The goal of this project was to design a "tiny house" by using the sun to our advantage and minimizing our use of elecricity. Four smaller projects/labs were incorporated into our final passive solar home design.
Solar Water Heater Daylighting Techniques Materials Heat Lab Wind Turbines Lab
For our first miniature experiment, we made a water heater that uses only energy from the sun. Our group decided to use a plain rectangular shaped box and cover the sides and bottom with tin foil to reflect sunshine. Then we placed a bunch of copper tube on the bottom because copper is a good conductor of heat. Our last step to building the solar water heater was to make a sack out plastic wrap to create a sling in which to place the water for heating. We then covered the top with more plastic wrap to lock the heat in.
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To test different techniques for bringing maximum daylight into our house, we built a cardboard model and sampled various daylighting techniques--including light shelves, clerestory windows, solar tubes, skylights, south-facing windows, and paint color choice--to determine which were most effective. We then held a flashlight to mimic the sun in different places to test the lighting in the winter AM, winter noon, winter PM, summer AM, summer noon, and summer PM conditions.
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For this lab, we tested various insulation materials--including spray foam, rigid foam, and fiberglass--to see which best held in heat. We placed each insulation material all around the inside of a cardboard box and then put a hot piece of copper in the box. We immediately closed the box as air tight as possible and left it outside for 10 minutes. For each material, we compared the temperature of the copper straight out of the oven and the temperature of it after the 10 minutes and compared results.
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The ending part of this project was testing different blade designs for wind turbines. We made several different blades with different shapes, materials, and sizes. Then we gathered data from three levels of wind power (low, medium, and high) to determine the best combination. We found that vertical wind turbines with small- to medium-sized blades were the most efficient design and size; curved or slanted blades were the optimal shape; and card stock or folders were most effective for materials.
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Daylighting Techniques
Light shelves
Clerestory Windows
Solar Tubes
South-facing windows
color choice
White light contains all the wavelengths of the visible spectrum. When the color white is being reflected, all of the wavelengths are being reflected and none of them are absorbed, which makes white the most reflective color. This is why people often prefer light-colored interior walls for maximizing brightness in indoor spaces.
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light angles
When designing a house, architects must take into account facts such as: morning sun is dominant in east-facing rooms, early-evening light from the west is at a low angle, and sunlight is strongest on the south wall. Because the south wall gets the most light, north rooms have the least natural light. These things help architects determine the optimal placement and positioning of windows and other daylighting techniques.
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Heat
Insulation
Specific heat capacity
Specific heat capacity is the heat required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of a given substance by a given amount (usually one degree).
Our "Tiny House"
Blueprints
Materials List
Justification
Reflection
This project was by far the biggest undertaking of the year to date. There were many labs and experiments leading up to it, and we had to learn and incorporate a lot of knowledge about heat and daylighting techniques. One thing I was in charge of was the 3D model. This was challenging to make, because I had to determine a scale that would work and a way to make it look the way our group envisioned it. With John's help, I cut out all the walls and the roof and glued or taped everything on. Then, by myself, I painted the exterior and interior; this was harder than I thought it would be, because paint takes a long time to dry, and painting all the walls while some paint is still wet is quite challenging. During this project, I think I improved my leadership skills by stepping up and taking lead of the model that served as the core visual representation for our presentation. I think I should continue to work on my work ethic by being less chatty and not getting too distracted.