Passive Solar Home Design Project: This project has been the biggest and longest one of the year. We did six small projects. We learned about atomic structures, state, and heat, and learned about solar angles and how they change over the seasons. In groups we designed a hot water heat, where we learned about radiation, convection, and conduction, we did a daylight design activity where we had to see how much light we could get into a cardboard house we made, we did a materials testing lab where we chose three sights on campus that we thought would be best to build a house based on temperature, sun angles, seasonal variation, sun/shade percentages, etc., then we did a materials testing lab where we conducted an experiment to test all possible materials we might use for the interior and exterior of a house, we then built our designs. We built models of a solar reflector panel for getting light and heat through the north window of the solar studio, a cold frame for allowing plant growth during the winter in the San Marin garden, and my group built a stepping stone path going to the house.
Atomic Structure, State, and Heat: Before we began the projects, we had to learn about Atoms and Heat Transfer. I learned that protons and neutrons have mass, atoms are recycled, almost all of Earth's energy comes from the sun, and much more.
Concepts
Conduction-transfer heat through solid
Convection-transfer heat through fluid
Radiation-transfer of heat through waves/particles/rays
Insulation-bad at conducting(opposite of conduction) resistance to transferring heat
Thermal Conductivity-rate at which a material transfers heat
Thermal Resistance-ability of material to resist transferring heat
Design A Hot Water Heater: For this project we had to design a hot water heater and test it. We were given 3 feet of a metal pipe and about a foot of rubber piping to use. My group attached the metal piping to a milk carton then bent the piping and laid it in a box with the top off. We sprayed the piping black since black things attract heat. We lined the box with foil so the sun could reflect, making heat. We decided to put a sheet of magnifying glass on the box and put the box at an angle so the sun would hit the magnifying glass in the spot we wanted it to, making the magnifying glass reflect onto the piping, making heat to heat up the water that went through the tubing after we poured it into the carton. We then caught the water out of the other side and poured it back in the carton again. Our water started at 20 degrees and after 30 minutes was 27 degrees! From this project, I learned what materials and best to make water hot.
Atomic Structure, State, and Heat: Before we began the projects, we had to learn about Atoms and Heat Transfer. I learned that protons and neutrons have mass, atoms are recycled, almost all of Earth's energy comes from the sun, and much more.
Concepts
Conduction-transfer heat through solid
Convection-transfer heat through fluid
Radiation-transfer of heat through waves/particles/rays
Insulation-bad at conducting(opposite of conduction) resistance to transferring heat
Thermal Conductivity-rate at which a material transfers heat
Thermal Resistance-ability of material to resist transferring heat
Design A Hot Water Heater: For this project we had to design a hot water heater and test it. We were given 3 feet of a metal pipe and about a foot of rubber piping to use. My group attached the metal piping to a milk carton then bent the piping and laid it in a box with the top off. We sprayed the piping black since black things attract heat. We lined the box with foil so the sun could reflect, making heat. We decided to put a sheet of magnifying glass on the box and put the box at an angle so the sun would hit the magnifying glass in the spot we wanted it to, making the magnifying glass reflect onto the piping, making heat to heat up the water that went through the tubing after we poured it into the carton. We then caught the water out of the other side and poured it back in the carton again. Our water started at 20 degrees and after 30 minutes was 27 degrees! From this project, I learned what materials and best to make water hot.
Solar Angles and How It Changes During Seasons: Where the sun is changes throughout the seasons. As you can see on the graph, in June the sun is at its highest point of elevation and in December the sun is at its lowest point of elevation. In the summer there is vertical light and vertical light is the brightest and most concentrated. It gives more light and heat per unit area. Slanted light is less concentrated and is spread out over a larger area. The hemisphere tilted toward the sun gets more vertical light.
Daylight Design Activity: For this project we built cardboard houses and tried to see how lit up we could get the house to be by shinning a flashlight through the windows. The more windows you have, the brighter the house will get. We would shine the light at the angles the sun would be at throughout the day. There are different types of windows and ways to get light in through the house (solar tubes, light shelves, skylights, and clearstory windows) and my group decided that the clearstory windows were the most efficient and the solar tubes were the least efficient.
Concepts:
solar tubes- cylinders(in roofs) used to bring natural light into homes to help replace or add to electric lights
light shelves- a horizontal surface that reflects daylight deep into a building. They are placed above eye-level and have high- reflectance upper surfaces, which reflect daylight onto the ceiling and deeper into the space
skylights- a window installed in a roof or a ceiling
clearstory window- windows placed high on a wall
Site Selection: For this project we had to find three sites on San Marin's campus that we thought would be best for building a house on. We chose our sites based on how much sunlight it got a day, how noisy it was, the view, how flat the ground was, how easy it was to access, shade percentage, sun angles, etc.
Materials Testing: For this project we had to design and conduct and experiment to see what possible materials we could use for the interior and exterior of a house and which materials would work the best. We tested for radiation, conductivity, and some for absorption and reflection. We had to find the heat gain, heat loss, and net gain. My group heated up hotdogs then tried to see how much heat the hotdog lost when we put them inside of reflective bubble wrap, fiber glass, felt, ridged foam, spray foam and jeans. Our results showed that the jeans had the lease heat lost, which meant they would be the best choice for insulation. (All the materials we tested and their heat gain, heat loss, and net gain are below)
Solar Reflector Panel: Last year the STEM class built a solar house and right now it has no purpose. Our job was to find a purpose for it. The Solar Reflector Panel is used for getting heat and light through the North Window of the Solar Studio. The sun is always on the Southern side and we want to get light to the Northern side. My group made it so our design has two reflecting panels. One panel is angled toward the sun, and the other is angled away from the window. The sun is suppose to hit one reflector panel, then that is suppose to reflect to another, then that will reflect into the house as you can see in the picture below and blueprints in the slide show below. Our design is simple and has a cost of only $171.00.
Cold Frame: Our job for this project was to make a cold frame for allowing plant growth in the San Marin Garden. Our design is simple, but efficient. On the front side of our cold frame, we had a removable screen. The window allowed sunlight to come through and also made things very easy when you need to make changes to the plant. Our design also has a watering hole at the top, making watering simple. The watering hole also has a cover on it so no bugs could get to the plant and so no heat can escape. The inside of our Cold Frame is white and the outside is white. That way the heat can be absorbed, then the white can reflect it onto the plant. Our design came to a cost of $61.91
Reflection: This project was the biggest one of the year and was also a lot of fun and I learned a lot of new things. I think my group did a decent job on time management, so this project helped me become better at managing my time and I think we came up with some good ideas, but we could work on staying on task, for example we would get distracted by talking to other groups. We also need to make sure the everyone is always participating, although towards the end of the project we did start to make sure everyone was participating more. I think this project helped all of us become better leaders. When we were designing the reflector panel and the cold frame in perticular, we found ourselves asking others what we can help with. There also seemed to be more disagreement then I think there should have been and I think that can sometimes be good because that can lead to more ideas, but I think it would have been easier if we agreed on things more. I think all these mini projects taught me a lot.