1. Background Introduction
This report is developed in response to a call for proposals to recommend engineering solutions in a particular area of focus. The team decided to work on mitigating the effects of a warm and humid climate, currently experienced in the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) Dover campus, for the up and coming Punggol campus.
In recent studies, the rate in which Singapore is heating up is double than that of the world at about 0.25°C per decade (Ng & Tang, 2019). The temperature in Singapore is expected to increase gradually to 40°C between the years 2045 and 2065 due to the amount of greenhouse gases the world continues to emit (Low, 2019). In addition to the rising temperatures from climate change, Singapore is forced to contend with high humidity levels throughout the year (Ng & Tang, 2019).
Being geographically located near the equator, the island undergoes a tropical climate. Furthermore, Singapore is surrounded by ocean where the heat and wind will transport water into the country through the breeze and rainfall (Billy Aircon, n.d.). Hence, the high humidity and increasing temperature in Singapore may cause people to be more susceptible to heat-related health dangers (Ng & Tang, 2019).
In a case study based in Florida, Saint Johns County Public District were sourcing for ways to regulate the high humidity and temperature levels for washrooms in an elementary school. Situated in an already moist environment, the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that were controlled by thermostats failed to target the high humidity. This resulted in vast temperature swings which in turn made the washrooms too cold or warm. The implementation of dehumidifiers helped to remove moisture and return drier room temperature air into the washrooms and by integrating them with the air conditioning system, the high temperature and humidity levels were mitigated (Dehumidifier Corporation of America, n.d.).
According to a survey on the climate in a school environment conducted by team WATERHACK, nearly two-thirds of the twenty-five respondents feel humid in school, and more than half are facing high humidity related issues such as sweating while queueing for food. (See Appendix)
The team notes that the overall demand of water resources in Singapore will be twice as much by 2060 due to the country’s uprising economy and population growth (Public Utilities Board ,n.d.). According to the Public Utilities Board (PUB) (2019), managing the water supplies to meet the growing demands of the country require the involvement and contribution of the community. This explains how each individual plays an essential role in managing the water demands and ensuring sufficient water supply in the future.
Therefore, team WATERHACK feels that there is a need to address the warm and humid climate in Singapore by implementing measures to help reduce the effects of such climate on people. Simultaneously, the team aims to integrate water recycling solutions in hopes of reducing water wastage and contribute in conserving Singapore’s valuable water by recycling natural resources. All these can be accomplished by installing dehumidifiers and outdoor misting systems around the SIT campus at Punggol.
In this report, team WATERHACK will discuss about the ideal school environment in terms of climate, the problems that arise due to higher relative humidity levels in Singapore, the proposed engineering solutions developed to mitigate these problems and their comparisons and the water recycling benefits of implementing the chosen solution.
1.1 Problem Statement
An ideal forward-looking university should be a conducive and comfortable place for students to be in. In the current SIT@Dover campus, outdoor study areas can be very warm during hot days which will cause students to feel muggy even with the presence of fans. Therefore, the team believes that SIT@Punggol campus should incorporate dehumidifiers around outdoor study areas so as to maximise student’s productivity in their learning process and at the same time, reduce the risk of any heat-related health dangers. These portable dehumidifiers can play a part in lowering the humidity level around the vicinity which will enhance students’ well-being when studying outdoors around the new campus.
1.2 Purpose Statement
This report aims to propose the implementation of portable dehumidifiers in outdoor study areas around SIT@Punggol campus to the estate planning committee in hopes of mitigating the effects of high temperature and humidity on students.
2. Proposed Solution
The team came out with two solutions in hope of providing a better learning environment for the future SIT@Punggol campus.
2.1 Implementation of dehumidifiers
In SIT@Dover, the team made an observation that dehumidifiers are not being used in the campus. In this case, outdoor dehumidifiers will be used to regulate the humidity inside the school campus.
2.1.1 Outdoor dehumidifiers
Outdoor dehumidifiers acts the same as an average dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers primary function is to remove excessive moisture from the air by drawing surrounding air into the device. The device will then remove moisture from the collected air through condensation, by converting the moisture in the air into water droplets before releasing the air back to the surroundings. These water droplets will be collected in a tank inside the dehumidifer and can be recycled for multiple purposes (Holmberg, n.d.).
2.1.2 Adjusting the setting of dehumidifiers
As dehumidifiers generally operate via electrical power, excessive usage could increase the bills. In order to reduce the electrical power consumption, the team suggest that dehumidifier will only operate when it reaches a certain percentage of relative humidity level. Otherwise, the dehumidifiers will not operate to save on energy costs.
2.1.3 Location of dehumidifiers
The team proposed to implement the outdoor dehumidifiers near outdoor study areas where these areas tend to be torrid during warm weather, decreasing the likelihood of health-related effects posed unto students.
2.2 Implementation of outdoor misting system
2.2.1 Outdoor misting system information
Outdoor misting system is an evaporative cooling method that lowers outdoor temperature on hot and sunny days. High-pressure pump is usually connected to a water source where water will then evaporate in warm air. The small nozzles enable the formation of mist which hence cool the area from being too hot.
2.2.2 Location of outdoor misting system
An ideal place for the outdoor cooling system would be the sheltered walkways if it is available in the new SIT campus in Punggol.
3. Benefits and Drawbacks
3.1 Benefits of Dehumidifiers
According to an article, a portable dehumidifier is likely to consume 160 kilowatt hours per month (kWh) and burns less energy compared to a typical air conditioner (Holmberg, n.d.). This shows that dehumidifier does not utilise much power and this can save cost for the electricity bills in the future SIT@Punggol campus.
In addition to saving energy, dehumidifier able to collect water through the compression warm air water collected also known as ‘grey water’ can be recycled to water the plants or even flushing of toilets.
3.2 Limitations of dehumidifiers
Choosing the accurate size and specification for the outdoor dehumidifiers is one of the main challenges. As the team is unaware of the new layout for SIT@Punggol, coming up with a suitable size for outdoor dehumidifiers would be a challenge.
3.3 Limitations of outdoor cooling mist system
The system has to be maintained constantly. The contaminated water from the collected water will pose a serious hazard to the users. Mist being produced by contaminated water can illnesses such as Legionnaire’s disease and Pontiac fever. Furthermore, it could be a breeding spot for mosquitoes.
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