ENERGY EFFICIENT HOUSE
In the beginning of this project, we were given a sheet with nine smaller projects, and a group. My group was Patrick Heslip, Arno Puppo, and Sebastian Zarrehparvar. We worked on this entire unit for about two months, and we were aware of what last years class made (the solar studio), but we weren't sure what we were going to make.
The first one on the project list was Atomic Structure, State and Heat. To learn about how the structure of atoms changed how it conducts heat, we first took many pages of notes from our textbooks. We took a look at the form of an atom, and reviewed the facts about the atom. Here are some that are mind-blowing:
Then we defined many vocabulary terms:
We used what we learned from our notes to do the second miniture project on our list: design a solar hot water heater. We used our knowledge of radiation, convection, and conduction to create the heater with limited supplies. We were allowed to use plastic tubing (water flows through), soft copper tubing (conducts heat from the sun into the water), water container (holds the water once it has been heated), insulaton (keeps the heated water warm), aluminum foil (uses radiation to reflect heat), cardboard (the box that is the base of the water heater), and plastic wrap (put over the box to simulate a greenhouse effect. This was our final design:
The first one on the project list was Atomic Structure, State and Heat. To learn about how the structure of atoms changed how it conducts heat, we first took many pages of notes from our textbooks. We took a look at the form of an atom, and reviewed the facts about the atom. Here are some that are mind-blowing:
- There are about 45,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in a sugar cubed sized square of air.
- The nucleus of an atom is the same ratio of a fly in an average-sized gymnasium.
- Sun energy has to travel about 91,000,000 miles through space to reach earth.
Then we defined many vocabulary terms:
- nucleus- center of the atom
- molecule- multiple atoms bonded together
- compound- type of molecule with different types of elements
- isotope- atom with an unusual number of electrons
- conduction- transfer of heat through a solid
- convection- transfer of heat through a fluid
- radiation- transfer of heat and light through waves, particles, and rays
- insulaton- bad at conducting (opposite of conduction) and is resisting to transferring heat
- heat- form of energy (thermal energy)
- thermal conductivity- the rate at which a material transfers heat
- thermal resistance- ability of material to resist transferring heat
We used what we learned from our notes to do the second miniture project on our list: design a solar hot water heater. We used our knowledge of radiation, convection, and conduction to create the heater with limited supplies. We were allowed to use plastic tubing (water flows through), soft copper tubing (conducts heat from the sun into the water), water container (holds the water once it has been heated), insulaton (keeps the heated water warm), aluminum foil (uses radiation to reflect heat), cardboard (the box that is the base of the water heater), and plastic wrap (put over the box to simulate a greenhouse effect. This was our final design:
We designed this and made it in about three days, and on the fourth day we did an experiment. We continued to cycle water through our heater for 30 minutes, and took the temperature of the water every five minutes. Our water heater gained three degrees celcius in half an hour. It isn't as much as you would need in your house for water, but it makes you think about the sun's power. We generated 8,363.628 joules of energy in just half an hour. If you could contain that energy, it makes you think how much energy you could keep from the sun.
The third small project we did was studying solar angles and how the sun changes during the seasons. We watched how in the winter in the afternoon, the sun is at more of a 22 degree angle, where as in the summer, the sun is at a 75 degree angle. Here the exact degrees for Novato, California (38 degrees North, 123 degrees West)
The third small project we did was studying solar angles and how the sun changes during the seasons. We watched how in the winter in the afternoon, the sun is at more of a 22 degree angle, where as in the summer, the sun is at a 75 degree angle. Here the exact degrees for Novato, California (38 degrees North, 123 degrees West)
We used this to figure out what angle we would want windows in a house facing the sun at. Our fourth project that we did was making a small to scale house out of cardboard. Once we made the model, we took don data on how are houses light was. We tested this by holding a flashlight at the different degrees to model the seasons, and at each time of day that it would be at. We found that our house would need more than just sunlight to brighten our house throughout the whole thing, and how hard it would be to make a totally sunlight lit house. This was our design:
These are pictures of our model:
For the fifth project that we did, we found what we thought about where we should put the house we designed. We were given the choice of anywhere on San Marin's campus. We decided what would be the best by choosing three locations, and rating them 1 through 3, 1 being the best and 3 being the worst. This took some thought because you had to keep in mind things like shade versus sun, private but accessible, and the shape of the ground, for the foundation. My group chose a small hill behind the cafeteria, because it was a good ratio of sun to shade, it was private because of the surrounding trees, it had a good view of the hill and the horses, and it was near the parking lot, so it was excessible.
