Paper ID #33159

A Model Passive Solar Home Student Design Project

Dr. Matt Aldeman, Illinois State University
Matthew Aldeman is an Assistant Professor of Technology at Illinois State University, where he teaches
in the Renewable Energy and Engineering Technology programs. Matt joined the Technology department
faculty after working at the Illinois State University Center for Renewable Energy for over five years.
Previously, he worked at General Electric as a wind site manager at the Grand Ridge and Rail Splitter
wind projects. Matt’s experience also includes service in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear propulsion officer
and leader of the Reactor Electrical division on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. Matt is an
honors graduate of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
from Northwestern University, a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University, and
a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Dr. Jin Ho Jo, Illinois State University
Dr. Jin Ho Jo is an Associate Professor of Technology at Illinois State University, teaching in the Renew-
able Energy program. Dr. Jo is the program coordinator and also leads the Sustainable Energy Research
Group at ISU. Dr. Jo is an honors graduate of Purdue University where he earned a B.S. in Building
Construction Management. He earned his M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University where he
investigated critical environmental justice issues in New York City. His 2010 Ph.D. from Arizona State
University was the nation’s first in sustainability. His research, which has been widely published, focuses
on the use of renewable energy systems and sustainable building strategies to reduce negative impacts of
urbanization.

c American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

 A Model Passive Solar Home
Student Design Project

Abstract

In a course focused on renewable energy technologies (especially focusing on solar

energy and wind energy), a student project assignment has been developed wherein students
design, build, and test a model passive solar home. Following an in-class lesson on passive solar
design strategies, students choose a location on Earth where their model home will be “located.”
Next, the students must design their passive solar home so that it incorporates good passive solar
design principles and includes, at minimum: 1) roof overhangs that are long enough to shade
more than 2/3 of the home’s south-facing windows at solar noon on the summer solstice, but
short enough that they shade no more than 1/3 of the home’s south-facing windows at solar noon
on the winter solstice, and 2) at least one other specific feature that maximizes the solar gain in
the winter and/or minimizes the solar gain in the summer. Students build their model passive
solar homes out of a material of their choosing. Foam board, poster board, cardboard, and
plywood are common choices. The model home must be built to scale, and the scale of the model
home must be specified. On the due date, students bring their model homes to the lab and test the
shading performance of their roof overhangs. Students give a brief explanation of their home’s
design and features, and then they adjust a heliodon – specifically built for this purpose – to the
sun’s altitude angle for their home’s location at the summer solstice and then at the winter
solstice. The instructor observes the shading performance of the home’s roof overhangs and
determines whether the design criteria have been met. In addition to constructing the home, the
students write a two page single-spaced paper explaining the design and features of the home.
The assessment of the project is based on 1) whether the home meets the design criteria, 2)
professionalism of the model home, and 3) clarity of the written description. The project ties
together several important concepts in this course, and provides students with an opportunity to
creatively apply what they have learned. Student feedback on the project has been
overwhelmingly positive.
Introduction

A Bachelor of Science in Renewable Energy (RE) degree program was established by

Illinois State University in 2007. The mission of the program is “to prepare technically-oriented
managerial professionals and leaders for business, industry, government, and education by
articulating and integrating competencies in Renewable Energy.” The program prepares
graduates for jobs in the fields of energy and renewable energy systems as well as regulatory and
governmental agencies. To meet the demand for well-rounded graduates who are knowledgeable
in both technical and economic aspects of renewable energy systems, an interdisciplinary
curriculum was developed, consisting of a multitude of selected courses from across the
university. In 2018, the name of the program was revised to the “Sustainable and Renewable
Energy” program to reflect the increasingly broad array of energy technologies that an energy
industry professional should be familiar with.

The Sustainable and Renewable Energy (SRE) program has five overarching goals that
align with the strategic goals of the college and university. The five goals of the Sustainable and
Renewable Energy program are:

1. Provide students with high quality educational experiences by featuring a modern, up-to-
date curriculum that will develop the technical and managerial knowledge, skills, and
attitudes that are foundational to success as Renewable Energy professionals.
2. Recruit and graduate a diverse group of individuals to support companies and
organizations that will employ Renewable Energy professionals in the state and
throughout the United States.
3. Provide opportunities for students to interface with Renewable Energy professionals.
4. Provide service to companies and organizations that employ Renewable Energy graduates
through applied research, consulting/workshops, and participation in professional
organizations.
5. Develop industry and Renewable Energy alumni relationships in support of the program.

