Science and engineering offer ways to maintain the thermal comfort of our homes while minimizing impacts on the environment. This article introduces the Energy-Plus House Design Project, an NGSS-aligned curriculum unit developed to inspire and prepare high school students for tackling this challenge. In this project, students learn and practice science and engineering by designing a house that generates more renewable energy than it consumes over the course of a year (hence known as an energy-plus house). Students use a free, Web-based computer-aided design tool called Aladdin to create realistic-looking 3D house models, simulate their energy generation and consumption, and analyze the results to evaluate their energy performance and find clues for improvements. The unit covers design specifications, passive and active heating and cooling design strategies, and the interdependencies of design variables within the house as a system. Students collect quantitative evidence from simulation results, make trade-off decisions among multiple criteria and constraints, and explain their design solutions in a final presentation.
Sereiviene, E., Ding, X., Jiang, R., Bulseco, D., & Xie, C. (2025). Learning science and engineering by designing sustainable houses. The Science Teacher, 92(3), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00368555.2025.2469120