EXPERIMENT 4

Building and Weatherizing a Model House

You will need: one 4’ x 8’ sheet of ¼" plywood, finished one side; about 100’ feet of 1” x 2” furring strip; one pound of 1½" nails; about 9 square feet of foam pads (¾" thick) or insulation; a small bag of loose insulation; a 9’ x 12’ heavy-duty clear plastic dropcloth; thumb-tacks; glue; tape; 8’ of adhesive-backed weatherstripping ¾" wide; and a saw, hammer, and pair of pliers.

     Your home loses heat in winter (or gains it in summer) in twomain ways. Conduction occurs when heat moves directly through ceilings, walls, and windows from the warmer to the cooler side. Insulation makes a big difference in fighting conduction. Infiltration occurs when cold air leaks in while hot air leaks out (or vice versa) through cracks around doors and windows, or in the foundation or siding. Weatherstripping and caulking, especially around doors and windows, stop excessiveinfiltration.

     In this experiment you will build and weatherize what is practically a model of a real, one-story house. In Experiment 5, we will convert that house into a small solar garden. These experiments will illustrate some important energy principles.

     As you can see, the experiments will require a considerable amount of wood and effort (and probably some occasional advice). Therefore, you may want to consider teaming up with some friends to share the work and the expense. The model house and solar garden would make an excellent class project, especially if you could use the school workshop.