To meet Program Goal #1 and ensure that graduates acquire a fundamental understanding
of renewable energy systems, a new required course was added for the fall semester of 2017
called TEC 258: Renewable Energy Technology Applications. The course has been offered every
fall semester since that time, making Fall 2020 the fourth time that the course has been offered.
The course is typically taken by students in their junior or senior year. The purpose of this course
is to help students gain more in-depth and hands-on experiences by working with renewable
energy technology, especially solar and wind energy technology.

After a brief review of electricity fundamentals, the first half of the course focuses on
solar energy, beginning with a review of solar resources and the photovoltaic effect (both of
which are covered in a previous course). Next the course includes the topics of solar siting
considerations, passive solar design, types of solar systems, types of photovoltaic (PV) cells,
inverters (including micro-inverters and DC optimizers), and battery storage applications. The
first half of the semester includes 11 assignments, most of which are hands-on labs with solar
resource assessment tools, PV cells, multi-meters, data loggers, charge controllers, and batteries.
 The second half of the semester takes a turn away from solar energy systems and moves
into wind energy systems. During the second half of the semester the focus is on types of wind
turbine generator systems and the factors that influence the energy generation of a wind turbine.
The second half of the semester includes six assignments, most of which are hands-on labs with
model wind turbines, a wind tunnel, and data logging equipment.

In addition to the aforementioned labs, both halves of the semester include a required
student project relating to the course material. The project in the second half of the semester is
to design, build, and test a model wind turbine that will produce as much energy as possible
during a 20-second testing interval. The student project in the first half of the semester is to
design, build, and test a model home that uses the principles that have been discussed in class.
Because this includes passive solar design, the project has become known as the “Model Passive
Solar Home Project.”

In the next section of this paper, a literature review describes current passive solar design
strategies as well as methods of evaluating their effectiveness. Subsequent sections of this paper
will further discuss how the “Model Passive Solar Home Project” is structured, how students’
projects are evaluated, and what students have gained from this assignment. Because the project
ties together the concepts of passive solar home design, solar resources, thermal efficiency of
buildings, and PV systems, the project fits neatly into the objectives of the course and the
program as a whole.

Review of Literature

Passive solar design is utilized to collect, store, and distribute thermal energy by natural
radiation, conduction and convection through appropriate building design and materials [1].
Passive solar design also involves blocking the direct solar radiation penetrating into buildings in
order to provide cooling during the summer season [1]. By learning the concept of passive solar
design, students will begin to understand the use of heat transfer processes, such as radiation,
conduction, and convection, to distribute thermal energy provided by the sun. In addition,
students will learn how incorporating passive solar concepts into the building design can save
money by reducing heating and cooling energy demand.

Several previous research studies have shown the effectiveness of passive solar systems
and how passive solar design strategies have been adopted. For example, Kruzner et al. [2]
identified passive design strategies as the most cost-effective methods to reduce energy
consumption in buildings, and evaluated a nationally representative sample of 1,000 existing
homes. These buildings were evaluated for three passive design strategies including orientation,
roof color, and level of shading using satellite images. Although the study found several
statistically significant regional trends, at the national level, no statistically significant passive
solar strategies were found among the sample houses evaluated in the study. Kruzner et al.
claimed that policy measures and education are required to take advantage of the opportunity for
cost-effective energy savings through more widespread passive solar design.

The next two examples show different analytical strategies to evaluate energy savings
through passive solar design via simulation and empirical analyses. A study conducted in
Sydney, Australia by Albayyaa et al. [3] analyzed two types of detached residential houses with
two floors and four bedrooms using a building energy simulation software tool. Several scenarios
were constructed based on passive solar parameters to determine the total energy required to
achieve thermal comfort in the house. This study found that the total energy required for heating
during winter is reduced 37% by using passive solar strategies. The method suggested in this
study was insightful, and we will consider this type of simulation analysis to be adopted as part
of the Model Passive Solar Home project to show the effectiveness of the passive solar design in
the future. Another study was conducted in Tibet by Liu et al. [4] to evaluate the effectiveness of
a passive solar house. The case study house was divided into two parts by a Trombe wall, and
they measured the temperature of two different sections. The study found the passive solar
design effectively maintained the indoor temperature higher than the outdoor temperature,
although the temperature fluctuations were similar as the temperature changed outside.

