Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY
The National Center for Teacher Education
Taft Avenue, Manila
College of Teacher Development
FACULTY OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND
MATHEMATICS
PBL OUTPUT
AirFan: An Eco-friendly alternative Energy source
SUBMITTED TO:
PROF. ALFONS JAYSON PELGONE
In partial fulfillment requirement for the course 2S-PHY04:
Electromagnetic Theory 1
SUBMITTED BY:
Baez, Tracy Niño
Layco, Dionnelyn
Umandap, Patricia Marie
III – 24 BSCIEPHY
DATE SUBMITTED:
February 4, 2022
Objectives
● to develop a DIY source of electricity that is cheap and user friendly
● develop a cost effective alternative to conventional energy
● to promote AirFan as a portable source electricity
Introduction
Coal and Fossil fuels are the main staple in energy manufacturing in the world, especially
in developing countries like the Philippines. Furthermore, according to the US Energy
Information Administration (2020), the Philippines consumed 1.9 quadrillion British thermal
units (Btu) most of which are from non-renewable energy sources like Fossil fuel, and coal.
The Philippines island being located at the typhoon belt in the pacific, experiences an
average of twenty (20) typhoons each year according to Asian Disaster Reduction Center
(ADRC). Philippines location and geography contributes to high susceptibility to tsunami, storm
surges, and flash floods which result in electric lines often getting damaged and disrupted.
Because of this problem, the researcher came up with the idea of opting into renewable energy
and harnessing the power of nature in order to provide electricity.
AirFan is a portable wind turbine that will be able to produce enough electricity to power
up a lightbulb or charge a phone. AirFan is a pocket size wind turbine capable of providing
emergency electricity to the person in need. Furthermore, AirFan will run using renewable
energy and will leave lesser carbon footprints due to its small size and materials.
Background of the study
There are different energy sources and technologies to generate electricity. This has
evolved over time, and a lot of them are used more than the others. Most countries use fossil
fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), nuclear energy and renewable energy sources for
electricity generation, and with the use of steam turbines using fossil fuels, nuclear, biomass,
geothermal, and solar thermal energy most electricity is generated. Other major electricity
generation technologies also include gas turbines, hydro turbines, wind turbines, and solar
photovoltaics. In the Philippines, fossil Fuels are the biggest source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Emissions and despite it being the biggest contributor to global warming, coal is continuing to be
supported by both the government and businesses in the country.
Energy sources can be identified as either renewable or non-renewable energy sources.
The renewable energy sources are unbounded as they naturally replenish over a short period of
time. Utilizing this kind of energy source has a large variety of benefits as these are reliable,
low-cost, environmentally-friendly, produce a minimum secondary waste, and lead to sustainable
development. These renewable energy sources such as hydropower, solar energy, biomass,
geothermal energy, tidal energy, and wind energy can cover two-thirds of the entire energy
demand globally. These sources can also help to diminish the emission of greenhouse gasses and
global warming due to burning fuels. (Agrawal et al., 2021)
According to Herbert et al. (2007) energy is an essential ingredient of socio-economic
development and economic-growth. The renewable energy sources like wind energy can also
help to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. Also, wind energy provides an environmental
friendly option and national energy security if the decreasing global reserves of fossil fuel
threatens the long-term sustainability of the economy. As cited at the Power Conversion and
Control of Wind Energy Systems (2011) it is clean and one of the fastest growing renewable
energy resources. The wind kinetic energy to electric energy conversion is a multidisciplinary
nature involving aerodynamics, mechanical systems, electric machines, power electronics,
control theory, and power systems. It has been used for over hundreds of years for different
courses of action such as milling grains, sailing, and water pumping. Since the nineteenth
century, the use of windmills to generate electric energy has been traced with 12 kW DC
windmill generator development. However, the technology has become sufficient to produce
reliable and efficient electricity only by 1980’s. Since then, to improve the conversion efficiency
and to lessen the costs for wind energy production the variety of wind power technologies have
been developed. Even the size of wind turbines from small kilowatts increased to some
megawatts. To on-land installations, larger wind turbines had been placed along the shore to
collect more energy and to reduce its impact to the land use and landscapes.
Even though the wind energy is abundant, it still continually varies as the wind speed
changes. The wind energy conversion systems (WECS) amount of power output depends on the
accuracy at which the peak power points had been tracked by the maximum power point tracking
(MPPT). The past and present MPPT controllers are used to extract the maximum power from
the WECS. The maximum power extraction algorithms research can be classified for now into
three main control methods such as tip speed ratio (TSR) control, power signal feedback (PSF)
control, and hill-climb search (HCS) control. The TSR control method requires the measurement
for both wind speed and turbine speed to maintain the TSR in an optimum value at which power
extracted is maximum. In PSF control, the knowledge of a wind turbine’s maximum power curve
and track it through its control mechanisms is required. While the HCS control algorithm
searches for the peak power of the wind turbine continuously. Also, this control method can be
able to overcome the normal problems encountered by the two other methods. (Thogam &
Ourouche, n.d.)
Physics concept involved in the AirFan
Machines that convert Mechanical energy to Electrical energy are often called AC
generators. AC generators are often powered by Steam, Gas or even by Combustion engines, but
in the case of the AirFan, it is powered solely by Wind which gives an alternating electrical
power in the form of alternating current and voltage.
