ByCraig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Waianae High students talk with city officials about
solving their solution for cooling portable classrooms.

More than six months after science students at the school devised the "Waianae Solution" for cooling classrooms - where temperatures often exceed 100 degrees - the state Department of Accounting and General Services has given the go-ahead to convert one portable for testing purposes.

DAGS engineer Don Inouye and Department of Education Operations and Maintenance supervisor Roy Tsumoto met with Waianae teachers, administrators and students this week to hear their proposal.

With help from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Waianae science students last year tried a real-world science project, figuring out why the portable classrooms heat up, and what could be done to lower the temperatures. Their goal was a single solution that was simple, inexpensive and could easily be retrofitted to existing portable classrooms with minimal alterations to the structure.

In the process, the students learned about physics properties such as convection, conduction and radiation, as well as a great deal about planning and bureaucracy. They also learned that they could make a difference in their learning environment.

The problem, they discovered, was that the portables were built of a homogenous material that absorbed heat, and there was no way for the building to vent that heat. The "Waianae Solution" calls for a roof vent to allow hot air to escape, a false ceiling of reflective material to insulate the classroom below, and intake pipes to draw cool air from beneath the building.

The entire apparatus uses convection to create a kind of "heat pump" to push hot air out of the "attic," while using no moving parts or electricity.

This system, and the scientific discovery process that led the students to the solution, was explained to Inouye and Tsumoto via articles and a video production, which was also written and directed by Waianae students. The video will eventually be used to help other schools convert classrooms if the Waianae solution is adopted.

Both public servants were impressed by the students' research, and appeared somewhat relieved that changes to the portable classroom were minimal, and could be reversed.

"No problem," said Inouye. "You can do it. All you need is a building permit for the roof vent, which you can get at a satellite office in Waianae."

That process will take about a month, and the classroom will be converted with volunteer labor in mid-March, so that the students can take controlled readings during spring break.

Science teacher Naidah Gamurot asked how long the testing should go on before other classrooms could be converted, and Inouye said he'd like at least a year's worth of data.

"There's other kinds of solutions being tested right now," said Tsumoto. "But the kids here have gotten excellent data. Who knows? Maybe these kids have the best solution."