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Draft 2

FEASIBILITY REPORT

THE CAR SELF-VENTILATION SYSTEM

Prepared by:

Hasan Al Mashajer (100020264)

Omran Ahmed Al Haddad (100032749)

Khalifa University

Mechanical Engineering

Date:

July 21, 2011

Prepared for:

Ms. Sabina Ostrowska

English 220

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CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................................................... 3

ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 5

PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

SCOPE ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................. 5

PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................................................. 5

DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ..................................................................................... 6

SOLUTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

TECHNICAL DETAILS ................................................................................................................................ 7

COST ............................................................................................................................................................. 10

LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 10

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS ............................................................................ 11

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................. 11

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 12

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: How would convert solar energy to electrical energy? .................................................................... 7

Figure 2: Solar (PV) Cell ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Figure 3: Body Electrical ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Figure 4: Digital Thermostat ............................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 5 Body Electrical ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 6 Solar Powered Blue Car Hitting the Streets in 2010 ........................................................................... 9

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of the feasibility report is to study and solve the problem of increasing the

temperature and the heat inside cars while they are parked for long time under the hot sun rays.

This problem has many affects negatives in our life some of them are long-term effects. These

problems or negatives are varying between health problems, safety issues and financial losses.

The solution of this problem is done by implementing a self-ventilation and cooling system

inside the car. The system will consist of deferent devices like thermostat which will measure the

temperature inside the car using some temperature sensor, and then it will compare data with the

temperature that the user want then it will control it by switching on the car AC to reach the

desired temperature. The system will depend on a solar system to provide it by power. In

addition, this report contains the predicted cost of the system which is calculated depend on the

available prices in these days. This report contains the problems or limitations that face the

project and what are the suggested developments. Although the project is complicated and need a

lot of efforts, it is still feasible and there is a possibility to implement it.

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INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to get rid of the temperature inside a closed and switched off car.

The main benefit of the cooling system is to keep the air inside the car cold even if the car is

switched off during a hot weather.

SCOPE

This report details the problems caused by the hot weather and its bad effects on people and their

cars when the car has been switched off for a moment during hot weather. In this report, we will

introduce the problem and its effects. Also, we will discuss the solution that will solve this

problem in detail.

BACKGROUND

As it is known that the Arabian Gulf region is characterized by hot weather. Most people who

have cars are suffering a lot when they enter the vehicles from the heat of the air inside the car

after it has been under the sun rays for long time. Therefore, in this innovation, we thought

about a system that can solve this problem, especially for car owners in hot climates.

PROCEDURE

We started making some researches and interview with one of Khalifa University faculty

members. We met Eng. Omar Al Riyahi an electronic engineer in Khalifa University. We

discussed with him about the possibility of implementing this project and asked him some

technical questions about the innovation such as how we could control the temperature inside the

car. Some information was collected from the web about how the car AC works and how the

solar system could provide the ventilation system with power.

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DISCUSSION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM

The high temperature causes a lot of damages and bad effects on the health and human life. The

main problem is the heat of the air inside a closed and switched off car. This heat could cause a

lot of problems and damages for people and for the car itself. Therefore, when a person enters his

or her car which has been switched off for long time under the rays of the sun, he or she will be

affected significantly from this high temperature from several aspects. One of these aspects is

that this high temperature and hot air that the person is exposed to them will affect in his or her

mood negatively and make him or her nervous and tense person. Moreover, the high temperature

inside the car makes the leather and plastic interior parts of the car to release harmful and toxic

gases which they are called dioxins [1]. These bad emissions affect on the health of the driver,

and it is possible that it may lead to a difficulty in his or her breathing.

Furthermore, one of the most dangerous problems which may happen is that sometimes parents

may leave their children unattended for a few minutes inside a switched off and closed car for

shopping, or maybe they just forget them inside the car without leaving any window opened.

With the passage of the time, this will lead in rising the temperature and reducing the oxygen

significantly inside the car. Finally, the children may suffocate and die as a result of

hyperthermia or heat stroke. According to Null [2], the total number of children who died in U.S.

inside a closed and hot car since 1998 till now is 512 deaths.

In addition to the health problems and accident risks that I mentioned before, there are financial

problems that are related to the car itself. For example, the hot air and high pressure inside the

car could make damages in some of the internal parts of the car. For Example, sometimes the

color of the seats and fabrics will disappear or change from the heat inside the car. Furthermore,

if you leave food inside the car for a few minutes, it will deteriorate quickly as a result of the

high temperature and pressure.

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SOLUTION

The best solution to get rid of heat and pressure inside the car can be done by implementing a

self-ventilation system in the car. This system has its own power source which is solar energy

therefore that could work while the car is on switch off status. Moreover, it will work separately

from the other car systems. The functions of the system are varying between measuring the

temperature inside the car and controlling it to reach the required degree specified by the user

who should save it before leaving the car. The system contains a device that measures the

temperature inside the car, and if it is more than the user specified, the system will start to cool

the car and keep the degree the user saved.

This system will provide great services for the society. One of the benefits is that you could leave

your personal stuff inside the car without the fear of getting them break down or deteriorate by

heat. In addition, you will stop worrying about leaving your children in the car while you do a

quick shopping because the car will be switched off and it will be cool and draughty. Moreover,

this system will be useful for people who are waiting in the cars for a long time such as drivers.

They will be able to wait in the car while it’s switched off since it’s known that leaving the car

switched on for a long time in the hot weather could make it to break down. Finally, the

ventilation system can be considered as an environmentally friendly system, it will reduce the

CO2 emission while the car is stop, whereas the driver

will not need to keep the car switched on while he or

she waiting for someone.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

The ventilation system is a dependent system which

means that it will work separately from the other car

systems and it will has separate power source. The

system will consist of four main parts: solar system,

motor, digital thermostat & temperature sensor and the

car air conditioner.