AC generators work using Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction which states that
electromotive force (EMF or voltage) is generated in a current-carrying conductor that cuts a
uniform magnetic field. This can either be achieved by rotating a conducting coil in a static
magnetic field or rotating the magnetic field containing the stationary conductor. The preferred
arrangement is to keep the coil stationary because it is easier to draw induced alternating current
from a stationary armature coil than a rotating coil.
Electromagnetic induction
Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction helps us to predict how a magnetic field
would interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force (EMF)—consisting of
two laws. The first law describes the induction of EMF in a conductor—stating that whenever
the conductor is placed in a varying magnetic field, an EMF is induced and if the conductor
circuit is closed, a current is induced (induced current). While the second law quantifies the EMF
produced in the conductor—stating that the induced EMF in a coil is equal to the change of rate
of flux (the product of the number of turns in the coil) linkage.
Faraday’s law is given as: where ε is the electromotive force, Φ is the magnetic flux, and
N is the number of turns
According to Faraday’s second law, induced EMF in a coil is equal to the change of rate
of flux linkage. Therefore,
Consider Lenz’s law which describes the polarity of induced EMF—stating that the
polarity of induced EMF is such that it tends to produce a current which opposes the change in
magnetic flux that produced it. The negative sign represents the effect and indicates the direction
of the induced EMF and changes the direction in the magnetic fields.
We can conclude that:
● Increase in the number of turns in the coil increases the induced EMF.
● Increasing the magnetic field strength also increases the induced EMF.
● Increasing the speed of the relative motion between the coil and the magnet, results in the
increased EMF as well.
Methodology
Living in the Philippines, Filipinos often experience strong typhoons that frequently
result in loss of electricity in places where the typhoon hit. With that in mind the researchers
thought of developing a DIY wind turbine that is capable of producing enough electricity to
power a lightbulb and charge a phone. The project is intended to be used in emergency situations
like typhoons and storms where electricity is often cut down. Furthermore, AirFan will be made
portable, easy to assemble, and easy to use with spare materials readily available to the users;
Using materials easily available to the public, the researchers will be developing a wind turbine
strong enough for personal use but also cheap enough that anyone could afford and assemble
one.
The materials used in the AirFan are the following:
● 1pc - 20 inches of ½ size PVC pipe
● 4pcs - Elbow Fitting
● 1pc - Tee Fitting
● 1pc - used electric fan motor
● 1pc - used electric charger
● 1pc - 1 yard of electrical wirings
1.0 Construction of the Airfan
1.1 Using a saw, cut the PVC pipe into smaller pieces to form the frame of the turbine. To
form the base of the frame, Connect four pieces of PVC pipe to a Tee fitting to form a square that
would stand as the base of the frame.
1.2 To create the turbine, Use an old electric fan motor along with it’s wiring then pass it
through the PVC pipe to secure the motor in the turbine.
1.3 In order to produce stable and safe electricity for electronics, use AC/DC Voltage
stabilizers that could be found in old android chargers. then connect the wires from the turbine to
the chipboard of the old android charger.
2.0 Testing and and Performance of AirFan
2.1 To test if the turbine would spin, use a Stand Fan and put the AirFan in front of the
Stand Fan.
2.2 To test if the turbine would generate electricity, use a 2V led diode and connect the
turbine’s wire to the diode’s Anode and Cathode.
2.3 After testing the turbine, test if the usb port connected to the Turbine would have
electricity passing through it by plugging a phone into the usb port.
Discussion of Results/Observations
Upon the creation and development of the AirFan, the group tried using several Motors to
use as the generator for the turbine but most were unsuccessful. The group has discovered that
the voltage rating of the motors affects how much and how strong the electricity it would be able
to produce.
Upon installation of a bigger motor to the AirFan, the turbine was able to produce enough
electricity to light a 2V LED diode. The group was able to observe that although the Airfan was
producing enough electricity to light up the LED diode, the electricity supplied to it is unstable.
Therefore, the group decided to solder an AC/DC voltage stabilizer to the turbine. The AC/DC
voltage stabilizer can be found in phone chargers. After the installation of the voltage stabilizer
to the turbine, the electricity produced by the generators became stable and the lights stopped
blinking.
Documentation
Ways Forward
1.0 What did you learn in this investigation?
Upon doing the investigation, we have learned that the world's main staple in energy
manufacturing such as coal and fossil fuels are also the biggest contributors to the emission of
greenhouse gases across the globe. This non-renewable energy source can also contribute to
global warming. However, upon doing the investigation we have learned that there were also
renewable energy sources such as hydropower, solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy, tidal
energy, and wind energy. These renewable energy sources are reliable, low-cost,
environmentally-friendly, produce minimum secondary wastes, and lead to sustainable
development. Also, these sources can help to diminish the emission of greenhouse gasses and
global warming, and can cover up two-thirds of the energy demand across the globe.
2.0 What are the limitations of this investigation?
The AirFan itself can not be always used alone if there’s no electricity at all. This is
because just like other normal and larger wind turbines, the AirFan is also solely powered by
wind energy and continually varies as the wind speed changes. Therefore, the help of electric
fans or blowers are needed, unless it would be used in an area with a strong wind.
3.0 How can you improve this PBL further?
Working on another study or investigation for improving the product such as the
AirFan—to be more portable and easier to use can improve this PBL further.
4.0 How does this investigation impact the greater society?
This investigation can impact the greater society to study, develop, and use low-cost,
renewable, user and environmentally friendly, alternative energy sources to conventional energy.
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