Air conditioner without refrigerant: This Filipina, 19, could revolutionise your AC

Air conditioner without refrigerant: This Filipina, 19, could revolutionise your AC

Switzerland-based inventors’ group acknowledges Filipina pupil’s AirDisc AC after 10 establishments conferred her awards

That is what a 19-year-old Filipina pupil has developed, and with patent functions filed, that might probably revolutionize the way in which properties and buildings are cooled — with out using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as cooling agent.

Maria Yzabell Angel Palma (also referred to as Yza), from Bicol, Philippines, was just lately acknowledged by the Worldwide Federation of Inventors’ Affiliation (IFIA) for inventing her “AirDisc”. 

Palma, whose invention had additionally been recognised Asian (Chinese language, Korea and Taiwanese) entities, claims she had patent utility filed for AirDisc each within the Philippines and the US.

Maria Yzabell Angel Palma (also referred to as Yza) along with her household. The 19-year-old has earned plaudits from worldwide teams for inventing her AirDisc air-conditioner, which works on low energy — and with out a refrigerant. Fb

Alongside along with her father, Bernardo, a mecahnical engineer, Palma is reportedly finalising a business prototype and is open for manufacturing partnerships. She has been recognised by Korean, Chinese language and Taiwanese teams.  

Highschool invention

Philippine media experiences state that the 19-year-old from Naga Metropolis, 408km south of Manila, was a Grade 10 pupil on the elite Philippine Science Excessive College (PSHS) Bicol campus in 2016 when she “by accident” got here up along with her revolutionary AC invention that makes use of a disc-shaped compressor. 

PSHS has 14 different campuses across the nation.

Maria Yzabell Angel V. Palma (left) explains her AirDisc invention Philippine Science Excessive College (PSHS) System Government Director Lilia T. Habacon (proper) and PSHS System Deputy Government Director Dr. Rod Allan A. de Lara. Fb

As a substitute of utilizing as cooling medium, Palma’s AC makes use of low compression and a excessive quantity of air molecules as refrigerant alternative.

The primary fashionable electrical air con unit was invented by Willis Haviland Service in Buffalo in 1902.

Present air-conditioning programs use piston or rotary compressors to pump with the dangerous hydrofluorocarbons.

Now, Palma has been acknowledged for her feat by the Worldwide Federation of Inventors’ Affiliation (IFIA), which invited her to Switzerland in February — however did not attend as a result of she was then graduating.

IFIA learnt about Palma after 10 international organizations, together with Asean awards our bodies, recognised her for the AirDisc Air Conditioning Know-how.

Palma stated she and her father had already accomplished the appliance with the Virginia-based US Patent and Emblems Workplace. 

Palma is an incoming mechanical engineering freshman pupil on the De La Salle College (DLSU) in Manila.

‘Unintentional’ 

The AirDisc know-how discovery got here as an “accident”, she instructed native media.

She was then engaged on an eco-friendly oven for her analysis topic when she was in Grade 10. The energy-efficient oven know-how was dubbed the “AirWave Oven”.

The center of Yza Palma’s AirDisc is a centrifugal compressor that makes use of rotating concentric air tanks with air inlets that constantly soak up sufficient air molecules from a room for compression. The warmth generated from the air compression is separated whereas the compressed air molecules with much less warmth are allowed to increase. This course of successfully and constantly lowers the room temperature. Philippine Star

Whereas additional creating the AirWave oven wherein she was utilizing copper tubes, Palma stated it resulted in emitting chilly air on the finish of the tubes. 

“So I believed why not simply develop one thing from this?” she recalled.

The center of the inexperienced AC is the centrifugal compressor, defined Palma.

The compressor makes use of rotating concentric air tanks with air inlets that constantly soak up sufficient air molecules from a room for compression.

As the warmth generated from air compression is separated, the compressed air molecules with much less warmth are allowed to increase: This course of successfully and constantly lowers the room temperature.

Palma stated she and her father are actually searching for companions that can commercially manufacture the AirDisc airconditioner.

The daddy-and-daughter group just lately accomplished patent functions within the Philippines in addition to with the USA Patent and Emblems Workplace (USPTO), native media experiences stated.

The rationale why they utilized with the US patent company, she defined, is that they in the end plan to convey the AirDisc to the US — and the remainder of the world.
Patent treaty

She expplained that the US and the Philippines are amongst 152 “contracting states” of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which took impact in 1978, that assists the world’s inventors and innovators searching for worldwide patent safety for his or her innovations.

Entrance view of Palma’s AirDisc AC prototype. In 2016, about 100 million items of air conditioners have been produced globally. However not everyone might afford one. “The AirDisc will probably be very inexpensive to everybody. And it’s vital to Filipinos. We all know it is vitally scorching right here, there’s world warming and it’s getting worse yearly.” Fb

Requested about her invention’s potential, the younger inventor stated she was enthusiastic about her AirDisc know-how to turn into the way forward for airconditioning for properties and places of work — not simply within the Philippines however in different nations.

One benefit of AirDisc is that it solely makes use of 350 watts of energy, a couple of quarter of the 1,200 watts wanted by conventional airconditioners with the identical cooling output.

Low energy

Palma stated the prototype they’ll manufacture commercially was additional improved, needing solely 150 watts for a 0.5 horsepower unit.

“The prototype I researched on used 350 watts however the business prototype that will probably be accessible out there will solely be 150 watts,” she instructed Philippine Star.

As a result of it doesn’t want freon for cooling, AirDisc AC does away with dangerous emissions into the ambiance.

HFCs are sometimes utilized in air-conditioning as refrigerants instead of older chroloflourocarbones akin to R-12 and hydroflourocarbons akin to R-21.

However specialists level to HFC, an natural compound composed of hydrogen, flourine and carbon, as a potent greenhouse fuel. In consequence, their manufacture and use turned more and more regulated in recent times.

AirDisc is seen as a well timed reply to the United Nation’s Kigali mandate to section out HFCs as chemical refrigerants.

Scientists declare {that a} kilo of HFC is the same as roughly 20,000 kilos of CO2 greenhouse fuel.

Who’s Yza Palma?

Palma, the youngest of six daughters, stated that she had gotten lots of assist from her father, Naga Metropolis-based meals entrepreneur Bernardo who can be a mechanical engineering graduate of DLSU-Manila.

Maria Yzabell Angel Palma (proper) is the youngest in a brood of six. She has utilized for each Philippine and US patents for her “AirDisc” AC-without-refrigerant invention. Fb

The AirDisc has gained gold medals from the World Inventors Contest 2017 in South Korea, the Worldwide Invention Innovation Competitors 2017 in Canada, and the Worldwide Mental Property Invention, Innovation and Know-how Exposition Thailand 2018.

Younger inventor Yza Palma, 19, stated that the US and the Philippines are amongst 152 ‘contracting states’ of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The treaty took impact in 1978 and is aimed to help the world’s innovators searching for worldwide patent safety for his or her innovations. Fb

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña stated they’re prepared to offer Palma with know-how and monetary assist to additional develop the AirDisc.