Project Results

Through the process of building 100+ heaters with our South Bay community, we designed several fixtures which increase both efficiency and fidelity of various built components. Cotton t-shirt material was confirmed to be the safest and most effective wicking option, a new base design was created, and a key best practice for distribution was identified: distributing with a consistent mutual aid group which the community trusts. 

About This Project

For years, makeshift heating solutions for homeless individuals have involved burning unsafe materials like grease, garbage, or wood, posing both fire hazards and health risks from toxic fumes. Our project aims to enhance a low-cost, tent-safe heater first developed by an initiative called Heater Bloc. We'll create a social media page for out community to share insights and learn about our builds. We also plan to put our research into action by producing 100 heaters for distribution.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Our project was inspired by an initiative called Heater Bloc. This decentralized movement encourages people across the country to take community care into their own hands through an open-source guide to building tent-safe heaters they can distribute to their houseless neighbors. In the context of the worsening homelessness crisis and the fact that 20% of hypothermic deaths occur in the homeless population, we found this to be a salient issue. Using their guide, we built heaters in 2023 and distributed them. We noticed a few challenges with the building process as well as numerous issues with the efficacy of the heaters themselves. Through the course, Frugal Science, we worked on improving the design of these heaters.

What is the significance of this project?

Those looking to build and share these heaters often encounter challenges, much like we did. Currently, they have to troubleshoot on their own, trying to figure out why they're having problems. This process is inefficient because others in different places might have already solved similar issues, like inconsistent flames or slow ignition. Without a central forum to discuss these problems, people might get discouraged, feeling like they're wasting materials and time. It's crucial to improve these low-cost solutions because they can mean the difference between health and sickness, or even life and death, for homeless individuals. Creating an open source forum to share troubleshooting tips has the potential to bring far more individuals into the effort and increase the scale of impact.

What are the goals of the project?

The funds will be used to purchase materials for prototyping and manufacturing to distribute.

We will quantify our target issues and iteratively design and test solutions. This includes testing the capillary action of wicking materials, the stability of bases, and overall heat generation of the system.

We will distribute our heaters to an encampment of unhoused people in San Jose, and take note of user issues. We will also try to understand the relative overall efficacy of these heaters versus the alternatives that people usually turn to.