CE 51500 – Building Energy Audits

Credits and contact hours:

Specific course information:

Catalog description: This course is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to perform a full energy audit on commercial and residential buildings. Energy accounting procedures for electrical, mechanical and HVAC systems will be covered in detail, along with operational cost analysis of these systems. Students will learn fundamental techniques for analyzing thermal energy flows in buildings, and will apply these techniques to the energy auditing process.
Prerequisites: CE 413 – Building Envelope Design and Thermal Loads (may be taken concurrently) CE 414 – Building Mechanical and Electrical System Design or Graduate standing
Course status: Elective course

Specific Goals for the course:

Student learning outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course the student shall be able to:
- Analyze utility tariffs and rate structures for electricity and natural gas, and use the information to help guide energy audits.
- Perform an energy audit of all major building subsystems, including the building envelope, electrical and lighting systems, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, internal thermal loads, and building maintenance and operation procedures.
- Numerically model the energy consumption of each of the building subsystems, and run parametric studies to determine and recommend appropriate energy conservation measures.
Relationship of course to program outcomes
- Outcome 1: An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.

Topics: