Prof. Dr. Ir. Imansyah Ibnu Hakim, M.A., IPM, was inaugurated as a professor in the field of Thermal Energy Conservation Engineering at the Universitas Indonesia (UI). In his inaugural speech, he delivered his scientific oration entitled “Mindset of Energy Conservation: Thermal Energy Conservation Towards a Sustainable Future”. This was delivered by Prof. Imansyah as an effort to socialize the importance of energy conservation so that it can contribute to achieving one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), namely clean and affordable energy and handling climate change.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) 2023, the increase in population in Indonesia is 1.05% from the previous year and currently reaches 278.69 million people. With the increase in population, it will be accompanied by an increase in various living needs and technological developments. Therefore, energy demand will continue to increase along with economic development and population growth.
Increasing population and economic growth combined with global climate change conditions have driven an increase in the need for cooling energy in buildings. In areas that have a tropical climate with hot temperatures and high relative humidity, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are needed to maintain indoor comfort in buildings. Humidity control is essential to maintain comfortable and healthy conditions for the occupants in a building.
“Of course, this results in higher energy consumption for air conditioning in the building. The energy needs reach around 40-60% of the total energy consumption in the building,” said Prof. Imansyah. He added that according to ASHRAE Standard 55 (2010), it is recommended that the indoor temperature and humidity of a building should be maintained at 23°C and 50% humidity. To meet these requirements, there are two types of cooling methods: active and passive cooling systems.
Active cooling systems use mechanical ventilation and HVAC air conditioning systems to produce a cooling effect. Whereas, the passive cooling system is to maintain a comfortable temperature in the building through a natural convection process. Passive cooling systems will reduce heat gain with low or no energy consumption. One of the passive cooling techniques is to use heat pipes or more precisely Close Loop Pulsating Heat Pipes (CL PHP).
Heat pipe is a technology that has been around for a long time and has been used in various applications related to heat transfer. The use of non-moving components without the use of additional energy is an advantage of using heat pipes in heat recovery systems. The heat pipe is widely applied in various fields because it has the characteristics of high thermal conductivity, very large heat transfer capacity, a small amount of working fluid, does not use moving components, passive (does not require an external power supply or without using additional energy). Heat pipe applications are currently widely used to cool a game console, computer, laptop, and several other computer devices that produce a large enough heat flux, such as mainboard chipsets, VGA, and memory chipsets.
“It is time for the current generation to shape their mindset with the mindset of energy conservation. By doing so, we will contribute to the achievement of sustainable management of natural resources and the environment as the support of all life. The development of heat pipe technology is one of the efforts to conserve thermal energy. Heat pipe technology has been proven to be able to increase energy efficiency, able to save energy, able to perform heat recovery. Of course, creativity and innovation are still needed in developing this heat pipe technology,” said Prof. Imansyah.
Also, present at the inaugural session, the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU said, “This speech is in line with FTUI’s commitment to supporting research and innovation that focuses on sustainable solutions to global challenges. The theme of thermal energy conservation is a crucial issue in our efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Congratulations to Prof. Imansyah Ibnu Hakim on his inauguration as a professor. I am sure his research will continue to inspire students, academic colleagues, and industry practitioners to work together to formulate innovative solutions for a better future.”
At the inauguration ceremony led by UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., at Balai Sidang, UI Depok Campus, President Director of PT Radiant Utama Interinsco Ir. Sofwan Farisyi, M.M., Ph.D., and Chief Operation and Supply Chain Officer of PT Suntory Garuda Beverages Ir. Snowerdi Sumardi were present. The event was also broadcast virtually through the Universitas Indonesia YouTube channel and UI Teve.
Prof. Imansyah completed his Bachelor of Engineering degree at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering UI in 1993. Then, in 2000 he earned his master’s degree at the Department of Advanced Energy Engineering Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan. In 2006, Prof. Imansyah returned to the UI campus and completed his doctoral program in 2012. Some of his scientific works in the last three years include Investigation of Thin-Layer Drying of Coffee Beans Using a Double-Condenser Compression Refrigeration System: Effects of Air Mass Flux, Specific Humidity and Drying Temperature (2023); Utilization of U-shaped finned heat pipe heat exchanger in energy-efficient HVAC systems (2021); and Utilizing heat pipe heat exchanger to reduce the energy consumption of airborne infection isolation hospital room HVAC system (2021).
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Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia