poverty not being able to afford or operate electrically powered air cooling devices. The Eco-Cooler could be the solution to this problem, giving those who need it most, a fighting chance to survive the extreme temperatures our planet faces today.

II. Statement of the Problem
Climate change is affecting the world from many different angles. Temperatures have risen threatening the lives of citizens who cannot afford a way to combat the deadly heat. One quarter of the world’s population, specifically parts of Africa and Southern Asia (Groneworld, 2009), still don’t have access to electricity making it virtually impossible to implement electrical air coolers to help lower the temperatures in a household. Countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan are heavily affected by the global average temperature increase with record breaking 113.0 degrees fahrenheit in March 2018 (Fritz, 2018).

In addition to the natural effects of the world’s climate change to some parts of the world, the limited resources of underdeveloped countries have exacerbate the problem. Large number of people facing these harsh conditions live in poverty, and without access to proper building materials, their tin huts become a heat chamber resulting in dangerous living conditions.

Even though claims that climate change is not as serious as we perceive it, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agrees that “taken as a whole, the range of published evidence, indicates that the net damage cost of climate change are likely to be significant and increase over time” (Global Climate Change: Effects, 2018). This confirms that the severity of the already harsh climate is bound to increase making endangered populations to be exposed to an eminent death due to the casualties of the extreme heat. The only way to prevent this dire outcome is implementing a low-cost and efficient way to lower the temperatures of a home. This can serve as a buffer until there can be a better way to protect the people from the most vulnerable areas combat rising temperatures in the future.

III. Objectives

This Eco-cooler is the only one of its kind, and its main objective is to serve as an air cooler made of common materials which makes it accessible to poverty-stricken areas. Also, due to its nature, it is cost efficient and most importantly it doesn’t require the use of electrical power which is exceptionally convenient. From an environmental standpoint, the Eco-cooler is itself eco-friendly, and it does not produce any pollution but instead recycles commonly discarded materials in order to be built.

Our goal for this project is to distribute the Eco-cooler to areas where is needed. Also, the building and implementation of this device is fairly simple and it can be built by anyone. We would like to provide small workshops to show locals how to build the Eco-cooler and educate them on how to get the most out of it so they could show everyone who is interested in creating their own. The impact of the temperature drop of even a few degrees could be life-saving especially in areas like Bangladesh where the temperature can rise up to 45 degrees celsius. It only takes 40 degrees celsius to create a life-threading environment for a human body (OSH Answer Facts and Sheets) leaving children and the elderly fighting for survival during the hottest days of the year.

IV. Plan of Action

IVa. The Design
The Eco-cooler composition is made of empty plastic bottles and cardboard. The first step of the construction of the Eco-cooler is to cut the cardboard to the desired size and cut each bottle in half. Only the upper body of the bottle will be used. To finish the design, the bottles should be uniformly attached by its narrower end through a hole on the cardboard cut to match the mouth of the bottle. The image below shows the end product.

After completion, the Eco-cooler should be placed at a window location with the narrower end of the bottles pointing into the home.
IVb. The Mechanism
Once the Eco-cooler is in place, the outer area of the board containing the wider end of the bottles, will act as a funnel, receiving the warm air coming from the outside. Using the Joule-Thomson effect (Joule- Thomson Effect), as the pressure of the air that leaves the narrower end of the bottle and it enters the room decreases, so does the temperature of the incoming air. The sudden change of pressure from the narrow bottle area to the inside of the room creates a natural “fan-effect” from the Eco-cooler. This mechanism can drop the indoor temperature as much as 9 degrees fahrenheit.
V. Management Plan Cost and Labor
The cost to produce the Eco-cooler is minimal. Countries like Bangladesh don’t recycle what they dispose of and there is an abundance of plastic bottles and cardboard to produce this device. There is no requirement for any specialized technical knowledge to build an Eco-cooler so any adults and kids under supervision are able to create their own product. This will eliminate any labor-related cost. With all the materials and volunteers at hand, the building time for an Eco-cooler should not exceed more than 30 mins to 1 hr.
VI. Conclusion

Although we have distributed this eco-cooler to over twenty five thousand households, our work has just begun (Distacio, 2016). There are plenty more people around the world who need this cooler. Our product is unique because we don’t need to send people around the world to install this device. Anyone can follow these simple instructions to build it. In addition, the people that need it the most already have the resources to make it with little cost. What we need to do from here on is spread the word and gain publicity. Until people in these countries can afford to buy air conditioners, this eco-cooler remains their best alternative.

VII. References

1.DiStasio,C. (2016, August 1). The amazing Bangladeshi air cooler is made from plastic bottles and uses no electricity. Retrieved from https://inhabitat.com/this-amazing-bangladeshi-air-cooler-is-made-from-plastic-bottles-and-uses-no-electricity/.
2.Fritz,A. (2018, April. Pakistan’s 114 degrees is just one of the many all -time March records toppled in Asia. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/04/03/pakistans-114-degrees-just-one-of-many-all-time-march-records-toppled-in-asia/?utm_term=.92ca72854710.
3.Global Climate Change: Effects. (2018, November 28). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
4.Groneworld,N. (2009, November). One Quarter of World’s Population Lacks Electricity. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electricity-gap-developing-countries-energy-wood-charcoal/.
5.Joule-Thomson effect. Retreived from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule%E2%80%93Thomson_effect
6.Milman, O. (2017, June). https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/19/a-third-of-the-world-now-faces-deadly-heatwaves-as-result-of-climate-change
7.OSH Answers Fact and Sheets. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/heat_health.html