Energy Conversion for Buildings

Course Description

This comprehensive course, "Energy Conversion for Buildings," is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the supply side of buildings' energy chain. It offers an in-depth exploration of various energy conversion systems, their working principles, and how to effectively combine them to meet a building's energy demands while minimizing costs and environmental impact.

What Students Will Learn

• Different heating, cooling, and electricity generation systems and their working principles
• How to use efficiency concepts to estimate primary energy usage and carbon emissions
• Principles of cogeneration for heat/cold and heat/power, and managing supply-demand mismatches
• Practical applications of rational energy use
• Utilization of load curves from energy demand profiles to select optimal combinations of energy conversion systems

Prerequisites

This is an introductory-level course with no specific prerequisites. However, a basic understanding of physics and mathematics would be beneficial.

Course Content

• Natural resource conversion into building energy (heat, cold, electricity)
• Energy efficiency concepts and calculations
• Single heating systems (electrical, gas, biomass, solar, geothermal)
• Single cooling systems (evaporative cooling, environmental cold)
• Combined heat and cold production systems
• Heat pump principles and performance optimization
• Aquifer Thermal Storage systems
• Electricity generation methods (wind turbines, hydro turbines, photovoltaics, hydrogen fuel cells)
• Cogeneration of heat and power
• Integration of multiple energy conversion systems
• Energy resource management and carbon emission reduction strategies

Who This Course Is For

• Architecture and engineering students
• Building professionals and contractors
• Energy consultants and managers
• Sustainability enthusiasts
• Anyone interested in energy-efficient building design and management

Real-World Applications

• Designing energy-efficient buildings with optimal energy conversion systems
• Retrofitting existing buildings to improve energy performance
• Conducting energy audits and proposing cost-effective improvements
• Developing sustainable energy strategies for buildings and communities
• Advising clients on energy-saving measures and carbon emission reduction
• Contributing to policy development for energy-efficient building regulations
• Implementing innovative energy solutions in construction projects

Course Context

This course is part of the Professional Certificate in Buildings as Sustainable Energy Systems. The program includes other courses that cover designing buildings with low energy demand, creating comfortable indoor environments, and controlling and optimizing HVAC systems. This course on Energy Conversion for Buildings complements these other courses by focusing on the supply side of the energy chain, providing a comprehensive understanding of sustainable energy systems in buildings.