Energy Basics

This course focuses on the residential energy systems that contribute to the thermal comfort in a home.

It is intended to provide Specialists with the background knowledge they will need to understand the interaction of heat and moisture, and give them some fundamental tools for evaluating energy losses and moisture problems in homes.

Course Structure

• Lesson 1 provides a brief overview of a few of the principles that govern the flow of heat in buildings.
• Lesson 2 introduces the three heat-transfer mechanisms by which heat travels through building assemblies.
• Lessons 3 - 5 examine each of the heat transfer mechanisms in detail.
• Lesson 6 identifies different types of insulation and examines how they work.
• Lesson 7 introduces some of the moisture mechanics that are integrally related to heat transfer, and which will be explored in depth in the next course, Moisture Management.
• Lesson 8 ties the concepts relating to energy flow in homes to some of the important principles that explain how occupants perceive thermal comfort.

While reviewing this material, keep in mind that a building's heating and cooling systems constantly interact with the building shell. While they'll be examined separately in different parts of this course, they interact constantly with each other in the real world.