This
February,
the
second
year
Architectural
Engineering
students
designed,
constructed,
and
tested
miniature
façades
with
the
aim
to
reduce
electricity
consumption
due
to
heating
but
also
avoid
overheating
due
to
excessive
solar
gains
through
windows.
Students
were
assigned
a
window-to-wall
ratio
and
challenged
to
consider
the
effects
of
both
heat
loss
and
solar
heat
gains
on
indoor
occupant
comfort.
This
resulted
in
some
interesting
façade
material
choices
and
some
innovative
shading
device
designs.
This
transdisciplinary
activity
bridges
the
gap
between
the
knowledge
of
heat
transfer
fundamentals
and
building
façade
design
learned
in
AE280
(Fluid
Mechanics
and
Thermal
Sciences)
and
AE200
(Enclosure
Design
Studio)
this
term.
The
miniature
facades
were
tested
outdoors
for
five
days
on
the
EIT
3rd
floor
patio,
on
a
test
set
up
that
was
funded
and
built
with
the
support
of
the
Ideas
Clinic,
the
Engineering
Machine
Shop,
the
CEE
Technical
team,
and
WEEF.
The
students
and
course
instructors
would
like
to
thank
the
EIT
community
for
hosting
us,
and
the
whole
support
team
for
making
this
lab
happen.
