Sophia Masciarelli

Engineering Design Process Reflection

Energy and Sustainability
Due 04.19.17

Problem:
In the design and construction process, the main problem I faced was was a lack of hot glue. I
had some, but not enough to fashion all of the walls and the roof securely together. I needed to
find a way to join these seams without glue, atleast in my initial model until I could acquire some
more glue.

Solution:
My solution to this problem was to cut notches and grooves alternating on each walls so I could
hitch the seams together like Lincoln Logs. I knew that while this would provide a very sturdy
house, it definitely would not be the most efficient in retaining heat.
(insert image here)

Reflection:
I was correct in that this design did not retain heat very well. In my redesign I made sure to have
ample hot glue on hand in order to seal all of these walls together. Observe the difference in
temperature values of the original model compared to the new model with airtight wall joints.

ORIGINAL

Location of reading Temperature (in)

Inside of house 25.8

At wall-wall seam (0 in) 24.9

First Interval (3 in) 22.3

Second Interval (6 in) 22.0

Control 19.7

REDESIGN
 Sophia Masciarelli
Engineering Design Process Reflection
Energy and Sustainability
Due 04.19.17

Location of reading Temperature (in)

Inside of house 25.9

At wall-wall seam (0 in) 21.0

First Interval (3 in) 20.4

Second Interval (6 in) 19.9

Control 19.6

The new model is hot inside of the building, while outside, temperatures remain fairly close to
the control reading (ambient temperature of the room). In the inefficient building, we see that the
surrounding air around the house is hot, heat is being leaked at a significantly higher rate.

Images

Old Wall Seam New Wall Seam