Other studies have presented combined strategies with passive and active solar design
aspects. Yu et al. [5] identified seven key decisions and 24 passive and active strategies that lead
to an optimized Zero Energy Solar House with better architecture, comfort, and energy balance.
They emphasize the importance of selecting passive strategies specific to the home’s shape,
function, layout, and microclimate. Another study by Wu et al. [6] explored the role of Building
Information Modeling (BIM) systems in facilitating sustainable living design and construction.
They report that the emphasis of BIM education has been shifting from software training to
problem-solving in the context of project execution and management

A review of projects submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

competition was helpful for the instructor of the Model Passive Solar Home project to develop
grading rubrics for the Model Passive Solar Home project. This review of Solar Decathlon
homes served as the inspiration for the requirement that the students’ Model Passive Solar Home
projects include components of energy efficiency beyond passive solar.

Although several prior works have shown the effectiveness of passive solar strategies,
these studies have not provided a clear demonstration of how passive solar design can be taught
in a structured, hands-on way in the classroom. In this article we will describe a course project
where students design and build model home projects and learn the critical concepts associated
with passive solar design strategies through course activities.

Project Requirements and Evaluation

After a discussion of passive solar design principles early in the semester, students are
assigned the Model Passive Solar Home Project. They are given approximately one month to
complete the project. The assignment is to design and build a model home that utilizes efficient
design principles, includes passive solar home design features, and also includes at least one
other feature that improves the efficiency of the home. The home must be built to scale (the
specific scale is selected by the students), and the home must be between 6 to 12 inches tall.
Students choose the geographic location on Earth where their house would be located, because
this has a significant impact on the geometry of the design. Students are given wide flexibility to
build the home out of a material of their choosing. The most popular materials are poster board
and cardboard, but plywood is also used occasionally. 3D printers are available for students to
use, but most students choose not to use them to complete this project.

The most challenging design requirement is that the home must be designed such that the
south-facing windows (or north-facing, if the home is located in the Southern Hemisphere) are at
least two-thirds shaded at solar noon on the summer solstice, and no more than one-third shaded
at solar noon on the winter solstice. This ensures that the home will receive solar gain through
the south-facing windows during the winter months, while the solar gain will be mostly blocked
during the summer months. On the due date of the project, the model passive solar homes are
tested using a heliodon apparatus that is described in a subsequent section. Students are also
required to write a brief paper describing their model home, its features, and the reasons that they
built their home the way that they did. The requirements and rubric for the project are shown in
Table 1.

Table 1. Model Passive Solar Home Project Requirements and Rubric

Item
Shading Performance
Professionalism
Written description
Description Points
 Overhangs/awnings shade more than two-
thirds of the south-facing window area at
summer solstice, and no more than one-third of
south-facing window area at winter solstice.
 Window geometry provides reduced solar gain /25
in summer and increased solar gain in the
winter.
 Model includes an active or passive solar
feature in addition to the appropriately-sized
overhangs.
 Model is well-constructed and visually
appealing, built to scale, and between 6” and /25
12” in height.
 Clear explanation of the model home, its scale,
its location, and its features.
 Written in a professional manner with proper
grammar, punctuation, and writing style.
Paper is one to two pages in length, typed and
single-spaced. /50
 References cited in appropriate format (APA,
MLA, IEEE, etc. References do not count
towards page limit)

Students must perform trigonometric calculations and build their model homes
accordingly to ensure that the design criteria are met. As an example, a prototypical home is
shown in Figure 1. The altitude angle of the sun is 𝛼, the height of the window is 𝑤, the distance
between the top of the window and the eave of the roof is 𝑥, and the length of the overhang is 𝑜.
 Figure 1. Diagram of a hypothetical passive solar home

The trigonometric relationship between the altitude angle 𝛼 and the length of overhang 𝑜 is given
by
𝑜
tan(90 − 𝛼)° = (1)
𝑥+𝑤
Solving for the overhang length gives
𝑜 = (𝑥 + 𝑤) tan(90 − 𝛼)° (2)

If the objective is to shade at least two-thirds of the window, then

2𝑤
𝑜 ≥ (𝑥 + ) tan(90 − 𝛼)° (3)
3
If the objective is to shade no more than one-third of the window, then
𝑤
𝑜 ≤ (𝑥 + ) tan(90 − 𝛼)° (4)
3
The altitude angles of the sun will need to be known in order to complete the design. Students
are allowed to choose any location for their model home, and their choice of location affects
multiple aspects of their home’s design. There are several different ways of finding the relevant
solar altitude angles for their home’s location. As a set of convenient thumb rules, students are
provided with the following equations:
At solar noon on the equinox, the altitude angle of the sun is equal to:
𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90° − (𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)° (5)

