Habitat For Humanity
December 14, 2001
Team Organization
Web / Architectural Team Prathima
Venkatesan Jimmy Johnson Berook Moges Sam Jin Renae Hopf
Energy Efficiency Team Anshul
Mangal Matt Selvey Rachel Austin Chris Costanzo
Team Leader – Jimmy Johnson
Overview Web / Architectural
Database and Bar Coding System Volunteer Tutorials
Energy Efficiency Setback Thermostats Solar Fan
Point of Sales Database Purpose
Track inventory and donors in the Habitat resale store
Increase the organization and maintainability of the resale store
Potential addition to resale stores at other HFH locations
Point of Sales Database Status
Database currently being tested by Habitat Database will be updated based on
Habitat’s feedback Bar Coding System being designed and
developed Bar Coding System
Utilize hand held bar code scanner w/ keyboard wedge
Bar code labeling software Interface to database using Visual Basic
Point of Sales Database Design
Users will login into system User information stored in separate
database Once logged in users will be interfaced
with product database Users will be able to view, edit, delete,
and add new product information Options available based on privileges
Point of Sales Database Users will also be able to search and
display specific information Each product will be labeled with
unique bar code Status
Login functional but needs more error checking
Product information viewable but not yet searchable or editable
Point of Sales Database Future
Donor and invoice interfacing to be added Login and product information interface
to be completed early next semester Testable version for Habitat Resale store
ready by middle of next semester Demo
Volunteer Tutorials Purpose
Train volunteers online using text and videos so time is not wasted during home construction
Status 16 text tutorials are currently
accessible thru web Drywall, Framing, and Felt paper
video is added to revised tutorials
Volunteer Tutorials Updated tutorials
http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu/hfh/web_project/HCG/construction_tutorial.htm
Future plans Continue adding video with captions
to more of the text tutorials Add voice recording to videos
Setback Thermostat Purpose
Lower energy usage of the house by implementing temperature control thermostats
Meet with homeowners and give them an orientation on the thermostat.
Honeywell T8600 Chronotherm III Thermostat
Installed Spring 2001 in 3 Lafayette homes (1211 Washington, 1213 Washington and 255 Green St.)
Homeowners trained to use thermostat with tutorial
Data collection throughout heating months
Set-Back Thermostat
Programmable thermostats can lower energy use in home
Modeled in Energy-10
software package
Honeywell T8600 Chronotherm III Thermostat
Weekday/Saturday-Sunday programming
Temporary override Vacation override User Friendly Donated by Honeywell
to Habitat International
Orientation with Homeowners Gauged homeowners knowledge of
thermostats in general. Weekday Habits
Talked about their work and sleep habits
Any children? Weekend habits Other features of the thermostat
(Vacation settings, etc.)
Data Collection Monthly contact with homeowners Collected quantity of energy
“therms” in units of DTH 1 DTH = 1,000,000 BTU’s This was done to avoid changing
gas prices per unit in the analysis
Energy-10 Energy-10 software can identify the best
combination of energy-efficient strategies, including day lighting, passive solar heating, and high-efficiency mechanical systems
Can be input with different specifications that pertain to the houses we are analyzing.
Will be used with setback thermostat settings as well as non-setback thermostat settings. (benchmarks)
Data Analysis Data collection will last throughout
the heating season. Collected data will be compared
with and plotted against Energy-10 simulated data
Energy savings will be determined
Problems This winter has been unseasonably warm and
may not reflect normal winter heating In a report by “The Daily News Tribune” Lisa
Glover, a Commonwealth Gas spokesperson claims that “Residential heating bills could be as much as 17 percent lower than last winter.”
Because of this the team will have to consider further analysis continuing through another winter
Solar Powered Attic Fan Purpose
To provide cost effective and low maintenance solution to having low air circulation in a habitat for humanity home
Provide insight into bigger projects involving solar energy
Design flaws with previous fan Size of Solar Panels AC to DC conversion Cost
Solar Powered Attic Fan
Solar Powered Attic Fan How it works
Solar Panel w/ tracking system - Charge Controller - Battery - Fan
Problems Charge controller not fully functional Integration of tracking system Mounting of fan on a roof of a actual habitat
home
Solar Powered Attic Fan Future Plans
Continue working on a fully functional and tested model of the fan
Mount on roof of resale store Collect data from resale store to see what
type of a difference the attic-fan is making
Team Conclusions
Arch/Web Team Resale Database
Updated database is currently being tested by Habitat
Future implementation of Bar Coding System
Tutorials Continue to update, revise, and add to current
tutorials Research best way to present materials Continue to integrate video with current text
tutorials
Team Conclusions
Energy Team Setback Thermostat:
Energy bills will be collected and analyzed Energy-10 analysis will be done Estimated $50 - $80 savings a year
Solar Power Exhaust Fan