Trine University sophomores, from left, Jimmy Halvorsen of Zionsville, Austin Mazura
of Westfield, Justin McConnell of Auburn and Josh Cerda of Fayette, Ohio, stand with
the model home they designed for competition in the university’s MAE 202 class. The
group had the best home out of five submitted. Mechanical engineering majors were
tasked with designing a 1/12-scale model home designed to maintain an internal temperature
between 74 and 80 degrees using only passive solar heating and the design of the home.
Other factors considered included cost and weight. A lamp with four 1,000-watt bulbs
was used to simulate sunlight to test the designs. As part of the project, students
in the class toured Cardinal Glass Industries in Fremont, which donated glass for
students to use in their model homes.
Photo by Dean Orewiler