At solar noon on the summer solstice, the altitude angle of the sun is equal to:
𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90° − [(𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)° − 23.5° ] (6)

At solar noon on the winter solstice, the altitude angle of the sun is equal to:
𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90° − [(𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)° + 23.5° ] (7)
Students use the trigonometric relationships in Equations (3) and (4) and the solar altitude angles
given in Equations (6) and (7) to size the overhangs on their home appropriately. As an example,
suppose the latitude of the model home is chosen to be 40° N, the height of the window is four
feet, and the distance between the top of the window and the eave of the roof is three feet. From
Equation (6), the altitude angle at solar noon on the summer solstice is,
𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90° − [40° − 23.5° ] = 73.5° (8)

and from Equation (7), the altitude angle at solar noon on the winter solstice is,
𝐴𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 = 90° − [40° + 23.5° ] = 26.5° (9)

To meet the requirement that the window be at least two-thirds shaded at solar noon on the
summer solstice, the result from Equation (8) is substituted into Equation (3).
2𝑤
𝑜 ≥ (𝑥 + ) tan(90 − 𝛼)° (10)
3
2 ∗ 4 𝑓𝑡.
𝑜 ≥ (3 𝑓𝑡. + ) tan(90 − 73.5)° (11)
3

𝑜 ≥ 1.7 𝑓𝑡. (12)

To meet the requirement that the window be no more than one-third shaded at solar noon on the
winter solstice, the result from Equation (9) is substituted into Equation (4).
𝑤
𝑜 ≤ (𝑥 + ) tan(90 − 𝛼)° (13)
3
4 𝑓𝑡.
𝑜 ≤ (3 𝑓𝑡. + ) tan(90 − 26.5)° (14)
3

𝑜 ≤ 8.7 𝑓𝑡. (15)

Thus, the requirements can be met by designing the house to include an overhang that is
more than 1.7 ft. but less than 8.7 ft. in the scale of the model home. These are fairly broad
tolerances, and can be met even with imprecise cutting tools (e.g. scissors) and low-quality
materials (e.g. cardboard or poster board) as long as the students take a moderate degree of care
in the construction of their home.

Testing

A one-axis heliodon was constructed specifically for the purpose of testing the model
homes built by the students. The heliodon consists of a standard LED light bulb installed at the
top end of an eight foot long two-by-four. The bottom end of the two-by-four is attached with a
hinge to a base made of a 36-inch long 2x12 board. The 2x12 base remains stationary on the
floor, while the hinge allows the two-by-four to pivot at any angle between zero and ninety
degrees relative to the horizontal base. This allows the heliodon to simulate any solar altitude
angle between zero and ninety degrees. To accurately measure the altitude angle, a large
protractor with increments of one degree is connected to the base. As the two-by-four pivots up
and down, it is simple to read the altitude angle by comparing the lower side of the two-by-four
against the protractor immediately behind it. To fix the two-by-four in position – so that the
shading on the home can be inspected without having to hold the two-by-four by hand – several
one-inch holes have been drilled in the two-by-four. A one-inch dowel rod passes through one of
the holes in the two-by-four, and a clamp is attached to the dowel rod to prevent the dowel rod
from sliding through the two-by-four. The clamp is mostly unnecessary, because there is
sufficient friction between the two-by-four and the dowel rod to hold the two-by-four in position.
This heliodon design is a simple and inexpensive yet effective way of simulating an infinite
number of solar altitude angles between zero and ninety degrees. An image of the heliodon at a
relatively high solar altitude angle, possibly around the summer solstice, is shown in Figure 2(a).
Figure 2(b) shows the heliodon at a much lower solar altitude angle, possibly around the winter
solstice.

(a) (b)
Figure 2. One-axis heliodon used for testing of the model passive solar homes (a) at a large solar altitude angle and
(b) at a small solar altitude angle

Because the heliodon has only one axis (it has only one hinge), it cannot easily be used to
simulate the azimuth angle of the sun’s position. It is possible to simulate the azimuth of the sun,
but the model home itself would have to be rotated to simulate the azimuth angle, rather than the
two-by-four arm that holds the light. To simplify the evaluation of the model passive solar homes
in this project, the heliodon is only used to simulate the conditions at solar noon. At solar noon,
the azimuth angle is zero.

