Part G: Design a Scale Model Using the information you’ve gathered, design a scale blueprint of the floors in your home.

Determine a layout for the home and the area in square feet for each room. For square- or rectangle-shaped rooms, multiply the room’s length by its width. You can also use a measuring tape to measure the length and width of the rooms in your own home to help determine the area each room should be. Calculate the total square feet of the home to make sure the entire area of the home is reasonable for the ZIP code.

Next, determine the scale for the dimensions. According to the dimensions of the house in the sample diagram shown, the home’s length and width (including the solar panel) will both be 34 feet.

The given grid measures 27 boxes by 20 boxes. Because the dimensions of the house in the blueprint need to be 34 feet by 34 feet, the dimensions of the house need to be scaled down to fit on the grid. So, the scale for the length and width of the blueprint is 1 box = 2 feet. If your house has more than one floor, adjust the scale and make a separate layout for each floor.

Your basic floor plan should look similar to this one:

After completing the floor plan, it’s up to you to decide the best way to show the eco-friendly features of your home. You could write descriptions directly in the diagram or use symbols or numbers and create a key. Most importantly, your diagram should be easy to read and understand.

Draw the scale diagram of your home on the grid. Your drawing should include these features:

the scale
the actual length and width of each room
labels for each room
symbols to indicate the locations of eco-friendly features