Building Energy Systems Engineering: Sustainable Design Fundamentals

Modern buildings account for a massive portion of global energy consumption, making efficient system design critical for a sustainable future. Understanding how to analyze and engineer these systems is key to reducing carbon footprints and optimizing building performance. This text-only course guides you through the fundamental principles of building energy systems engineering, helping you transition from understanding basic thermodynamics to evaluating real-world HVAC, lighting, and renewable energy integration strategies. What you'll learn: - Understand foundational building thermodynamics, heat transfer principles, and psychrometrics. - Analyze heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system configurations for maximum efficiency. - Evaluate modern low-carbon technologies including heat pumps and high-efficiency thermal envelopes. - Assess building energy loads and ventilation requirements using standard engineering calculations. - Explore smart building management systems (BMS) and grid-interactive efficient building concepts. - Apply sustainable design strategies to minimize energy consumption and operational carbon. The course starts with essential terminology and physical laws governing heat and moisture before advancing to system-level design and modern decarbonization strategies. Through clear written explanations and practical calculation walkthroughs, you will gain a holistic view of building energy performance. Designed for aspiring engineers, architects, facility managers, and sustainability enthusiasts, this course requires no prior experience in building systems. Begin your journey into sustainable building design and master the essentials of energy systems engineering today.