Of course, like most simulations, the heliodon is not perfectly accurate. One of the
inaccuracies of the heliodon comes from the fact that the two-by-four arm holding the light bulb
is much too short to be realistic. For practical purposes, the two-by-four arm is only eight feet
long, but to match the scale of the real world it would need to be much longer. Because the arm
is too short, the angular diameter of the light bulb is larger than the actual angular diameter of the
Sun as seen from Earth. Specifically, the light bulb is approximately 2 ¼” in diameter, and the
bulb is located approximately 93 inches from the pivot axis of the two-by-four (because the light
bulb faces back toward the model home, it is not located exactly at the end of the eight-foot two-
by-four). As seen from the perspective of the model home, this gives the light bulb an angular
diameter of 1.4 degrees. By comparison, the angular diameter of the Sun is known to be
approximately 0.5 degrees from the perspective of Earth. To accurately simulate the angular
diameter of the Sun, the length of the heliodon’s arm would need to be approximately 257.8
inches (about 21.5 feet). Alternatively, the light bulb could be replaced with a light bulb that has
a diameter of approximately 0.8 inches.

Besides the angular diameter, another inaccuracy is that the height of the model home is
much too tall relative to the distance between the home and the light source. For example,
because the distance between the Sun and Earth is so large, in reality the altitude angle of the
Sun does not change appreciably even when it is measured at the top of a very tall skyscraper.
The additional height of the skyscraper above the ground is miniscule compared to the distance
from the Sun to the Earth, and so the geometry of the situation does not change noticeably. In
contrast, the model passive solar homes are allowed to be up to 12 inches in height, and this
height is not insignificant when compared to the distance between the light source and the model
home. Therefore, the altitude angle at the top of the model home is not identical to the altitude
angle at the bottom of the model home.

Despite its inherent limitations, the heliodon has proven to be a useful tool. As long as the
limits of its accuracy are not pushed to the extreme, it provides a reasonably close approximation
of the geometry between the Sun and buildings on Earth. Because the design requirements are
not too tightly constrained – as demonstrated in Equations 12 and 15 - the heliodon provides a
measurement tool that is more than adequate for the purpose of this project.

Results

Figure 3 shows ten examples of model passive solar homes built by students. Each home
is shown from the southwest and southeast corners of the home. Due to the project requirements,
all of the examples in Figure 3 use overhangs to minimize solar gain in the summer (when the
altitude angle is large) and maximize solar gain in the winter (when the altitude angle is small).
The homes in Figure 3(a) and (b) used solar daylighting techniques by using windows across the
top of the home. These upper windows also had an overhang to shade the windows during the
summer months. The home in Figure 3(e) is notable for using a strategically-located deciduous
tree. The student had two model trees: one with foliage and one without (shown). In the summer
months, the tree’s foliage provided additional shade to the home and further reduced the solar
gain. The home in Figure 3(k) and (l) has an unusual octagonal shape, which is beneficial
because it increases the home’s volume to surface area ratio, which reduces the total amount of
heat transfer through the walls. The homes in Figures 3(m), (n), and especially (q) and (r) were
built into the ground to make an Earthen home. This also increases the efficiency of the home by
adding insulation to the home’s walls and reducing the rate of heat transfer through the walls.
The home in Figure 3(m) and (n) also featured a large rainwater collection system. The homes in
Figures 3(a), (b), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (s), and (t) all incorporated a PV system.
Considering that solar photovoltaics is a major portion of the course, and students gain
significant lab experience working with PV system components, it is not surprising that most
students incorporate PV systems into their model home designs. Many of the students also built
interior walls and structures to demonstrate energy-efficient interiors in addition to the exteriors.
For example, several students included Trombe walls in their interior design, and many students
placed their high-usage rooms near the south side of the home while putting their low-usage
rooms on the north side of the home.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(e) (f) (g) (h)

(i) (j) (k) (l)

(m) (n) (o) (p)

(q) (r) (s) (t)

Figure 3. Images of ten example Model Passive Solar Homes

On the project due date, the students bring their models to the laboratory and briefly
describe their home’s features to the instructor and the other students. As part of their
description, the students describe the real-world location where their model home was designed
to be located. Then they place their home on the heliodon with the south side of their home
facing the arm of the heliodon. Each home is tested at two altitude angles: solar noon on the
winter solstice, and solar noon on the summer solstice. Based on the location and the resulting
altitude angles, the student adjusts the heliodon to the altitude angle of one of the solstices. The
student and instructor then inspect the model home to see if it meets the design requirements.
After inspection, the student adjusts the heliodon to the altitude angle of the other solstice, and
the student and instructor inspect the home again to see if it meets the design criteria at this
solstice. Images two different model homes at two different altitude angles are shown in Figure
4.

