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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.

Modeling/Simulation

  • Assignment 8

    The fourth week of our airflow lab is in two phases: 

    1. Please prepare an occupants’ manual for your Chinese apartment. Passively conditioned buildings require occupant involvement, much more than buildings with mechanical systems that ensure thermostat set points are maintained. Your apartment occupants can inhabit any of the rooms and can adjust the balcony openings and apartment windows and doors in a number of ways, for different wind and outdoor temperature conditions. 
    2. Please consider the effect of airflow on the rate at which a miniature structure (even smaller than our elf houses) cools off. This is intended to combine thermal and airflow analysis.
    Read more: Assignment 8

  • Assignment 7

    The third week of our airflow lab focuses on simulation:

    1. Prepare to use the CONTAMW airflow simulation program, installed on two working computers in lab and available free to all with Windows computers. 
    2. Become proficient in CONTAMW by completing the provided worksheet.
    3. Use CONTAMW for the following investigation of your apartment-balcony, working at full (and not model) scale:
    Read more: Assignment 7

  • Assignment 5

    The goal of this assignment, the first phase of the lab project that focuses on airflows and building ventilation, is to design, construct in model form, and test an enclosure (partial or full) for a typical balcony for a Chinese apartment. The motivation for this work is to propose feasible designs for Chinese residential buildings that are thermally comfortable and use a minimal amount of energy.

    Read more: Assignment 5

  • Assignment 3

    The third phase of our first lab consists of six parts: 

    1. Submit your estimate of your elf-house temperatures for the first test period.
    2. Download data.
    3. Modify your elf house as needed to keep the indoor temperature closer to the target value of 20°C. 
    4. Re-install the Hobo loggers and again deploy your house on the roof.
    5. Estimate the impact of solar energy absorbed on walls and the roof.  
    6. Use Solar Calculator 2 to design a full-size dwelling (single room is fine), subject to the same goal of a constant 20°C indoor temperature under February weather. 
    Read more: Assignment 3

  • Homework 15: Map Somerville tree data

    Use Tableau or CartoDB to make a map of the Somerville MA tree data

    Read more: Homework 15: Map Somerville tree data

  • Simulation Game Analysis (Assignment 8)

    The objective of the game is to redesign your class project, with the lowest possible operational Source Energy Use Intensity (Source EUI, kWh/m2) as simulated in DIVA/Archsim/EnergyPlus. Starting off with an approximate thermal model of your latest design from Assignment 6, your task is to create a version of your building with the lowest Source EUI and a purchasing budget at or under $50 MIT dollars. The team with the largest proportional EUI reduction vis-à-vis their baseline design wins. Follow all rules below. When time is up (after 80 minutes), your team must save all of your files and submit them along with a detailed description of your final designs and how you arrived at your best performing iteration.

    Read more: Simulation Game Analysis (Assignment 8)

  • Energy Explorations (Assignment 7)

    Now that you have a well daylit, visually comfortable building with an electric lighting design in place, we are turning our attention towards evaluating and improving the energy performance of your design. In this assignment you will first create a baseline energy model of your building and then explore various energy updates.

    Read more: Energy Explorations (Assignment 7)

  • Visual Comfort and Electric Lighting (Assignment 6)

    The goal of this assignment is check your final daylighting design from Assignment 5 for potential areas of glare and remedy them as well as to design an electric lighting concept for your design. As a target level, the electric lighting should provide around 300lux on all key working surfaces and around 150lux in all circulation areas.

    Read more: Visual Comfort and Electric Lighting (Assignment 6)

  • Daylight Availability Study (Assignment 5)

    In this assignment you will start working in groups on your final course project which is the development of an environmental design concept for an about 3500m2 innovation/startup space located in either Chicago, Houston or Seattle, depending on which city you previously signed up for. Your building should accommodate work spaces for around 250 workers, a reception area, lavatory, two seminar rooms and a cafe (optional). It is up to you to define the final program. You may pick any available site within your city and should also consider external factors such as a site’s walkscore etc. Remember to include neighboring buildings in your shading and daylighting analysis. The goal of this first assignment is to develop and evaluate a series of massing options and façade designs that you will then further refine in future assignments.

    Read more: Daylight Availability Study (Assignment 5)

  • 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)

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.