For our first project in the second semester, we were told to apply solar heating techniques to design and build a house that is both off the grid as well as comfortable for living. In order to complete the project, we learned about heating and thermodynamics, tested different materials for their absorption/reflection qualities, built a solar water heater, and finally designed our passive solar home. After designing our blueprints, we presented our houses and the winning house was selected to be built. We got a generous grant from PG&E for $5000 to build our design on campus.
Mini-Projects:
Solar Water Heater:
In order to learn about heating, we built a homemade solar water heater. We used a cardboard box as a housing, tin foil and copper tubing as a conductor, plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect, and a water jug as a storage. We circulated water through the heated copper tubing while it was in direct sunlight in order to heat the water. After a few minutes, we were able to significantly heat the water. While it may not have been boiling, it was impressive to think that we had heated the water from the Sun's heat.
In order to learn about heating, we built a homemade solar water heater. We used a cardboard box as a housing, tin foil and copper tubing as a conductor, plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect, and a water jug as a storage. We circulated water through the heated copper tubing while it was in direct sunlight in order to heat the water. After a few minutes, we were able to significantly heat the water. While it may not have been boiling, it was impressive to think that we had heated the water from the Sun's heat.
Solar Angles:
In order to keep our house cool in the summer yet hot in the winter, we had to learn about the angles of sunlight. Earth's tilted axis gives us the seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Due to this tilt, when the Sun is more present on the southern hemisphere, the northern hemisphere receives less sunlight (this is what we call it winter). Conversely, when the Sun is more present on the northern hemisphere, we experience what we call summer.
In order to keep our house cool in the summer yet hot in the winter, we had to learn about the angles of sunlight. Earth's tilted axis gives us the seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Due to this tilt, when the Sun is more present on the southern hemisphere, the northern hemisphere receives less sunlight (this is what we call it winter). Conversely, when the Sun is more present on the northern hemisphere, we experience what we call summer.
Day-lighting House:
Since our end goal in this project is a passive solar house, we figured that we could save money if we used natural lighting instead of electric lighting. We learned about many different day-lighting techniques including light shelves, sky lights, clerestory windows, and solar tubes.
Site Selection:
Before designing our solar home, we first had to pick potential sites for construction. We settled on a plot near the front of the school next to the front parking lot and the science building. We picked it because it was flat, easily accessible, visible to the public, got lots of sunlight, and convenient for our usage (a tutoring/consoling building)
Materials Testing:
To make our house as heat-effective as possible, we decided to conduct an experiment in order to find the heat absorption/reflection/insulation qualities of various materials.
To make our house as heat-effective as possible, we decided to conduct an experiment in order to find the heat absorption/reflection/insulation qualities of various materials.
Floors:
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Interior Walls:
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Exterior Walls:
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Roofing:
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Insulation:
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Building Design:
After researching day-lighting, learning about thermodynamics, and testing various materials, we proceeded to start designing our passive solar building. We started by brainstorming ideas, making blueprints (wall framing, insulation, carpeting, roofing, and overview), deciding on materials and building an actual model. Our house revolved around the concept of an L-shaped house to maximize light per square foot as well as using the minimum amount of windows to take full advantage of the light. After our brainstorm, we began to start basic blueprints and then elaborated upon them until they became complete. After finishing our design, we choose materials based on their performance in our materials testing. Finally, we built a 1 foot to 1 inch scale model of our building to represent what it would be like if our group was selected.
After researching day-lighting, learning about thermodynamics, and testing various materials, we proceeded to start designing our passive solar building. We started by brainstorming ideas, making blueprints (wall framing, insulation, carpeting, roofing, and overview), deciding on materials and building an actual model. Our house revolved around the concept of an L-shaped house to maximize light per square foot as well as using the minimum amount of windows to take full advantage of the light. After our brainstorm, we began to start basic blueprints and then elaborated upon them until they became complete. After finishing our design, we choose materials based on their performance in our materials testing. Finally, we built a 1 foot to 1 inch scale model of our building to represent what it would be like if our group was selected.
