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Scientists at the University of Malaya have designed a roof that can help address an environmental conflict: increasing demands for energy to increase living comfort versus a need to scale back fossil fuel use to address climate change. The conflict has driven interest in more efficient renewable energy sources, especially in emerging economies.
The roof's most visible feature is a V-shaped structure set atop a peaked roof, which guides wind into a series of turbines situated below it to generate energy as they turn. The structure also increases airflow within the building by means of vents built into the peaked roof to enhance natural ventilation. In addition, a rainwater harvester is connected to an automated cooling and cleaning system that washes solar cells embedded in the sloped roof to keep them efficient. Transparent skylights brighten the main rooms inside the building during the daytime, reducing the need for artificial lighting.
The team says that adding the roof to an existing building creates minimal visual impact and can be used in urban and rural settings.
In Malaysia, the average person uses about 4,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy per year. The researchers say their roof could support about six people by generating more than 21,200 kWh of energy a year while saving another 1,840 kWh because of its skylights. Also, the venting system could move about 217 million cubic metres of air and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 17,768 kilos, while the rainwater harvester could collect close to 525 cubic metres of water.
Do they have homeowner's associations in Malaysia?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Sunday April 09 2017, @06:15PM (5 children)
Or maybe it costs £6400, in which case it pays back in a couple of years. Since TFA doesn't actually state how much this thing is going to cost, I have exactly as much evidence for my estimate as you have for yours, which is to say absolutely none. When you're allowed to pick the input of a linear function (in this case: y = p / 3200) you can make the output anything you want.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday April 09 2017, @06:39PM (3 children)
I have exactly as much evidence for my estimate as you have for yours, which is to say absolutely none.
Seems to be quite a bit of this going around lately, people asserting things with no evidence at all. Of course, that is just my feeling, but you know that now that we have feeling sensors that we did not used to have, maybe AGW is just a SJW thing according the the AIDs (Anti-social Injustice Deplorables: I think we have finally hit on the counter-SJW acronym!), and not a real scientific data-driven hypothesis, even though it is. And this roof will pay for itself in just weeks, if we assume spherical cows (isn't Malaysia part Hindu? so not that) or flying pigs (and part Muslim?), and the fact that tax breaks for the wealthy inevitably produce economic growth.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 09 2017, @09:24PM
its like people can't plan out beyond this quarters profits or the shareholders that backed the loan will get angry, so no, any investment that has a long term return on investment is for old people who will die anyway.
i have a 30 year mortgage and would have loved to get solar panels, but didn't. if I had a 10 year return i'd be 7 years into the profit having lived here for 17 years.
but i guess no one lives in the same place for longer than it takes to flip and turn a profit, is that it?
(Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday April 09 2017, @11:09PM
We need one but that's not quite right.
Let's think about this for just a second.
Social. Justice. Warrior.
Unhyphenated. Justice. Defender.
Defenders of Unhyphenated Justice.
DUJs.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 10 2017, @08:30AM
I have exactly as much evidence for my estimate as you have for yours, which is to say absolutely none.
Seems to be quite a bit of this going around lately, people asserting things with no evidence at all.
Will you do something about that or will you continue to be part of the problem? I realize we're all lazy here, but we can at least try on occasion for serious debate.
(Score: 3, Touché) by linkdude64 on Sunday April 09 2017, @07:35PM
You're right, he has absolutely no basis in stating that an emerging advanced and highly-custom technology would be expensive. Photovoltaic cells might actually be free, because I haven't cited a wholesaler's cost in this very comment. That's how logic works.