Background

A system in the home is any class of functions that are done in the normal day-to-day operation of the home. For example, these systems can be found in a typical private home: the kitchen system for the storage and preparation of food, and the disposal of waste; the heating and air-conditioning system is for heating and cooling the interior of the home; the security system is for securing the home from intruders; and so forth. An eco-house is an environmentally friendly home designed and built using materials and methods to reduce its carbon footprint and lower its energy needs. Eco-houses will meet environmental sustainability needs such as water conservation, reducing waste, controlling pollution to limit global warming, energy generation and conservation, and decreasing CO2 emissions. Eco-houses can include any of the following: high levels of thermal insulation, excellent air-tightness, good passive solar performance, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, heating from renewable sources, photovoltaic panels, and so forth.
​​​​​​​A smart electronic device is a useful instrument, machine, or gadget that is controlled by electronic circuitry microcontroller boards, or sometimes by a single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and that perform only a few limited functions. We have many different kinds of devices at home, on our person, or at school to perform useful work for us, or to provide us with information, in order to increase our well-being.
 

The design brief

Design an eco-house system to reduce the environmental impact of future houses in the region where you live, for a socio-economic group of your choosing. Your design concept may address any number of sub-systems of the house, such as: insulation, roof, walls, windows, heating, cooling, electricity, water, kitchen, bathroom, garden, waste collection, and so forth. You may work on any system of the house, or sub-system, or combination, as long as it gives environmental benefits. Build a small-scale model of your eco-house system to demonstrate your design concept to your fellow students and teachers. Alternatively, you may build a computer-aided design (CAD) model of your design concept, if you prefer. Work on this project in a team with a group of your classmates.
 

The design thinking process

​​​​​​​Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
 

Note for teachers

Undertaking a student design project using electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• ​​​​​​​and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the PROTOTYPE Stage for Level IV to safely supervise this design project.