Energy · Engineering

Energy2D

Energy2D is a two-dimensional interactive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and heat transer simulation program. Energy2D can be used by students as an inquiry tool to investigate heat flow and energy usage in structures.

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Energy3D

Energy3D presents an easy-to-use 3D user interface for designing buildings. Students can build a single family house, a building complex, and even a village. Energy3D allows students to “print out” a design and use it to build a physical model.

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The Green Building Model Kit

Design, construct, test, and improve a model house step-by-step to achieve energy efficiency.

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Infrared Imaging

Visualize the invisible energy transfer processes in everyday life using IR cameras.

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Software

Hardware

Curricula

News

Download our hand-out model house

The following images link to two PDF files that contain a template for cutting out and assembling the model house shown to the right. They just have different textures. Choose one to download and print. Then assemble the house yourself. For best results, print them on cardstock. Using "Legal" size cardstock will result in a larger house that may be easier to build. If you want to design and make your own model houses, go to our Energy3D website to download the software, watch a tutorial video, and get started!

A hand-out model house for the 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival, April 28-29, Washington, DC (Click here to download the Energy3D model for this house.)

A village of model houses for the 2012 USA Science & Engineering Festival

Huge thanks to Jeanne Hurtz, our village of model houses is ready! Click an image to see an enlarged picture.

One day at Fitchburg High School

On February 18, 2012, 15 students from Fitchburg and Gardner in Massachusetts participated in a one-day activity at Fitchburg High School hosted by Mount Wachusett Communnity College. They designed model houses using our Energy3D software, printed and assembled them, and performed energy inspection using IR cameras. According to Andrew Goodwin, Director of the Gear Up Program at Mount Wachusett Community College, "it really was a great activity for the kids and I know they surely appreciate it and had a great time. I know that I was really impressed by the caliber of the program and I hope that in the future you will be willing to come out and do other activities with our group."

Teacher workshop 2012

In January 2012, teachers from Arlington High School, Bromfield School, Nashoba Regional High School, and North Reading High School participated in a professional development workshop to prepare for our large-scale field tests in the spring. Each teacher ran the experiments and simulations. Each also designed and built a model house. In the field tests scheduled in the spring with the classes of these teachers, we will test our research hypothesis that CAD/CAM tools empower students to explore the design space more efficiently and more deeply.

CAD/CAM in the classroom

In a pilot test in December 2011, 15 students in an engineering class at Arlington High School used our Energy3D software to design and make model houses. This pilot test was used to examine how well Energy3D worked in the classroom. Below are all the computer models the five teams designed with Energy3D and the corresponding model houses made using Energy3D's printing feature.

Student design work using Energy3D

In the summer of 2011, a group of students (age 9-16) tested our Energy3D, a computer-aided design (CAD) tool specifically developed for designing buildings. The following images show the results of their work. They found Energy3D easy to use: In just a couple of hours, they could master a tool that they had never used before and came up with non-trivial designs.

Project Highlights

Norrköpings Tidningar
JCE Cover
JCE Highlight

Miscellaneous

Energy2D & Energy3D Brochure

Engineering Energy Efficiency Brochure

Student Reactions

“ I liked watching the simulations, you could see what actually happens — you can't see it like that in a book.”
—Arlington High School, 2012
“The 3D designing was very helpful as we could customize the house as we wanted to or as we needed to.”
—Arlington High School, 2012
“When you could watch the sun, it was cool to see how it would affect the house.”
—Arlington High School, 2012
“I enjoyed graphing temperature data with the Logger Lite data graph on the computer. I had never used such a program, but it was very easy to get used to it and I quickly understood how to interpret the information on the graph and the relationships between the two temperature sensors used at times.”
—Arlington High School, 2011
“I would have to say the part of the Engineering Energy Efficiency Project I enjoyed the most was seeing the drastic change in temperature minor modifications made.”
—Arlington High School, 2011
“I really enjoyed comparing my test results with other classmates. It made building the second model a competition to find out whose house was the most energy efficient.”
—Nashoba Regional High School, 2011
“I enjoyed building the house and watching the graphs. It was a little difficult because I didn't understand what was going on. But towards the end I got it.”
—Nashoba Regional High School, 2011
“These pages gave me a visual understanding and comparison of conduction, convection, and radiation. The simulations were most helpful in developing this understanding.”
—Belmont High School, 2010

Education Standards

In high school, students develop their ability to solve problems in technology/engineering using mathematical and scientific concepts. High school students are able to relate concepts and principles they have learned in science with knowledge gained in the study of technology/engineering... students pursue engineering questions and technological solutions that emphasize research and problem solving. They achieve a more advanced level of skill in engineering design by learning how to conceptualize a problem, develop possible solutions, design and build prototypes or models, test the prototypes or models, and make modifications as necessary.
—The Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework