The Thermostatics team, consisting of Mechanical Engineering students Yoga Sanjaya and Danu Ari Wibowo (2022), won first place in the National Essay Competition (NEC) at the 2024 Integrated Youth Renewable Energy Festival (IYREF).
The event was organized by the Society of Renewable Energy (SRE) at the Bandung Institute of Technology on May 18, 2024.
In the 2024 competition, the Thermostatics team presented an essay discussing waste heat utilization from Dieng geothermal energy. This idea arose from the issue of environmentally unfriendly heating methods.
During the dry season or “bediding” events, community productivity in the Dieng area declines due to temperatures dropping below 6 degrees Celsius.
“Space heating technology is needed to warm the room so that the temperature is comfortable,” Sanjaya explained on Thursday (Jun. 6).
The team developed a scheme for distributing this waste heat to generate heat for the surrounding Dieng community by applying heat transfer, thermodynamics, and economic analysis concepts.
“We use heat sources not from environmentally unfriendly fossil energy but from the waste heat of the geothermal brine system, making it an environmentally friendly heat source,” added Sanjaya.
According to him, their essay idea promotes using clean and efficient energy and aims to improve economic welfare and sustainable tourism in the Dieng area.
Sanjaya and Wibowo’s innovation aligns with sustainable development goals on innovations (SDG 9) and climate action (SDG 13). Thus, this project idea is expected to be an innovative example of sustainable natural resource utilization.
The competition stages began with the creation of abstracts in English and Indonesian. The 50 teams that passed proceeded to the complete paper selection stage. After being ranked second in the paper evaluation, the Thermostatics team presented before the judges at ITB, Bandung.
The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at UGM also provided support, including train tickets to Bandung and other accommodations.
“We also received incentives from UGM, the faculty, and the department, motivating us to continue participating in competitions to bring glory to UGM and our faculty and department,” said Sanjaya.
Wibowo added that their achievement can motivate everyone to create and express their creative and innovative ideas in various ways.
Author: Dita
Editor: Gusti Grehenson