You build the Energy House in stages. Each time you do an experiment you change it a little. That way you can see how each change makes the house work a little differently. You start with a cardboard box. These plans are based on a "shell", which is a case for beer bottles that is the same everyhere in the U.S.A. Shells are made of a durable kind of cardboard, so they make a good strong model. But you don't have to use a shell if you can't get one. If you use a different sized cardboard box, just change the measurements of the pieces that are given here so that the pieces fit. Of course, you can decorate your Energy House in any way you like! Click here to see photos of an Energy House that we made.

Here are some of the stages that the Energy House goes through:

This is how the Energy House looks before Experiment 1, with the roof supports in, and no windows.	The Energy House before Experiment 2, with the windows cut out.
The Energy House before Experiment 5, with double pane windows, insulation and roof put on.	The Energy House before Experiment 12, with a fabric awning.

 

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