STEM: Heat Loss Project
Ms. Bormann
Kawameeh Middle School
Grade 8 Honors
STEM
 S – Science: Knowledge of heat transfer, thermal energy and
temperature.
 T – Technology: PowerPoint Presentation, Digital
Thermometers, iPad thermal imaging application.
 E – Engineering: Design and construction of model home
 M – Mathematics: Calculating temperature and change in
temperature.
Essential Question
How do we use a model to track the
movement of thermal energy in a
residential home?
Objectives:
• Examination of thermal images to identify areas of
greatest heat loss in residential homes.
• Comparison of temperature data to thermal images
looking for patterns of heat loss.
• Improving energy efficiency by insulation your home
to prevent heat loss.
Part I: Honors Research
Due: 2/28/14
 How can energy be conserved in your home?
100 ways to conserve energy in your home
 What insulators are used in homes?
Fiberglass, wool, plastic fibers, concrete, foam board
Energy.gov
 What are some insulators that you could use in your model
homes that relate to insulators you researched?
 Energy efficient products used in homes?
Your Footprint
Energy Star Certified Products
Solar Energy
Energy Efficient Windows
Part I: Research
Due: 2/28/14
 Define Insulator A material through which thermal energy does not flow
easily. Slows the transfer of heat
 What materials are good insulators?
Glass, wood, plastic, rubber, air, wool, cork, straw, paper
 What makes these materials good insulators (think in terms of
insulator often has a high specific heat because
specific heat)?An
it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of that object.
 Define the Law of Conservation of Energy.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred
or transformed
 Where do you think the most heat loss in your house is?
Ceilings, walls, floors windows, doors and infiltration (air leakage) - website
 How can energy be conserved in your home?
100 ways to conserve energy in your home
 What materials are used in your homes to insulate your house?
…materials we can use in our home
 Fiberglass insulation – noncombustible and does not retain moisture.
 Cellulose insulation – shredded newspaper (treated to be fire resistant but not
fireproof)
 Polyisocyanurate – plastic that contains low-conductivity gas
 Polyurethane foam – plastic that is sprayed in liquid form and then expands.
 Cotton insulation – from recycled clothing treated with Boron (fire and pest
repellant)
website
Cotton Insulation
Polyurethane Foam
Cellulose Insulation
Polyisocyanurate
Fiberglass
Part II: Constructing a Home
1. Sketch your house design below using the guidelines given to you. (Make sure you include
the proper number of doors and windows in your sketch). You must include 1 door, at
least two windows and a pointed roof.
Part II: Constructing a Home
2. Construct a base for your model home using hot glue **WARNING HOT GLUE
GUNS AND GLUE GET VERY HOT: DO NOT TOUCH**, and building sticks only. (do
not put up walls until the base of your house is constructed) Please see SMART
board for house construction instructions.
3. Present your model to be approved by your teacher.
4. Once construction is approved, put up the walls using computer paper and glue
only. It is OK to leave cracks between walls and where the roof meets. Make
sure to include the following when constructing your walls: 1 Door, at least 2
windows (cut them out before you put them up) and a pointed roof. MAKE
SURE TO KEEP THE BOTTOM OF YOUR HOUSE OPEN.
5. Present your model with the walls to be approved by your teacher.
6. Set your house over a heat lamp (while teacher is present).**WARNING HEAT
LAMPS GET VERY HOT: DO NOT TOUCH**
7. While the house is over the heat lamp use thermometers to measure and record
temperature data at the following locations: Solid wall, open window/door,
open corner of the house, and where roof meets.
8. Use iPad thermal imaging application to show where heat is being lost.
(Remember – Red shows warm areas, blue shows cool areas). Outline the area
where heat is transferred the most in red. Outline the area where heat is
transferred the least in blue
Understanding Thermal Imaging
(and how it works on the iPad)
 Thermal imaging cameras or thermal imagers are devices that
translate thermal energy (heat) into visible light (color) in order
to analyze a particular object or scene. The image produced by
thermal imaging cameras is known as a thermogram and is
analyzed through a process called thermography.
 How does it work?
 All objects radiate thermal energy from their surface. Modern
thermal imagers use a detector called a microbolometer to sense
this thermal energy.
 What is a thermal imager used for?
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Home Inspections and Energy Audits
Electrical and Mechanical Inspections
Research and Development
Medical and Veterinarian
TI website
Thermal Imaging Colors
 Instead of the 450-750 nanometer range of visible light we see,
infrared cameras operate in wavelengths as long as 14,000nm.
Part III: Insulating a Home
9. The insulator my group is testing is __________________________.
10. Sketch a design on where and how insulator will be used. Use the areas you
discovered in the thermal imaging to decide where your insulator should applied.
Part III: Insulating a Home
12. Present your insulation to be approved by your teacher.
13. Set your house over a heat lamp (while teacher is present).
14. While the house is over the heat lamp use thermometers to remeasure each opening that you originally tested and record
temperature data.
15. Use iPad thermal imaging application to show where heat is being
lost. (Remember – Red shows warm areas, blue shows cool
areas). Outline the area where heat is transferred the most in red.
Outline the area where heat is transferred the least in blue
16. Once all of your data is completely filled out complete your
conclusion using conclusion tips on the next page and answer the
analysis questions also on the next page.
