SSEF Bronze Award and SAAS Special Award
Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF) and Singapore Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAS) 2022
Sun SiTong, Wong Ching Whee, Dunman High School
Supervisors: Prof Sow Chorng Haur & Dr Sharon Lim Xiaodai
Coolish housing: Maximizing natural ventilation for sustainable living in established HDB units
Overcoming COVID restrictions by tapping on in-house resources such as maker-space and online discussions with NUS mentors, SiTong and Ching Whee contributed to the nation’s goal towards sustainable living by investigating the optimal position of windows and doors in a HDB unit to maximize natural ventilation, which reduces the need for air conditioning and fans, lowering the energy consumption of households and creating a more sustainable lifestyle.
Coupling physical model and computer simulations, SiTong and Ching Whee discovered that the popular belief that fully opening the doors and windows will maximize the wind flow is untrue. Instead, wind flow is maximized by angling the windows 90 degrees open and strategically positioning the doors at angles to direct the natural wind from the outdoors to regions in a unit that lacks ventilation.
This science research project is truly an eye-opening experience for me. Having no prior experience in research projects, this is the first time I got to experience the rigour of data collection and report writing under the guidance of our mentor. It is an enlightening journey which gave me a great sense of fulfillment 🙂
The research experience preparing for SSEF was definitely an eye-opening one for me. As someone with relatively limited research experience before this, I managed to learn a lot of new skills while working with my group mate and mentor. Due to pandemic restriction, it is a pity that we were not able to visit the lab and conduct experiments there. However, we managed to adapt to the restrictions and the research experience eventually turned out to be a smooth yet enriching one despite some challenges. I look forward to more of such experiences in the future 😀