Go Green with Recycle Tyre!

Tyres arranged as foundation of building.

By Willy Wilson | Dec 30, 2009
http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyGuide/Gadgets/1241/0/0
Go green with Smart & Cool Technology

Following the less-than-successful 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) recently, a number of global warming issues hit the headlines again.

COP15, which brought over 190 world leaders to the Danish capital, failed to reach a legally-binding agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Director of C2C Project Managers Sdn Bhd BK, Sinha was at the conference. According to him, the polarised opinions between the developed and developing countries about the former’s capability to afford green technology were the main cause of the disappointing outcome at the conference.

“The debate in Copenhagen illustrated the readiness of the world population to ‘go green’. It is clear that cost is a big factor,” says Sinha, whose company offers a range of services for sustainable development projects. Global warming is as much an issue for world leaders as it is for companies and individuals.

“A top-down effort is important, but a bottom-up effort is no less crucial. The effort to stop climate change must start in homes,” says Lincoln Lee of Lucas Works Sdn Bhd. Lee, along with his wife, is the brainchild of Smart & Cool technology, a brilliant new effort to reduce the temperature of the home.

Star Property chats with Sinha and Lee about doing our part in preventing climate change through Smart & Cool technology.

Is going green costly?

While many are aware of the change in climate, only a handful knows what to do. The media has helped raised awareness about global warming, but the big question remains: Is going green costly?

“I’m sure people know that there is a damaging environmental effect derived from their current lifestyle,” says Sinha, “But from knowing it to actually making a change, there seems to be a stumbling block: cost.”

However, Sinha believes that the changes one makes should not compromise the individual’s lifestyle. The changes should be practical. For instance, forcing people to walk instead of drive, or tearing down a modern brick house in exchange for a traditional house is simply unreasonable.

“Such adaptive changes do not provide long-term solutions,” he adds. “What we want is a mitigative change at a level where everyone can participate, both financially and normatively.”

Lee shares a similar view. Every individual must play a role in mitigating the effects from the change in climate.

“It says something when 40% of the world’s carbon footprint is emitted by the construction industry and more than two-thirds of the world’s energy is used for the construction industry,” says Lee. Thus, Lee believes that his Smart & Cool technology offers a practical green solution that is also easy on the wallet.

According to him, the cost of building a house with the technology (as compared to conventional homes) is around 2 – 3% more if one builds less than 50 units. However, he is quick to add that in the long run, the return of investment on these green houses is faster and higher.

“The government has set up a RM1.5 billion fund to encourage more green projects and the use of green technology, which presumably means there will be more incentive packages for green houses owners soon,” Sinha adds.

What’s Smart & Cool technology?

The idea behind the patented Smart & Cool technology is to reduce the temperature inside the house, subsequently minimising the use of the air conditioner and cutting down energy consumption, while maintaining the visual of a modern house.

Lee claims that his technology reduces the temperature of a house from 6 – 9 degree Celsius.

There are four methods used to keep the house cool and they are implemented during the construction process. First is the substructure (the foundation), which is made up of discarded car tyres.


“Car tyres are conductors. We use them as a heat sink for the buildings to absorb heat from its surrounding,” Lee explains.

The second is the corrugated upper floor slabs. The corrugation method increases the strength of the floor slab. This technique allows the floor slab structure to be less thick as there is no need to pile it up with concrete and steel. As a result, the weight of the building is reduced.

“The corrugated concrete slab increases the surface area, which also means it increases the effectiveness of the upper floor slab to absorb the heat build up inside the building and transports the heat down to the tyre foundation through the walls,” says Lee.

Thirdly, the walls and partitions of the house are made of lightweight foamed concrete blocks.

“Not only do the concrete blocks make the building lighter but it also assists in transferring heat down to the tyres, especially heat from the higher floors of the building,” adds Lee.

The lightweight blocks have a thermal-insulating property that slows down the absorption of heat from the building’s external surroundings. This provides ample time for the tyres to absorb heat from the walls.

The final technique is the Venturi Action Roof system, which is installed just below the roof tile. This system immediately removes hot air by creating an artificial air flow channel that prevents the trapped heat in the rooftop to transfer into the building.

For more information on the Smart & Cool technology, contact Lucas Works Sdn Bhd.

Lucas Works Sdn Bhd
Address: 48, Jalan Kesuma 5/3, Bandar Tasik Kesuma, 43700 Beranang, Selangor
Tel: 03 – 8724 1808
Fax: 03 – 8723 6088