Click on the tabs below to complete the tasks: Roof materials, Exterior colours, Shading, and Landscaping.
Colours and reflection can change conditions inside a space. When making choices about the roof of a building, it can be useful to understand which surfaces reflect heat and which surfaces absorb heat.
Click the image above to see more photos of students conducting the investigation
Open (Google Docs) this worksheet to complete the scientific investigation of the effects of roof colour and reflectance on internal building temperatures.
Sometimes we choose colours for buildings without considering how they might affect the temperature of rooms inside. It can be useful to understand which colours absorb more heat from the sun and which colours absorb less.
Open (Google Docs) this worksheet to complete the scientific investigation of the effects of colour on internal building temperatures.
Windows let in natural light, let us see out and allow the flow of air. We can control the amount of heat coming in or going out of windows by shading them. This is most often done with curtains, awnings, shutters or blinds.
Click the image above to see more photos of students making models to demonstrate the effects of shade.
Open (Google Docs) this worksheet to complete the scientific investigation of the effects of shading on internal building temperatures.
Landscaping around buildings, such as growing plants and trees, can improve comfort inside a building. Well-designed landscaping can block cold winds, cool hot summer winds, shade hot walls or reduce reflected sunlight. Deciduous trees and vines can provide shade in the summer and let in warming sunlight in the winter.
Open (Google Docs) this worksheet to complete the scientific investigation of the effects of landscaping on internal building temperatures.