What Are We?
Mechanised Roofing System to Increase Building Energy Efficiency
GOAL: To conserve energy in homes and commercial buildings through an alternative heating/cooling system.
We created a mechanized roofing system with a roof panel that can be flipped from black to white. Our system has self-contained electronics and uses a motor to rotate the main arm upward. It has a button that activates the panel so that it flips from white to black and vice versa. When the panel is on the white side, it is not in direct contact with the roof, decreasing the chance of heat transfer to the building. On the black side, the panel is designed to lay flat against the roof to allow the conduction of thermal energy to occur, thus transferring heat to the building. These panels would flip automatically based on the temperatures outside as well as in the building.
On a personal note, our school struggles to maintain a desired temperature in the sometimes-extreme Oklahoma weather, which is what initially steered us toward researching building heating and cooling efficiency.
Heating and cooling buildings in the United States of America has high monetary and environmental costs.
- Air conditioning constitutes 4% of all greenhouse gases produced annually, double the total greenhouse gas production of the entire aviation industry.
- About 25% of heat generated within homes escapes through the average American’s roof.
- The average residential electricity rate in Oklahoma is 14 cents/kWh.
- As of 2023, the average Oklahoman spent $216 per month on electricity.
- The high electricity expenditure could be reduced with more cost-effective HVAC solutions.
- Exploring alternatives to lower energy consumption can lead to significant savings.
Commercial Use Ideas
We envision these panels being much larger than the prototype and a series of these panels being used to cover the majority of the roofs on houses and commercial buildings. Our goal would be to make the mechanism more compact to avoid gaps between panels. A thermostat would be added so that panels would flip automatically depending on the environmental temperature as well as the temperature indoors.
Prototype Ideas
The prototype is not to scale.
We 3D printed all of the necessary parts.
An Electronics Box and a Lid, a Base, a Demonstration Mount, an Arm, a Whiteboard Holder, a Servo Holder, an Axle Connector, and an Axle Holder
Attached the servo to the servo mount, then attach the servo mount to the base of the panels.
Attached the arm to the base.
Attached the axle holder to the base to hold the arm still.
Attached the linkages to the arm.
Zeroed the servo.
Attached the hub linkage to the servo spline.
Attached the second servo to the arm.
Attached the the whiteboard to the servo after zeroing it.
Attached the base mount, this is used for demonstration purposes.
Put the electronics in the electronics box mount.
Wired the Arduino and attached it to the side of the electronics box.
Testing and Research Questions
(Please see the bottom of the page for information regarding some of the tests we ran.)
- What is the best angle for the panels to absorb/reflect the most solar energy when placed outside?
- How much thermal energy is absorbed by white panels versus the black panels?
- How does heat transfer through radiation, conduction, and convection?
Future Testing and Research Ideas
- Which panel material would be best for commercial use?
- Would it be possible to use recycled materials and/or materials that could easily be recycled post-use?
- Test temperature under the panels
- Compare the temperature of asphalt shingles to the painted panels
- Use whiter, more reflective paint, and darker, more matte paint
- Explore the ideas of moving air in the gap or adding evaporation areas when the panel is on the white side.
- How is the internal temperature of a building directly affected by using different roofing materials, including painted panels?
- How would a thermostat best be applied?
Concluding Thoughts
At the beginning of this project, we set out to create an alternative to heating and cooling. We think that this system can be used in many different situations and can be used to help many. We hope that this information will inspire you to help others and fix issues that we have created for ourselves. In conclusion, we found that the color of the panel greatly affects its temperature. We also found that the angle of the panels increases its efficiency. We think that if we implement this system onto people’s homes we will be able to solve the issue of global warming created by Air Conditioning and Heating. We think that our system can change the way we cool and heat our houses!
Testing Results and Details:
