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• Introduction - Hooks / Set

  This activity turns you into an instant Building Inspector.  Your assignment:

  Identify whatever helps or hurts energy conservation in a specific building.  You can become kind of a detective looking for BAD GUYS that waste energy and money.
• Activity Overview - Lecture

  At the completion of this activity, you should be able to:

   

  Identify the major construction, maintenance and design features that make a building energy efficient;

   Define and use each of the vocabulary words discussed in this unit;

   Explain energy saving steps to a home owner.
• Energy Efficiency - Demo / Modeling

  Skills and Knowledge you need:

  Ability to make observations and to record them;

  An Energy Efficient building is more comfortable than a wasteful building. It needs less fuel and electricity for heating and cooling.  A building that is badly designed and poorly kept wastes money.  Why?  Because it is trying to heat the outside as well as the inside.

   Students should be taking notes on lecture.

   

  We spend most of our time in buildings; homes, schools, offices and stores.  Most people hardly notice details about the buildings , such as how the are designed, how they are built and how well they are maintained.  These details have strong effect on how much we enjoy a building and how much it costs.

  Once again students should have the ability to make observations and record them.
• Draft Detector construction - Lab / Shop

  Materials to make a draft detector: pencil, tape and tissue paper or thin plastic. 

  Students will attach the tissue paper or thin plastic to the pencil using tape.  This will become a draft detector to be used during your energy audit.  Once the detector is made using a small fan and a small piece of plywood, with a few small holes, demonstrate a draft from a door or window. 
• Vocabulary - Lecture

  The following vocab. should be introduced: 

  • Radiation         
  • conduction
  • convection
  • condensation
  • air infiltration
  • insulation
  • R-value
  • vapor barrier
  • window treatments
  • flow restrictor
  • clock thermostat
  • wind break
  • caulk
  • weather-stripping
• Home Energy Audit assignment - Projects

  Students are to complete the home energy audit and turn in their findings.  Students should also have a clear understanding of the critical vocabulary that has been introduced.

  For Home Energy Audit see attached.

  Have samples of insulation, caulking and weather-stripping for students to become familiar with.

  Suggested Time Allotment

  One class period for discussion of vocabulary.

  One weekend homework assignment for collecting data.

  One class period for developing a sheet of recommendations
• Closing Discussion - Closure

  Points for discussion:

  Why were buildings built for so long without regard for energy conservation? Why are some buildings still being constructed that way?

  What energy savers are most important for summer cooling?

  Describe the Energy efficient house of the future.

  Ask students to turn in completed data sheets to be examined and returned.

  Prepare a survey a few months later similar to the activity to identify any improvements made in home energy conservation by your students.