Justification:
We designed a solar house to learn about thermodynamics, however, a passive solar house is also very practical in our current energy situation. We are running out of fossil fuels for electricity. By using a passive solar home, we do not need to use electricity therefore saving our environment. Unfortunately, solar homes are a huge initial investment and are not always reliable. In the Google Doc created by our STEM class, you can learn about the different forms of power and their pros and cons.
We designed a solar house to learn about thermodynamics, however, a passive solar house is also very practical in our current energy situation. We are running out of fossil fuels for electricity. By using a passive solar home, we do not need to use electricity therefore saving our environment. Unfortunately, solar homes are a huge initial investment and are not always reliable. In the Google Doc created by our STEM class, you can learn about the different forms of power and their pros and cons.
Electrical Energy Generator:
After finishing our solar house, our last segment of the project was to create a design for a possible wind turbine to produce energy for our house. Using wooden dowels and manila folders, we created crude wind mills which we tested to see their effectiveness. After creating both a HAWT (Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine) and VAWT (Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine) we set out to maximize the efficiency of our designs. By cutting certain parts of our flaps, we were able to reduce drag and increase our energy output.
After finishing our solar house, our last segment of the project was to create a design for a possible wind turbine to produce energy for our house. Using wooden dowels and manila folders, we created crude wind mills which we tested to see their effectiveness. After creating both a HAWT (Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine) and VAWT (Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine) we set out to maximize the efficiency of our designs. By cutting certain parts of our flaps, we were able to reduce drag and increase our energy output.
Physics Concepts:
In the process of designing our houses, we learned many concepts both new and old. Here is a list with explanations of a few of our concepts:
Heat: total energy of molecular motion in a substance. (See 1st law of Thermodynamics)
Temperature: measure of the average energy of molecular motion in a substance.
Fluids - a substance that has the ability to flow.
States of Matter - due to the energy possessed and movement of atoms within matter, matter turns into a solid, liquid, or gas.
Pressure (due to liquid) - Density x Depth; the deeper the fluid, the more pressure it will exert. Similarly, the denser a liquid is the more pressure it exerts.
Types of Heat Transfers:
Conduction - transfer of heat through a material. For example, if you hold a cube of ice, the warmth of your hand is conducted to the ice cube melting it.
Convection - transfer of heat through a fluid (see fluids). For example, noodles in a boiling pot of water move due to convection currents in the water.
Radiation - Energy transmitted as rays, waves, or particles. For example, your skin tans in the sun due to the Sun's rays which are a form of radiation.
Insulation - Lack of transfer of heat. (Objects that don't conduct well)
Laws/Principles:
Thermal Conductivity - Heat always travels from hot to cold as well as high pressure to low pressure.
Archimedes' Principle - "An immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces." --Archimedes
Buoyancy - ability to float in a fluid. An object is buoyant if its density is less than that of the fluid it is in.
Boyle's Law - states that the volume of a gas and its pressure have an inversely proportional relationship.
Ideal Gas Law - Pressure x Volume = # of atoms x constant x temperature (P V = n R T )
Bernoulli's Principle - states that when the speed of a fluid's flow increases, its pressure decreases.
Specific Heat - a property that states that materials with a high specific heat capacity need a lot of energy to heat up, but hold the heat for a long time (for example, water), while materials with a low specific heat capacity take very little energy to heat up but lose the energy rapidly.
Laws of Thermodynamics -
0th Law- (Temperature) If 2 systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third system, they are also in equilibrium. (a=b, b=c, then a=c)
1st Law- (Conservation of Energy) Energy is neither created nor destroyed--heat is a form of energy.
2nd Law- (Stability) Entropy increases; disorder increases.
3rd Law- (Absolute Zero) Nothing can reach absolute zero-- heat always exists.
Temperature: measure of the average energy of molecular motion in a substance.
Fluids - a substance that has the ability to flow.
States of Matter - due to the energy possessed and movement of atoms within matter, matter turns into a solid, liquid, or gas.
Pressure (due to liquid) - Density x Depth; the deeper the fluid, the more pressure it will exert. Similarly, the denser a liquid is the more pressure it exerts.
