Insulation Material:
We used a piece of a T-shirt on top of a piece of copy paper as our insulation material.
Data Collection:
Pre-test:
In test:
Design Evaluation Calculations:
Conclusion:
1. Explain how your house might lose energy through radiation, convection, and conduction. Radiation is, the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization. Thermal energy might escape the box by radiating out through the walls, top, insulation, and bottom. Convection is, the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat. Since the hotter air gets, the less dense it gets, it rises. So the hotter air, heated by the light bulb will rise up to the top of the box and escape through the insulation or slight gap between the top and the walls of the box. Conduction is, the process by which heat is directly transmitted through a substance when there is a difference of temperature between adjoining regions, without movement of the material. Heat generated by the light bulb might escape by heat transfer from the light bulb, through the socket, through the insulating material in the bottom, and into the cooler table in contact with the box underneath.
2. What modifications could be made to your team’s insulation design that allow for more energy efficiency? We could insulate the sides and bottom of the box better to prevent heat loss through radiation. We could seal the top with our insulation better to prevent heat loss through convection. We could also insulate between the bottom of the light socket and the bottom of the box to prevent conduction heat transfer as described in question 1.
2. What modifications could be made to your team’s insulation design that allow for more energy efficiency? We could insulate the sides and bottom of the box better to prevent heat loss through radiation. We could seal the top with our insulation better to prevent heat loss through convection. We could also insulate between the bottom of the light socket and the bottom of the box to prevent conduction heat transfer as described in question 1.