Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Design Assignments; Exam Solutions; Exams; Problem Sets; Projects with Examples
- Before you start: 8.01 Physics I: Classical Mechanics; 18.02 Multivariable Calculus
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Fall 2010
- Department: Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
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Thermodynamics, heat transfer, comfort and ventilation for energy-efficient buildings, applied in design projects with student examples.
Where does a building’s energy go, and how can design use less of it? This design-based course is a first course in energy and the thermal sciences, applied to sustainable, energy-efficient architecture and building technology. It covers introductory thermodynamics and heat transfer, the leading factors in building energy use, and comfort, ventilation and solar radiation, then puts them to work in design projects tied to a campus energy-efficiency program.
What You Will Achieve
- Apply energy conservation and the laws of thermodynamics to building systems
- Calculate conductive and convective heat transfer through walls
- Use psychrometrics to analyze moist air in heating, cooling and ventilation
- Design a building project that cuts energy use from these fundamentals
Program Overview
Energy and Thermodynamics
Energy, work and heat, and how water, refrigerants and gases behave.
- Energy, work and the conservation of energy
- Water as liquid and vapor; refrigerants and gases
- Steady state flow and heating and cooling systems
- Natural ventilation, moist air and psychrometrics
Heat Transfer
How heat and moisture move through a building’s envelope.
- Conduction and moisture transfer in walls
- Composite walls
- Convection
- Solar radiation and windows
Comfort and the Second Law
What occupants feel, then entropy and the cycles that move heat.
- Human comfort
- The second law and entropy
- Cogeneration, heat pumps and refrigeration cycles
Course Completion
Job Outlook
These fundamentals underpin work in sustainable architecture, building services engineering and energy consulting.
Good for: Architecture and engineering students who want the energy science behind efficient building design.
Keep in mind: A fall 2010 course: the materials are problem sets, design assignments with student projects and past exams with solutions; the closing building tour took place on campus.
Bottom line: Thermodynamics and heat transfer taught for architects, and used straight away in building design projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which book is the required text?
Understanding Engineering Thermo by Octave Levenspiel, published by Prentice Hall in 1996, is the required text for the course's thermodynamics.
What were the design projects about?
Applying energy fundamentals to innovative building designs; that year they were set to complement the new NSTAR and MIT campus efficiency program, and sample projects by MIT students are posted.
Are past exams included?
Yes. Exams from previous years are posted as study guides, with their solutions, alongside the problem sets.
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