Electric House Project

Objective: Students will be able to design and construct a model demonstrating circuits used in housing.

Materials (available, but certainly not limited to…)

Shoeboxes, cardboard, assorted strings of lights, light bulbs, construction paper, alligator clips, batteries,
paper clips, rubber bands, staples, tape, scissors, wire cutters, wire strippers, wire, resistors, capacitors,
various electrical components

Your model house project must include the following:

At least three rooms each decorated to match the room’s purpose (kitchen, 10 points
bedroom, etc.)
One room must contain two lights wired in parallel together and connecting in 10 points
series with an additional two lights. A light switch must control at least one of
the lights.

One room must contain 4 lights in parallel with each other, controlled by a 10 points
switch.
Each room’s circuitry must work independently. 5 points

Both room’s circuits must work simultaneously. 5 points

At least one special feature (see below). 10 points

A complete, labeled circuit diagram of the model house. 10 points

A calculation of the equivalent resistance of the house with all devices turned on 5 points
and operational.
Video Report – Create a video that shows all the requirements of the house and 15 points
demonstrates how they work. Also include an explanation of the mathematical
steps to calculate the equivalent resistance. Attach the video to the assignment
page.
Total Score
____ / 80

Special Features
Each group must incorporate at least one special electrical feature in their model house. Some ideas are
listed below, but imagination and creativity are encouraged!
 Motion activated lights
 Sound activated lights
 A ceiling fan
 A simple radio
 Color changing lights
 Dimmable lights
 Timers for lights to shut off automatically
 Come up with your own innovative and creative idea!