Student design work using Energy3D

This summer, 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.

Chapter Two: Heat Transfer Basics

A chapter based on 24 simulations for teaching the basic concept of heat transfer is ready for our Engineering Energy Efficiency curriculum workbook. This new version is powered by Energy2D Version 0.3 and features a sequence of "Energy Detective" activities in which students can use virtual thermometers or virtual thermography to locate energy leaks in a house. Visualizations of heat and fluid flow are enhanced with flux lines and streamlines.

Energy3D: A heliodon applet available for Windows users

Energy3D has a virtual heliodon that can be used to study the sun path and insolation at different times in different months at different latitudes.

Windows users: Click here to see the virtual heliodon at work! (Unfortunately, this applet does not work on the Mac yet.)

Energy3D: Design, print, cut, assemble, and test

Check out some sample scale model houses designed by using the Blueprint Wizard of Energy3D.

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Computational thermography

The thermal pattern of a house can sometimes be baffling. The fact that we can show the thermal pattern using infrared thermography does not automatically mean that we understand what heat transfer processes are responsible for its formation. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and infrared thermography together provide complementary tools for understanding the thermodynamics of a building.

The following images show how these tools can be used to investigate the difference between the thermal envelope and the weather shell of a house:

A thermogram of a heated scale model house with a ceiling	A thermogram of a heated scale model house without a ceiling
An Energy2D simulation of a heated house with a ceiling	An Energy2D simulation of a heated house without a ceiling