Green-Building

Name: Date: Period:

Science Simulations, Technology Simulations, Engineering Simulations, Mathematics Simulations

Lesson 2: Going All Glass

Many modern architects use large amounts of glass as an exterior building material to add to the beauty and appeal of their buildings. Are architects using glass because it is less expensive than other building materials, are they using glass for its look, or are there energy savings with the use of glass exteriors? In this lesson, you’ll investigate the use of glass in buildings to find out if going all glass makes sense.

Doing the science

Start the Green Building Simulation by clicking on the “Simulation” tab.
Select the “Window” icon from the bottom left-hand corner of the Green Building screen.
Increase the amount of “Natural Lighting” by 5% by selecting the “Up” green arrow.
Select the “Run” button at the bottom of the screen.
Record in Table 1 the “Lighting Energy Usage” amount.
Repeat steps 3 - 5 until Table 1 is completed.

Table 1. Lighting Energy Usage

Percent Natural Lighting	Lighting Energy Usage
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
30
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100

Do You Understand?

A rule of thumb is that lighting costs are about 9% of the total energy usage each day and HVAC (heating and cooling) costs are about 46% of the total usage. If the building in the simulation used 100% natural lighting, what would the total energy usage of HVAC be each day?

What were the total energy and natural resources savings for all of the green features in the building? If possible, calculate the possible total dollar savings as a result of the building’s green features.