RC 328 - Sustainable Buildings Energy Management & Controls

3 Credits

Outline Effective Date 2024 Fall
2024/2025

Lecture Hours: 45
Course Description:
This course aims to introduce students to the growing field of building energy management, controls and integrating sustainable technologies into commercial and industrial construction. This introductory course exposes students to advanced energy metering, controls, automation, and energy management systems, including sustainable energy generation, combined heat and power, grid power integration, onsite energy storage and optimized energy use, building management, energy conservation measures and control programming.

Rationale:
This is an introductory course for Sustainable Energy Technology diploma students aiming to expose graduates to digital controls and automation, building operations, maintenance and components required to integrate sustainable energy technologies into building automation systems. The industry is growing as high-performance buildings rely more on sustainable energy generation, combined heat and power, grid power price point automation, onsite energy storage and optimized energy use, including building management, energy conservation measures, commercial and industrial heating and cooling equipment and onsite generation.

Prerequisites: RC 200
Corequisites: None

Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Understand and Review Mechanical and Smart Building BMS Codes & Standards
Demonstrate Functional Understanding of Building Management System Controls
Development of Energy Conservation Measures Through BMS Data Analysis
Understand Technical Communication Drawings, Control Specifications and Single-Line Diagrams.
Discover Impact and Benefits of Early Fault Detection and Asset Management Reporting
Understand Onsite Generation, Storage, Advanced Metering and Grid Integrations
Understand Dashboards and Displays Precedents for Creating Energy Management System Illustrations
Review Input Output Needs for Industrial Metering, Combined Heat and Power Fundamentals

Required Resource Materials:
The Following texts are made available electronically. Various other digital learning resources are made available online through course links or Lakeland Library as identified therein.

ATP: Building Controls 1st Edition (2014)
Green Energy & Technology:  Active Building Energy Systems, Operation and Control (2022)

What to Bring:

Laptop computer, dedicated Monitor
Online meeting tools, including web camera, microphone and access to Desire to Learn (D2L), MS Teams / Google Meets / other as needed.

Optional Resource Materials:
None

Conduct of Course:
This course consists of the equivalent of 45 hours of lecture, delivered in a self-learning environment using an online learning management system. The course is delivered over a set 8-week period. Course content modules and links to some of the assigned readings will be available on-line. A course facilitator will be available to guide the learner through the course, answer any questions, and grade assignments.

Active participation is required in all courses within the Sustainable Energy Technology certificate and diploma programs. Each facilitator designates these requirements through the use of tools within the management system and personal contact with learners.

These expectations can be given marks as part of the assessment process. Each course outlines these expectations within the course structure.

Attendance is considered vital to the learning process. Absenteeism is recorded. For example, if a discussion forum is organized; the learner is expected to attend as per the guidelines set by the facilitator.

NOTE: Any exceptions to the above attendance policy (e.g., timetable conflicts, work-related issues) must be approved in writing by the Department Chair prior to the beginning of the course.

It is the students’ responsibility to know their own absentee record.

Content of Course:

Module 1: Introduction to Sustainable Building Systems, Codes and Standards

Module 2: Building Systems and Energy Management Controls

Module 3: Building Management Systems Energy Conservation Measures

Module 4: Building Management Systems Technical Documentation and Communications

Module 5: Fault Detection and Asset Management Reporting

Module 6: Onsite Generation, Storage, Advanced Metering and Grid Integrations

Module 7: Building Energy Management Systems Dashboards and Displays

Module 8: Fundamentals of Integrating Combined Heat and Power

Course Assessments:
Learners are expected review, read and complete module outline, learning activity and assignments for each module. All assignments are submitted electronically through the learning management system. Quizzes are taken on-line. Assignments are marked by the instructor and returned to the student with a grade and comments in the learning management system. Students can monitor their progress though the course using tools available in the learning management system. In order to complete the course on time, deadlines for assignments, exam, and projects are going to be enforced.

Module 1	5%
Module 2	20%
Module 3 & 4 (15% each)	30%
Module 5 & 6 (10% each)	20%
Module 7	15%
Module 8	10%
Total	100%

Course Pass Requirements:
A minimum grade of D (50%) (1.00) is required to pass this course. Students must maintain a cumulative grade of C (GPA - Grade Point Average of 2.00) in order to qualify to graduate.