In Figure 4(a) and (b), a model home is shown being tested with the heliodon at a
relatively large altitude angle. Close inspection of the protractor in Figure 4(a) reveals an altitude
angle of approximately 62˚. This is not necessarily the summer solstice altitude angle at the
location for which this home was designed; it is merely an arbitrary large altitude angle shown
for demonstration purposes. Figure 4(b) shows that the home’s overhang shades almost all of the
south-facing windows. Figure 4(c) and (d) show an octagonal-shaped model home being tested at
the same 62˚ altitude angle. Figure 4(d) shows that the overhangs completely shade all of the
home’s south-facing windows. Figures 4(e) and (f) show the same home as in images (a) and (b),
but the home is being tested at a much lower altitude angle. Inspection of the protractor in Figure
4(e) shows that the altitude angle is now approximately 30˚. Figure 4(f) shows little to no
shading of the home’s south-facing windows at this low altitude angle, which would result in a
large amount of solar gain during the winter months. Figure 4(g) and (h) show the octagonal
home at the same 30˚ altitude angle. Inspection of Figure 4(h) shows that the south-facing
windows are slightly less than half-shaded. This would not have been sufficient to meet the
design requirements if the altitude angle at the winter solstice for this home’s selected location
was actually 30˚. However, it is likely that this home was designed to be built in a location where
the altitude angle at the winter solstice is less than 30˚. A smaller altitude angle would result in
less of the south-facing windows being shaded.

On the day that the model passive solar homes are due, the students take turns testing
their model homes. The testing takes only a short amount of time, approximately five minutes
per student. Students have commented that it is interesting to see how their design calculations
match up with the heliodon testing, and it is fun to see the designs that their classmates have
created.

In the most recent offering of this course during the fall semester of 2020, there were 17
students enrolled in the class. Sixteen of the students completed the project. The average grade
for the sixteen students that completed the project was 90.1%, and the median was 92.0%. These
average scores were significantly higher than the average overall course scores, indicating that
most students were successful in meeting the desired outcomes of the project. All but two of the
students were able to successfully meet the shading requirement of having at least two-thirds of
the south-facing windows shaded at the summer solstice and no more than one-third of the south-
facing windows shaded at solar noon on the winter solstice. This appears to be evidence that
after completing this assignment, the majority of students understand how to optimize the size of
roof overhangs to allow for a specified amount of solar gain as described in Equations (1) – (15).
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)
Figure 4. Examples of testing at high altitude angles (a), (b), (c), (d), and low altitude angles (e), (f), (g), (h)
Student Feedback

Although the successful completion of learning objectives described above may be more
important than the students’ impressions of the project, student feedback is important
nonetheless. This project has been part of the course since the time that the course began in Fall
2017. Therefore, it is not possible to compare students who completed the course without doing
this project with students who completed this project as part of the course. If such a comparison
were possible, perhaps by comparing test scores before and after the introduction of this project,
it is hoped that the students who completed the project as part of the course would show a higher
level of mastery for the passive solar design concepts relevant to this project. Unfortunately, this
direct comparison is not possible because there is no control group. In lieu of a direct
comparison, however, students were given an anonymous survey where they were asked for their
feedback about the project. The survey questions were:

1. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), please rate the following

statement: I learned more about passive solar design by building a Model Passive Solar
Home than I would have learned by taking an exam on the same material.
2. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), please rate the following
statement: After completing the Model Passive Solar Home Project, I am better able to
describe the characteristics that make for efficient home design.
3. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), please rate the following
statement: The Model Passive Solar Home Project was fun.
4. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), please rate the following
statement: I recommend keeping the Model Passive Solar Home Project as part of the
curriculum in this class.
5. (Open response): Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Model Passive
Solar Home Project?