Rough Draft: Title Page
 Make sure your title page includes:
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Name
Period
Due Date
Title
Lab Partners (first and last names)
Rough Draft: Purpose and
Hypothesis
 Purpose: The purpose of this lab is…
To construct a model home and to understand how heat travels
and the importance of insulating our homes
 Hypothesis: You will be making two GROUP hypotheses. The first
hypothesis will be answered before starting the design process.
The second hypothesis will be answered after your group has
established the insulator they will be using. The questions you will
be answering are:
 Where do you think the most heat loss is going to come from
(door/window, roof, wall cracks)
 Knowing your insulator - do you think there will still be heat loss after
you insulate?
Rough Draft: Materials, Data and
Observation
 Materials: Make sure to list in a bulleted format. Include ALL
materials used to design, insulate and construct your model home.
You should cross-reference with your lab partners.
 Data and Observations: You will fill out the data table provided to
you with temperature readings before and after insulation. You
will also calculate the temperature change to identify where the
most thermal energy was conserved.
 Also – include any observations you experience and discuss with your
lab group. (Examples: What you would do differently, did any errors
occur during construction and insulation, etc)
Rough Draft: Conclusion
 Conclusion tips:
 Restate your purpose
 State and Explain whether your hypotheses were correct or incorrect
(address both hypotheses)
 Explain how heat travels
 Which area of the house released the most heat and which area of the
house released the least amount of heat WITHOUT the insulator.
 Explain which area of the house released the most heat and which area
of the house released the least amount of heat WITH the insulator.
(Use data to support your reasoning).
 What could you have done differently to better insulate your house?
Explain. (would you use other insulators?)
 Compare and contrast the heat loss before and after insulating your
model home (use data such as temperatures and thermal imaging
outlines)
Rough Draft: Analysis
 Analysis Questions:
 What does the temperature change suggest about the
importance of insulating your own home (before using the
insulator and after using the insulator)?
 Explain how thermal energy is connected to you – how do you
use and benefit from thermal energy?
 Why is insulating your house (conserving energy) so important
in the WINTER and the SUMMER?
Part IV: Honors Application
Power Point Presentation
Guidelines on what to include:
 Title Slide
 Name of Project
 Group members names (first and last)
Part IV: Honors Application
 Body Slides
Each group will be researching one energy efficient product that
will be assigned to them by Ms. Bormann. You will be answering
the essential questions provided, but add as much information and
knowledge on the product that you would like. You must include
but are not limited to 3 slides for this portion of your power point.
You must include:
 Name of product ________________________.
 What makes this product efficient?
 Compare this energy efficient product to its counterpart (the non-energy
efficient product).
 What are the benefits of this product?
 What are the disadvantages of this product?
 By using this product would you be saving a significant amount of money?
 Do you think it is worth it to buy into this product?
 *Include at least 3 pictures throughout this part of your power point*
Part IV: Honors Application
 Body Slides Continued
Create a design for an energy efficient product that uses less
energy in your home and promote it to the class.
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Name of product (any name you want)
Product design (can be on power point, poster, sketch, etc.)
Identify how the design is conserving energy
New energy efficient products are often expensive – convince the class
why they should buy your product (even if it is a little pricey!)
 Conclusion Slide
 Explain how the STEM lab has helped you realize the importance
of conserving energy.
Honors Rubric: Out of 39 Points
STEM Rubric: Out of 30 Points
Cross Curricular: Science/German
 A Brief History of Fahrenheit and Celsius
 Fahrenheit (symbol °F) is a temperature scale based on one
proposed in 1724 by the German physicist Daniel Gabriel
Fahrenheit (1686–1736), after whom the scale is named. According
to a story and trivia question in Germany, Fahrenheit actually chose
the lowest air temperature measured in his
hometown Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) in winter 1708/09 as 0°F
and “blood heat”, or the body temperature, was set at 100°F. The
boiling point of water was then set at 212°F to provide 180 degrees
of separation between the freezing and boiling points of water at
sea level and standard atmospheric pressure. The scientific
definition of the Fahrenheit scale has changed since but the basic
range is still used today.
…a brief history continued
 Celsius (°C), is a scale for measuring temperature. It is named after the Swedish
astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale in
1742 but in reverse (0 was boiling and 100 was freezing). In 1744, coincident with the
death of Anders Celsius, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) (yes, that
one – the father of modern taxonomy) reversed Celsius's scale. He had a custommade "linnaeus-thermometer" created for use in his greenhouses reverse the original
Celsius scale to the one we are familiar with today.
 From 1743 until 1954, 0°C was defined as the freezing point of water and 100 °C was
defined as the boiling point of water, both at a pressure of one standard
atmosphere. This, too, was later refined and redefined with lots scientific “stuff” but
the basic scale still stands.
 By the end of the 20th century, most countries throughout the world, except in the
United States, Belize, Palau and the United States territories of Puerto Rico, Guam
and the US Virgin Islands, the Celsius temperature scale is used for practically all
purposes. The only exceptions are some specialist fields (e.g. low-temperature
physics, astrophysics, light temperature in photography) where the closely related
Kelvin scale dominates instead. But Kelvin is a whole different story – but it does
start at absolute zero where all atomic activity freezes. Brrrrr.
 In science class – you will create a “Temperature Rainbow” as displayed
above. You will include the Celsius scale by 10’s. the Fahrenheit
conversions above the bar and the German descriptors for the various
temperature ranges listed as headings above the Fahrenheit
temperatures. Your science teacher will provide with additional direction.