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This website features work from the completion of Phase 1 of the SCALES Project.

We are currently seeking partnerships for Phase 2.

Undergraduate

  • Designing a PV System (Assignment 4)

    During assignment 1 you determined how much electricity you have used at some point in your life living in an apartment or house. In this assignment you are going to design a PV system that yields the same amount of electricity over the course of a year and calculate the simple payback time required to get your investment back. The assignment is broken into three parts. 

    Read more: Designing a PV System (Assignment 4)

  • Visual and Thermal Comfort (Assignment 3)

    The objectives of this assignment are for you to develop a feeling for indoor environmental variables that have an impact on thermal comfort and to compare your personal sensation to comfort predictions based on thermal and lighting standards. The assignment is split into two components:  

    • Task A: Using a data logger, measure “your life” on a psychrometric chart over a couple of days.  
    • Task B: Measure indoor environmental conditions in two spaces that you find comfortable and uncomfortable and compare your assessments to that of current thermal comfort standards. 
    Read more: Visual and Thermal Comfort (Assignment 3)

  • Shading Studies & Sun Path Diagrams (Assignment 2)

    The objective of this assignment is to validate the results of direct shading studies provided by DIVA/Radiance and other tools. To do so, you are asked to take a photo of an object of your choice outside at least twice at different times of day under clear sky conditions. You are then asked to model the object in Rhino and generate two clear sky visualizations under the same sky conditions from about the same perspective as the photo. 

    Read more: Shading Studies & Sun Path Diagrams (Assignment 2)

  • My Energy Essay (Assignment 1)

     In this first assignment you are invited to reflect about your past and envision your future building energy use.

    Read more: My Energy Essay (Assignment 1)

  • Term Project

    The purpose of the term projects is to research and study an energy conversion technology in greater depth than possible in class. The project should incorporate thermodynamic analysis if dealing with thermal energy as well as the energy source/fuel, methods of conversion, targeted power range, political and economic constraints, and competing technologies. A technical report and a presentation session will be the final deliverables for the project.

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  • Homework 5

    Problem set from the class Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion.

    Read more: Homework 5

  • Homework 4

    Problem set with calculations from the Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion course at MIT. 

    Read more: Homework 4

  • Homework 3

    Problem set from the class Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion at MIT.

    Read more: Homework 3

  • Homework 2

    Problem set from the class Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion at MIT.

    Read more: Homework 2

  • Homework 1

    Problem set from the class Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion at MIT.

    Read more: Homework 1

Notice something that doesn’t seem right? Want to make a suggestion or provide feedback about how something is classified? 
Please reach out to esi [at] mit.edu and include SCALES Website in the subject of your email.
Feedback and any actions taken with regards to the feedback, will be shared as they are addressed.