The results of this survey are shown in Table 2. As shown in the table, most of the
students that responded to the survey had a very favorable view of the project. The survey was
given in an online anonymous format in parallel with the end-of-semester course evaluations,
and the response rate (31%) is not particularly high. However, based on the survey responses
combined with the in-person conversations that the instructor had with the students, it seems
apparent that the students enjoy the project, and that they believe that they learned a lot by
completing the project. Furthermore, the students seem to have enjoyed the opportunity to apply
relevant course topics in a hands-on design and construction project.
Table 2. Student responses to anonymous survey about Model Passive Solar Home project. Total number of student
responses = 5.
On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
1 2 3 4 5 Average
agree), please rate the following statements:
1. I learned more about passive solar design by
5
building a Model Passive Solar Home than I would 0 0 0 0 5.0
(100%)
have learned by taking an exam on the same material.
2. After completing the Model Passive Solar Home
1 4
Project, I am better able to describe the characteristics 0 0 0 4.8
(20%) (80%)
that make for efficient home design.
3. The Model Passive Solar Home Project was fun.
1 4
0 0 0 4.8
(20%) (80%)
4. I recommend keeping the Model Passive Solar
5
Home Project as part of the curriculum in this class. 0 0 0 0 5.0
(100%)
5. (Open response) Do you have any suggestions for 1. None. I really enjoyed being able to build a home
how to improve the Model Passive Solar Home based on my own calculations and watching it succeed.
Project?
2. NO, I really like the project I had a ton of fun building
my house and even learning about passive solar design
and I think covid just hindered the class from getting
the full experience.

3. Hopefully face-to-face class format will come back

again so that both the instructors and students can do
a couple of examples.

Conclusions

The two projects in this course – including the model passive solar home – have come to
be popular aspects of the course. Overall, students have remarked that they appreciate the hands-
on nature of this course, and the model passive solar home is one of the most hands-on and open-
ended assignments in the course.

As demonstrated in the Project Requirements and Evaluation section, there is a

considerable amount of thought that must necessarily go into the design of the model home in
order for students to successfully meet the design requirements. The instructor reminds students
repeatedly that they should begin working on their project well before the due date. Students are
even allowed to test their home with the heliodon before the due date, so that they can verify the
design of their home. Because this project requires a considerable amount of planning and effort,
students are not likely to do well on the assignment if they wait until the day before the due date
to begin the project. Fortunately, most students heed this warning and begin the project well in
advance.
 From an instructor’s perspective, it is rewarding to see students go above and beyond the
expectations for the assignment. Because this project is open-ended, it leaves a lot of room for
students to show their creativity. Many students have included components in their home that
were never discussed in the class. For example, one student built part of his home from scale-
model used tires, one built a high-rise apartment building, one used gravel to simulate permeable
concrete, and some have built their homes with very complex geometry. One student modeled
the effect of deciduous trees to achieve the desired solar gain, and another student designed and
modeled a rainwater collection system. Many of the students have created detailed interior floor
plans for their homes that increase the thermal efficiency of the home, and many students go well
beyond the idea of a mere “passive solar home” to design a home that is truly sustainable in a
variety of aspects. All of these students have used their creativity to significantly exceed the
instructor’s expectations for the project.

Because the project ties together the concepts of passive solar home design, solar
resources, thermal efficiency of buildings, and photovoltaic systems, the project fits neatly into
the objectives of the course and the program as a whole. As described in the Introduction section
of this paper, the first objective of the Sustainable and Renewable Program is to “provide
students with high quality educational experiences by featuring a modern, up-to-date curriculum
that will develop the technical and managerial knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are
foundational to success as Renewable Energy professionals.” The model passive solar home
project helps the program to achieve this goal by encouraging students to think creatively and
independently about how to best construct homes and buildings in the future while taking energy
efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability into consideration.

Based on the students’ enthusiasm for the project, the gains in conceptual understanding
that the students achieve (as evidenced by the high evaluation scores and the success in
achieving the desired shading characteristics), and the fit of the project into the broader program
curriculum, the instructor plans to continue assigning this project in the future. Despite the
success so far, improvements could no doubt be made. Additional requirements could be added
in the future, such as requiring the students to describe the home’s heating and cooling system.
Based on knowledge of heat transfer principles that they learn in other courses, students should
be able to perform heat loss calculations and describe the types of windows and the insulating
values of the walls. The project could also be presented as an economic optimization problem,
where students design their homes under given cost constraints. Finally, the students may learn
more from their peers if they are required to give a brief but more formal presentation about their
home’s design to the class.
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