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There are 6 modules in this course
Building energy systems have a profound impact on the human condition, providing a comfortable, healthy, and productive indoor environment for daily life, while being responsible for significant energy, environmental, and economic costs. Buildings must meet increasingly complex objectives to achieve greater electrification and decarbonization and respond to societal needs for affordable housing and changes in the use of commercial buildings. To design effective solutions and analyze their performance, both engineers and architects need to stand on a solid foundation of engineering fundamentals, which this course intends to impart. After reviewing the motivation, history, and trends in building energy system design, you will learn psychrometric applications and analysis, the climate factors that affect building system design, the application of heat transfer to building heat gains and losses, and the calculation of heating and cooling loads that drive the engineering design of building energy systems, covered in subsequent courses.
Welcome to Engineering Foundation for Building Energy Systems. Building energy systems have a long history of providing a comfortable, healthy, and productive indoor environment, but at significant cost. This module describes typical system configurations and equipment functionality as well as explores design goals and strategies for design optimization for the benefit of occupants, owners, society, and the environment.
What's included
8 videos4 readings1 assignment
Show info about module content
8 videos•Total 147 minutes
Specialization Introduction•3 minutes
Course Introduction•5 minutes
Building Energy Systems Impacts•24 minutes
Building Energy Systems Anatomy•30 minutes
Designing for a Regenerative Future - Part 1•22 minutes
Designing for a Regenerative Future - Part 2•22 minutes
Building Energy System Design Optimization - Part 1•23 minutes
Building Energy System Design Optimization - Part 2•18 minutes
4 readings•Total 14 minutes
Course Updates and Accessibility Support•1 minute
Module Introduction•5 minutes
Designing for a Regenerative Future•3 minutes
Building Energy System Design Optimization•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Introduction to Building Energy Systems•30 minutes
Psychrometric Applications and Performance Comparisons
Module 2•10 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will understand the thermodynamic properties of moist air and psychrometric processes and apply these principles to analyze the performance of building energy equipment and systems in response to building zone loads.
What's included
4 videos6 readings4 assignments
Show info about module content
4 videos•Total 91 minutes
Psychrometric Properties•21 minutes
Psychrometric Processes•29 minutes
Psychrometric Analysis•21 minutes
System Performance Comparisons•19 minutes
6 readings•Total 105 minutes
Psychrometrics•5 minutes
Sample Psychrometrics EES Code•10 minutes
Sample Psychrometrics Python Code•10 minutes
Psychrometric Properties•20 minutes
Psychrometric Processes•30 minutes
Psychrometric Analysis•30 minutes
4 assignments•Total 390 minutes
Psychrometric Properties•30 minutes
Psychrometric Processes•60 minutes
Psychrometric Analysis•60 minutes
Psychrometrics Graded Assignment•240 minutes
Outdoor Environment
Module 3•9 hours to complete
Module details
Building loads are driven by the external environment in the form of heat and mass exchange with outdoor air and heat gains from solar energy. In this module, you will calculate the impact of solar radiation on building heat transfer and understand the characteristics of design weather days for building energy system design.
What's included
5 videos8 readings5 assignments
Show info about module content
5 videos•Total 115 minutes
Connections among Modules 3, 4, and 5•10 minutes
Solar Position and Angles•32 minutes
Solar Radiation on Buildings•27 minutes
Clear Sky Solar Radiation Model•17 minutes
Weather and Climatic Design Data•28 minutes
8 readings•Total 100 minutes
Outdoor Environment•5 minutes
Resource: Climatic Design Data•5 minutes
Sample EES Clear Sky Radiation Code •10 minutes
Sample Python Clear Sky Radiation Code•10 minutes
Solar Position and Angles•30 minutes
Solar Radiation on Buildings•10 minutes
Clear Sky Solar Radiation Model•10 minutes
Weather and Climatic Design Data•20 minutes
5 assignments•Total 330 minutes
Solar Position and Angles•60 minutes
Solar Radiation on Buildings•60 minutes
Clear Sky Solar Radiation Model•60 minutes
Weather and Climatic Design Data•30 minutes
Outdoor Environment•120 minutes
Components of Building Heat Gain and Loss
Module 4•11 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will apply heat transfer methods to calculate both steady state and transient heat transmission through opaque and transparent construction elements as well as through infiltration and ventilation.
What's included
4 videos10 readings5 assignments
Show info about module content
4 videos•Total 102 minutes
Heat Transfer through Opaque Building Surfaces•31 minutes
Transient Heat Transfer through Opaque Building Surfaces•22 minutes
Windows and Internal Heat Gains•32 minutes
Infiltration and Ventilation Heat Gains•18 minutes
10 readings•Total 180 minutes
Components of Building Heat Gain and Loss•5 minutes
Heat Transfer Fundamentals•30 minutes
Sample EES Transient Heat Conduction Code•10 minutes
Heat Transfer through Opaque Building Surfaces•20 minutes
Transient Heat Transfer through Opaque Building Surfaces•45 minutes
Windows and Internal Heat Gain•20 minutes
Infiltration and Ventilation Heat Gain•20 minutes
5 assignments•Total 375 minutes
Heat Transfer through Opaque Surfaces•30 minutes
Transient Heat Transfer through Opaque Surfaces•180 minutes
Windows and Heat Gains•45 minutes
Ventilation Heat Gains•30 minutes
Components of Building Heat Gain and Loss•90 minutes
Heating and Cooling Loads
Module 5•8 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will apply methods from the previous modules to calculate design heating and cooling loads on building energy systems using alternative calculation strategies. You will analyze the impact of key variables on the design loads.
What's included
4 videos6 readings3 assignments
Show info about module content
4 videos•Total 103 minutes
Design Heating Load Analysis•16 minutes
Heat Balance Method using Thermal Network•37 minutes
This final exam comprehensively tests your understanding of all five modules of this course through a set of both conceptual and quantitative questions. Specifically, you can expect 11 multiple-choice conceptual and 3 quantitative questions. Some of the conceptual questions will involve simple arithmetic calculations, while for the quantitative questions, you will need to employ your computational tools that you developed for a) the Module 3 graded assessment questions on total clear sky solar radiation incident on a vertical building surface, b) the Module 4 graded assessment questions on transient heat transfer through opaque walls using the RC thermal networks, and c) the Module 5 graded assessment questions on design cooling loads. Review these tools and have them ready before you embark on the final exam.
What's included
1 reading1 assignment
Show info about module content
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Exam Information•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 120 minutes
Engineering Foundations for Building Energy Systems•120 minutes
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