1- Solar System:

The solar system will be the power supplier for the Figure 1: How would convert solar energy to electrical energy?

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ventilation system. The process of generating electricity by this system pass through many steps

as it’s shown in Figure 1. The process of generating electricity starts by the reactions that occur

in the solar panels when the sun rays strike them. These panels consist of cells that are made of

semiconductor material whereas it reacts when the sun rays reach it and these reactions generate

charges [3].

After the charges are generated there is a device called a

charge controller which starts to control the flow of the charges

to the battery. The battery is the container of the charges and

the current distributer. The current could be used directly from

the battery as a direct current or could be passed through a

device called an inverter to transfer it to alternate current. To

increase the efficiency of the solar system, the user can link

group of solar panels together to get a system called solar array and

the organization of the solar panel is shown in Figure2.

2- Motor:

The motor in this system is operated electrically. Its function is to operate the air conditioner.

This motor will be connected to the AC compressor. Connecting the

compressor with the motor will separate AC from the car engine. This

type of compressor is called electric compressor (Figure 3) and it’s

available in some cars such as Toyota Prius [4].

3- Digital Thermostat & temperature sensor:

A thermostat is a climate controller device that is linked with air conditioners and heaters so that

it maintains any system temperature as the user desired. Thermostat contains temperature sensors

which monitor the system temperature. If the temperature is different than what the user wants

then the thermostat starts controlling it by ordering the system to raise it or lower it depends on

what the user want. The best type of the thermostats is the digital and is shown in Figure 3[5].

Figure 2: Solar (PV) Cell

Figure 3: Body Electrical

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4- Car Air Conditioner:

How does the system work?

The process starts from leaving and switching off the car. If the

user wants to activate the cooling and ventilation system he

should first set up the temperature he wants by using thermostat

which will be installed in the car dashboard. Before installing the thermostat in the car it should

be programmed with the car AC to each one fit with the other. The thermostat sensors will

monitor the temperature inside the car instantaneously. If the temperature becomes more than the

value that the user inserted, the ventilation system will switch on automatically. The system will

use the electricity generated by the solar system which its panel will be mounted on the car roof

see Figure 5. The charge controller and the battery are placed in the car trunk where there is a

safety box will be designed for them. This position will be temporary for the battery and the

charge controller until we find another place for them. The battery is linked by wires with the

inverter that is linked with the AC system. The electricity will operate the motor or the electric

compressor and the AC fan. The motor will do the function that the engine does for the air

conditioner. It will rotate the AC compressor to begin the cooling and ventilation process. The

electric compressor as shown in Figure 6 will be placed in the car front trunk. The system will

control the temperature until it reaches the saved value, in addition the system will keep this

value fixed until the user back.

Figure 4: Digital Thermostat

Figure 5: Solar Powered Blue Car Hitting the Streets in 2010 Figure 6: Body Electrical

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COST

The system cost will be as it shown in the table below. These prices are not precise but they are

depending in our researches the most commonly used. The total cost could change depend on the

user, because if want to use motor and connect it to the regular compressor that will not cost him

or her lot. In the other hand, the user can replace the regular compressor with the electric

compressor which is more efficient but more expensive.

COMPONENT COST

Solar panel system $499.95

Electric motor $32.28

Temperature sensor $17.07

Thermostat $61.50

Total Cost $610.8

LIMITATIONS

In the self-ventilation system there are some limitations or problems such as:

a. The power produced by the solar system will be limited so that, the air conditioner will

not work with its maximum power. It means that the range of the temperature that the

user specified while the car is switched off will be more limited than the car in switch on

status.

b. The period that the system will be run on is short. This also happens because of the solar

system which its power will decrease by the time. The time that the system will be

running in will be limited.

c. Improper places for some parts of the system such as battery and charge controller.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

CONCLUSION

Car-self ventilation system is very useful especially in our region that is characterized by hot

weather. This system will help many people to get rid of the daily suffering faced when they are

entering their cars after it has been switched off and closed for hours under the rays of the sun.

As I mentioned before, there were a number of deaths especially in children that have been died

because of this problem. As a result, this system will contribute significantly to protect our

children’s lives. All in all, adoption the idea of car-self ventilation system and apply it will help

in serving our society from different several aspects. Hence, I recommend introducing this

system as it has a lot of benefits for the public and for the car itself. This project has a very big

chance to be implemented, according to Mr. Omar this project needs some efforts to be achieved

but in the same time it’s not impossible. In addition, this idea has the approval of a group of

Khalifa University students and Dr. Shakti Singh an assistant professor in the Electronic

Engineering department in Khalifa University, who nominate it to be one of the projects that we

would work on it in the next year.

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REFERENCES

[1] Mabel. R. Burning Plastic.2000. [Online]. Available:

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00031.htm

[2] J. Null. Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles. 2011. [Online]. Available:

http://ggweather.com/heat/

[3] Guangzhou Kunyang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Solar (PV) Cell, 2010. [Online].

Available:

http://koyosolarpower.en.made-in-china.com/custom-

detail/xJQxmEnAMEhQxmQExQndGJUQ/Solar-Cell-Module-Array.html

[4] S. Omi, Y. Suga and M. Kurokawa. Electric Compressor for New Prius. October 23, 2003.

[Online]. Available:

http://www.denso.co.jp/motorshow/2003/en/presskit/product_electric/index.html

[5] R. Anacan. What Is a Programmable Digital Thermostat?. June 21, 2011. [Online].

Available:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-programmable-digital-thermostat.htm

The figures need citation.