ResThermoVR: Development and Assessment of VR Educational Tool

Abstract

Understanding building energy simulation poses a significant challenge due to the intricate nature of energy modeling principles, particularly among secondary school students who form the groundwork for addressing climate change. Raising awareness about energy consumption and wastage among students at an early educational stage holds paramount importance for the future environmental well-being. This stems from the fact that individuals commonly encounter difficulty in concretely grasping the extent of their energy usage. This research endeavor seeks to tackle this challenge by conceptualizing and assessing an educational tool in the realm of Virtual Reality (VR) named ResThermoVR. The central objective of ResThermoVR is to augment students' comprehension of diverse aspects, including building thermal behavior, operational and embodied energy of buildings, and the associated carbon footprint linked to environmental consequences. The meticulous development of ResThermoVR from the ground up aligns with the goals and aims of this study. It introduces a distinct VR environment that facilitates interaction with nine distinct simulation scenarios. These scenarios encompass a variety of factors influencing building performance, ranging from alterations in architectural design to modifications in construction materials. This prototype stands as an inventive pedagogical medium, plunging students into the intricacies of a building's energy usage and its ecological consequence. The immersive and captivating nature of this experience contributes to expounding complex concepts. The primary purpose of the prototype development revolves around exploring the high school architecture courses curriculums for refining the prototype with focus of delivering appropriate content for students’ study which will assist the subsequent assessments, and evaluations of the prototype.