Project Details

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Solar-powered indoor cooling and infectious diseases prevention - Global with SJTU

Company: PSU SEDI Global Building Network

Major(s):
Primary: EGEE
Secondary: ME
Optional: IE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

The world experienced unprecedented temperatures in Summer 2023 endangering millions of lives and pushing electricity grids to their limits as people cranked up their air conditioners, if they have them, to keep cool. In a resource constrained context, cooling solutions must account for the risk of shortages, restrictions, blackouts, and brownouts. Against this backdrop, previous student teams have explored the feasibility and viability of addressing cooling needs using affordable, solar powered devices. Building on this effort, this capstone project will reflect on the extent to which such devices can also help mitigate the risk of infectious diseases transmission in the indoor environment. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of building-related interventions in infectious diseases prevention actions. Within buildings, infectious diseases can spread directly through the air. Several interventions emerged in response to COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for their efficiency and cost-effectiveness to be tested and validated using real-life use cases. Prototypes from previous semesters and a DIY-based solution that was developed by a group of researchers at UC San Diego will be the starting point for exploring the notion of an affordable device that cools and also cleans the air based on a use case of a school building in Kisumu, Kenya. The final deliverables will be a technical report and a prototype.