Energy Efficient Housing: Design a Passive Solar Home
This was our first project of our semester and it was to build a house that was off the grid and was able to regulate its temperature on its own. Some things we had to look into for our project were solar water heating, sun angles, how different material absorb and deflect heat, different daylighting techniques, and how to make blueprints for a house. We had a budget of $5000 for our project.
Mini Projects that lead up to our Final Project
Solar Water Heater- For this mini project our goal was to make a solar water heater that would heat up water by just using the sun's energy. The point of this project was to learn about heat. We did that by making a solar water heater that consisted of a large grocery bag with a 1 liter bottle inside with water while being surrounded with insulation. From there, there was a plastic tube running from the bottom of it to a shoebox lined with aluminum foil and a painted black bottom with copper tubing running through it. While the water was in the copper tubing we had a rubber stopper at the end of it so that the water would come out. We would then let the water sit inside of it for 10-15 minutes so it could heat up. After waiting we would cycle the water through the heater 10 times, then we would do it again. Our group was able to raise the water by 3 or 4 degrees which was pretty significant.
Solar Angles
Our next mini project involved a flash light and we were supposed to shine it from different angles and distances to mimic how the sun rises from south to east. We learned that we needed to orient our house from South to East so we could maximize the most amount of light and heat into our house. We also learned how Earth experiences seasons and how they are made. We experience seasons because our Earth is tilted on its axis so at different times of the year the sun will be closer or farther away and that's what causes seasons.
Our next mini project involved a flash light and we were supposed to shine it from different angles and distances to mimic how the sun rises from south to east. We learned that we needed to orient our house from South to East so we could maximize the most amount of light and heat into our house. We also learned how Earth experiences seasons and how they are made. We experience seasons because our Earth is tilted on its axis so at different times of the year the sun will be closer or farther away and that's what causes seasons.
Day-Lighting House
For this mini project we had to learn about multiple types of daylighting techniques like solar tubes, clerestory windows, skylights, light shelves, and picture windows. These techniques allowed us to get in the most amount of light as possible. In our house we used 4 solar tubes, 4 light shelves, and 1 skylight. After constructing our house we did the same thing we did in our solar angle lab and saw if the light was able to illuminate our house. The design of our house was a pentaganol house in the form of a diamond.
For this mini project we had to learn about multiple types of daylighting techniques like solar tubes, clerestory windows, skylights, light shelves, and picture windows. These techniques allowed us to get in the most amount of light as possible. In our house we used 4 solar tubes, 4 light shelves, and 1 skylight. After constructing our house we did the same thing we did in our solar angle lab and saw if the light was able to illuminate our house. The design of our house was a pentaganol house in the form of a diamond.
Site Selection- The site we chose for our final project was a clear and visible spot right off of Novato Blvd. The spot we chose did not obstruct anything and was able to collect all the sun that would shine on the area. Another great thing is that it's easily accessible because it's right next to the library, portables, and Stem classroom.
Material Testing- We did this by setting out various materials under a heat lamp and measured its heat every 30 mins. We used the best working materials in our project.
Floors:
Interior Walls:
Exterior Walls:
Roofing:
Insulation:
- Carpet
- Linoleum
- Hardwood (light/dark)
- Ceramic tile
- Cork
Interior Walls:
- Texture/drywall
- Flat drywall
- Stone/rock
- Black/white color
Exterior Walls:
- Redwood
- Stucco
- Wood
- Brick
- Plastic/PVC
- Adobe
Roofing:
- Tar
- Shingles
- Corrugated metal
- Turf/sod
Insulation:
- Fiberglass
- Spray foam
- Polyurethane
Different Energy Sources
For this mini project we basically learned about all the pros and cons of different energy sources and how they work to give us power.
Wind Turbines- Our last mini project was designing and building wind turbines of our own. The two types of turbines we made were VAWTS and HAWTS. VAWTS standing for Vertical Air Wind Turbine and HAWTS as you can probably guess are Horizontal Air Wind Turbine. For the HAWT we constructed a pin tail design and for the VAWT we made a turbine with a whole bunch of flaps coming out of it. The point of this lab was to learn how wind turbines work and how you can make things aerodynamic so they can move swiftly and efficiently through the air. The materials used were a fan, wooden sticks, paper and tape.
Final design and project
Our final project and design turned out to be an L shaped house orienented from South to East. We chose a design like this because instead of just having a square or rectangular house like the other ones we chose the L one because we felt it would let the most amount of light in our house. We came up with many creative and fun ideas, but this took the cake. Besides, with coming up with the idea of what it looks like we also had to make all the blueprints of the house, a materials list, incorporate day lighting techniques and more. All the items we used in our house were very strong and efficient, but cheap at the same time this helped us keep under our budget of $5000. Another great thing of our L shaped house is that it was under 120 sqft. So it didn't need a permit. We planned to use our building for an after school tutor building since it was right next to the library.
Key concepts
Law of Thermodynamics-
0th. Law- If two objects are in the same thermal equilibrium with each other they are in the same equilibrium.
1st. Law- Energy neither destroyed or created. Conservation of Energy
2nd. Law- Entropy Increase + / Disorder Increase +
3rd. Law- Nothing can ever reach absolute 0 because there will always be heat
Insulator- Something that holds heat in very well
Conduction- Heat through Material
Convection- Heat through water
Radiation- Energy sent through waves
Heat- Energy that goes through molecular movement
Archmedie's Principle- Amount of fluid displaced is equal to how much it weighs
Bernoullis- when a fluid's pressure decreases its speed increases
Buoyancy- ability to float in a fluid due to being lighter
Specific Heat- How fast or how slow something heats up while retaining its energy
Buoyancy Force- amount of force pushing back on submerged object
0th. Law- If two objects are in the same thermal equilibrium with each other they are in the same equilibrium.
1st. Law- Energy neither destroyed or created. Conservation of Energy
2nd. Law- Entropy Increase + / Disorder Increase +
3rd. Law- Nothing can ever reach absolute 0 because there will always be heat
Insulator- Something that holds heat in very well
Conduction- Heat through Material
Convection- Heat through water
Radiation- Energy sent through waves
Heat- Energy that goes through molecular movement
Archmedie's Principle- Amount of fluid displaced is equal to how much it weighs
Bernoullis- when a fluid's pressure decreases its speed increases
Buoyancy- ability to float in a fluid due to being lighter
Specific Heat- How fast or how slow something heats up while retaining its energy
Buoyancy Force- amount of force pushing back on submerged object
REflection
This project was a giant work induced one where every had to contribute and help in order for our project to be where it is now. The group we were put into at first we thought it was going to be dysfunctional, but as we worked on this project together we found out that we all worked really well together and had something to contribute. Our group when we wanted to get something done, we got it done fast and effciently while still having a good time. Sometimes our group got off task, but we were always able to get back on track. Some great things our group did was work together and contribute good ideas. But, some bad things our group did bad were communicating. Communicating because sometimes someone wouldn't be doing anything because they didn't hear the directions carefully. I think this project and my group, one of better ones we've done.