Types of Heat Transfers:
Conduction - transfer of heat through a material. For example, if you hold a cube of ice, the warmth of your hand is conducted to the ice cube melting it.
Convection - transfer of heat through a fluid (see fluids). For example, noodles in a boiling pot of water move due to convection currents in the water.
Radiation - Energy transmitted as rays, waves, or particles. For example, your skin tans in the sun due to the Sun's rays which are a form of radiation.
Insulation - Lack of transfer of heat. (Objects that don't conduct well)
Laws/Principles:
Thermal Conductivity - Heat always travels from hot to cold as well as high pressure to low pressure.
Archimedes' Principle - "An immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces." --Archimedes
Buoyancy - ability to float in a fluid. An object is buoyant if its density is less than that of the fluid it is in.
Boyle's Law - states that the volume of a gas and its pressure have an inversely proportional relationship.
Ideal Gas Law - Pressure x Volume = # of atoms x constant x temperature (P V = n R T )
Bernoulli's Principle - states that when the speed of a fluid's flow increases, its pressure decreases.
Specific Heat - a property that states that materials with a high specific heat capacity need a lot of energy to heat up, but hold the heat for a long time (for example, water), while materials with a low specific heat capacity take very little energy to heat up but lose the energy rapidly.
Laws of Thermodynamics -
0th Law- (Temperature) If 2 systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third system, they are also in equilibrium. (a=b, b=c, then a=c)
1st Law- (Conservation of Energy) Energy is neither created nor destroyed--heat is a form of energy.
2nd Law- (Stability) Entropy increases; disorder increases.
3rd Law- (Absolute Zero) Nothing can reach absolute zero-- heat always exists.
Reflection
This was by far our most intensive and in-depth project so far. Not only did we learn a ton of information, but we had to design an actual building for construction. This meant that if we made any mistakes, serious repercussions would follow rather than just a bad grade. With that said, I enjoyed this project a lot.
Some of the best aspects of this project included our collaboration, group synergy, and work distribution. Everybody had their ideas present in our final product and everyone worked together well. At first, I thought our group wouldn't function , but we got along very well and bonded during the project. We also distributed work better than in prior groups I have been in; we all had similar workloads.
The not-so-good aspects of our project were aesthetics, time-management, and staying on task. The main issue of our project was making everything look nice. While other groups had PowerPoints, colorful posters, and attractive house models, we had a bland poster full of monotonous blueprints and an accurate, yet ugly model of our house. Towards the end of the project, we were strapped for time. We had to do a lot of presentation rehearsal on our own rather than with our group because our time was devoted to finishing last-minute details. Another issue for us was staying on task. Our group liked each other, but as a result, we had a hard time focusing. We were able to overcome this, but near the end of the project, we had to push ourselves to meet deadlines.
I enjoyed this project a lot because it was so different from the others in the sense that this was "real". In conclusion, I felt immensely challenged by this assignment and have learned a lot of new academic and social things in the process of completing it.
Some of the best aspects of this project included our collaboration, group synergy, and work distribution. Everybody had their ideas present in our final product and everyone worked together well. At first, I thought our group wouldn't function , but we got along very well and bonded during the project. We also distributed work better than in prior groups I have been in; we all had similar workloads.
The not-so-good aspects of our project were aesthetics, time-management, and staying on task. The main issue of our project was making everything look nice. While other groups had PowerPoints, colorful posters, and attractive house models, we had a bland poster full of monotonous blueprints and an accurate, yet ugly model of our house. Towards the end of the project, we were strapped for time. We had to do a lot of presentation rehearsal on our own rather than with our group because our time was devoted to finishing last-minute details. Another issue for us was staying on task. Our group liked each other, but as a result, we had a hard time focusing. We were able to overcome this, but near the end of the project, we had to push ourselves to meet deadlines.
I enjoyed this project a lot because it was so different from the others in the sense that this was "real". In conclusion, I felt immensely challenged by this assignment and have learned a lot of new academic and social things in the process of completing it.