Concepts:
Pressure (P)- the force over a certain area P=f/a (p=pressure, f=force, a=area)
Temperature (T)- measure of how hot or cold something is degrees F=9/5 degrees c + 32
Heat (Q)- form of energy due to temperature difference Q=mc T (m=mass, c=specific heat capacity, T=temp)
Specific Heat Capacity (c)- how much energy it takes to heat a substance. It is constant for each material.
The sixth lab we did to guarentee our understanding of the materials we would be using was a materials testing lab. First, as a class, we brainstormed all the materials we would want to test to be able to use them on our final project. Then, we got the materials, and each group tested how their materials gained or lost heat. For our heat source, each group got a light bulb, and held it 6 inches above our material. Then we took temperatures every 5 minutes, 20 minutes with the light bulb on (heating), and 20 minutes without the light bulb, and found the net gain. Here is the data we collected:
From this lab I learned that fiberglass, foam, and paint are the best at insulating. I also learned that metal materials (steel, copper) were very poor at holding heat, but they are good conductors. We were able to use this data to make sure, when we made our cold frames with materials that work.
The Final Products:
The final projects (project seven) that we did was that we were given the task to build the blueprints and design a cold frame and a reflector panel for the previous solar house from last year. We were told our final presentations needed to include materials lists, blueprints for every surface and angle, a budget, key features, a scale model, and a finished presentation. That's all. Our jobs were very vague and took some thinking.
For the cold frame, my group started by looking up what a cold frame was. We found that a cold frame was, basically, a small greenhouse that you plant baby plants under so they can grow bigger with a better enviroment. When they are large enough, they are moved out from the cold frame into the open garden. We were given three glass windows that we could use for our cold frame, but nothing else. My group decided on a simple but efficient design to do it's purpose and to work. This is our final presentation:
The Final Products:
The final projects (project seven) that we did was that we were given the task to build the blueprints and design a cold frame and a reflector panel for the previous solar house from last year. We were told our final presentations needed to include materials lists, blueprints for every surface and angle, a budget, key features, a scale model, and a finished presentation. That's all. Our jobs were very vague and took some thinking.
For the cold frame, my group started by looking up what a cold frame was. We found that a cold frame was, basically, a small greenhouse that you plant baby plants under so they can grow bigger with a better enviroment. When they are large enough, they are moved out from the cold frame into the open garden. We were given three glass windows that we could use for our cold frame, but nothing else. My group decided on a simple but efficient design to do it's purpose and to work. This is our final presentation:
At the same time as the cold frame, we were told to create a device that would relfect more light into the window facing away from the sun on the studio. Personally, this one was harder because we didn't have anything to go off on, online or from Mr. Williams. My group designed a post coming out of the ground 4 feet from the side of the house. On top of the post there is a satellite dish with a reflective material inside so that it reflects from any angle into the window. Here is our finished presentation:
The eighth project that we did to make our arguements stronger in our presentation was the justification. We were asked the question: why would we want to create an energy efficient home off the grid, or why we want to conserve energy? Each group was given a piece of a google document that Mr. Williams created, and we answered them seperately. Then we all presented what we learned. Here is a link for the page:
http://tinyurl.com/k7wlyra
Finally, for our ninth project, we learned about how wind turbines worked, and looked at designs of them. Then we each designed a horizontal and vertical model of a wind mill, and made a scale model of both. Next, we put them on a pole that had the power they created monitered, and we set up a fan next to them. We turned on the fan (modeling the wind) and decided which would be the most efficient with certain amounts of wind.
Reflection:
This project as a whole taught me so much. I had always been curious about how to build a house and how much work went into it. I knew it was a lot, but I never imagined that you would need a blue print for every single part of wall, floor, and roof. It's essential to know where every screw is! This project made me think about how much energy I was using, and made me more aware of how much work was put into getting everyone energy. Before this project I was kind of aware of how much I was leaving lights on, but know I try to always turn off my lights before I leave the room. This project was also eye opening to how much thought was put into the design of everybody's houses, town buildings, and other man made forms.
Some good things that I think my group excelled at were listening to each other and keeping on track. I believe that my group listened to each other well because when one person had an idea, the rest of the group stopped and listened to them. The different people in my group weren't worried about sharing their opinion. The second thing that my group excelled at was staying on track. We finished both of our power points on time and we had time to go over our presentation enough to make it go smoothly.
Some things that I think my group could improve on are working on both projects equally and focusing on the facts. My group definately focused on the cold frame at the beginning. Halfway through, we realized that we needed to work on the reflector panel. You could tell from the quality of our designs that the cold frame was more thought out and made more sense than the reflector. We also could've focused more on the details and facts of our reflector especially, but in both we didn't have everything 100% accurate. We hadn't thought about the small things that put it together. If we did this project again, I would want to work more on the usefulness of our idea and make sure everything would work.