Online Doe Technical eLearning

Continuous Commissioning - Maximizing Building Energy Efficiency and Comfort Overview Building commissioning has emerged as the preferred method of ensuring that building systems are installed and operated to provide the performance envisioned by the designer. While most commissioning processes focus on bringing building operation to the original design intent, Continuous Commissioning is different. Continuous Commissioning focuses on optimizing HVAC system operation  more...

Building Security Initiatives Energy Savings and Trade-offs Overview Since September 2001, most public agencies and many private firms have focused (or sometimes re-focused) attention on security issues, especially in high-visibility public gathering places and government workplaces. For DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE/EERE), this new focus on security may create both opportunities and challenges for its primary mission  more...

Lab Design for Energy Savings Overview As a building type, the laboratory demands our attention; what the cathedral was to the 14th century, the train station was to the 19th century, and the office building was to the 20th century, the laboratory is to the 21st century. Unfortunately, a laboratory is also a prodigious consumer of natural resources. The challenge for architects, engineers, and other building professionals  more...

Insulation Basics ...xpected to read and review the material contained in five DOE Technical Fact Sheets covering Slab, Basement, Wall, Ceiling and Attic insulation installation guidelines and considerations. The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of ten (10) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits. Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained This course teaches the following  more...

Commercial Heat Pump Water Heaters Overview The commercial HPWH is one of many energy-efficient technologies which have been carried through the R&D stage and brought to market. A heat pump water heater is an effective and efficient way to provide hot water for commercial buildings. The system uses a water heating heat pump to move heat from a cool reservoir such as air and transfer this heat into water. The system employs  more...

Modulating Condensing Fuel-Fired Water Heaters and Hydronic Boilers A modulating/condensing fuel-fired water heater or hydronic boiler can avoid losses associated, in conventional units, with cycling at less than full load and with unrecovered latent heat of water produced in the combustion process. A system which incorporates features that minimize cycling by modulating fuel and air flow to the combustor and that recover additional heat from condensing moisture  more...

Green Roofs Because of their many energy-saving and environmental benefits, green roofs are a promising technology for energy-efficient buildings. In a green roof, a layer of vegetation covers the surface of a roof to provide shade, cool indoor and outdoor temperatures, provide storm water management, and more. In this course the student will learn about the benefits of green roofs, estimated savings and  more...

Laboratory Building Energy Analysis Overview Because laboratories use a high amount of energy, often more than five times as much per square foot as an office building, it is important to find cost-effective ways to reduce their energy use and costs. In this course the student will learn about energy efficiency strategies including reducing the air flow during unoccupied periods, variable-air-volume systems, lower static  more...

Spectrally Selective Window Glazings Spectrally selective glazing is window glass that permits some portions of the solar spectrum to enter a building while blocking others. This high-performance glazing admits as much daylight as possible while preventing transmission of as much solar heat as possible. In this course the student will learn about the low-emissivity spectrally selective fenestration glazing benefits, energy savings  more...

Basic Electrical Theory - Electricity and Magnetism Electricity and magnetism run nearly everything we plug in or turn on. Although it? s something we take for granted, it has taken hundreds of years of experimentation and research to reach the point where we flick a switch and the lights go on. Magnetism and electricity are closely related phenomena. Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter. Matter is made up of electrons, neutrons,  more...

Basic Direct Current DC Theory Direct current or DC electricity is the continuous movement of electrons from an area of negative (-) charges to an area of positive ( ) charges. A DC circuit is necessary to allow the current or stream of electrons to flow. Such a circuit consists of a source of electrical energy (such as a battery) and a conducting wire running from the positive end of the source to the negative terminal. DC  more...

Energy Management for Motor Driven Systems Overview A common misconception within industry has been to equate an energy reduction or conservation program with the concept of turning off equipment and shutting down processes. Instead, the program of energy management challenges plant staff to produce the products or services with the absolute minimum energy consumption. The objective is to minimize energy usage through production  more...

Centrifugal Pump Fundamentals Overview The use of centrifugal pumps is prevalent in many industries. Centrifugal pumps operate on a pump curve whereby the flow rate of the pump increases as the head developed by the pump decreases. Alternately, as the system imposes more back pressure on the pump, the volumetric flow rate of the pump decreases. Thanks to a set of rules called the pump affinity laws, engineers can predict  more...

Improving the Efficiency of Duct Systems The duct system, used in air heating and air cooling your home, is a collection of tubes that distributes the heated or cooled air to the various rooms. This system can make a big difference in both the cost and the effectiveness of heating and cooling the home. The duct system can have an important effect on health of the occupants through the distribution of indoor air pollution. In this  more...

Waste Heat Reduction and Recovery Overview Thermal efficiency of process heating equipment, such as furnaces, ovens, melters, heaters, and kilns is the ratio of heat delivered to a material and heat supplied to the heating equipment. For most heating equipment, a large amount of the heat supplied is wasted in the form of exhaust or flue gases. These losses depend on various factors associated with the design and operation of  more...

Industrial Heat Pumps Overview Industrial heat pumps are a class of active heat-recovery equipment that allows the temperature of a waste-heat stream to be increased to a higher, more useful temperature. Consequently, heat pumps can facilitate energy savings when conventional passive-heat recovery is not possible. In this course the student will learn why heat pumps save money, how heat pumps work, how much energy  more...

Underfloor Air Distribution Recent trends in today? s office environment make it increasingly more difficult for conventional centralized HVAC systems to satisfy the environmental preferences of individual office workers using the standardized approach of providing a single uniform thermal and ventilation environment. A task/ambient conditioning system, such as an underfloor air distribution system, is defined as any space  more...

Heat Exchanger Fundamentals Overview A heat exchanger transfers heat from one fluid to another. Without heat exchangers, many of the products that we use today would not be possible. Without a radiator (which is a heat exchanger), vehicles would quickly overheat. Without an evaporator (another heat exchanger), you would not have the comfort of air conditioning in your home. Because of the importance of heat exchangers in  more...

Desiccant Dehumidification Systems for Comfort Conditioning Overview Desiccant air-conditioning systems can be used as alternatives for conventional air-conditioning equipment in any commercial or residential building. Recent breakthroughs in desiccant materials technology and the creation of new markets by Indoor Air Quality issues make desiccant-based air-conditioning equipment practical for many space-conditioning applications. In this course the  more...

Ozone Treatment for Cooling Towers Overview The form of oxygen known as ozone has been recognized for nearly a century for its powerful ability to disinfect water. Cooling tower water must be treated to limit the growth of mineral and microbial deposits that can reduce the heat transfer efficiency of the cooling tower. The use of ozone to treat water in cooling towers is a relatively new practice that is increasing in  more...

Variable Speed Pumping Overview Significant opportunities exist to reduce pumping system energy consumption through smart design, retrofitting, and operating practices. In particular, the many pumping applications with variable-duty requirements offer great potential for savings. The savings often go well beyond energy, and may include improved performance, improved reliability, and reduced life cycle costs. In this  more...

Ultrasonic Humidifiers Humidifiers are used in buildings to maintain humidity levels to ensure quality and handling capabilities in manufacturing processes, to lower the transmission rate of disease-causing bacteria in hospitals, to reduce static electricity in manufacturing clean rooms and in computer rooms, and to provide higher levels of employee comfort. Ultrasonic humidifiers are proven to reduce humidifier energy  more...

Centrifugal and Positive Displacement Pump Fundamentals Overview Pumps can be divided into two major categories - kinetic and positive displacement. Kinetic pumps can be further subdivided into centrifugal pumps (the vast majority of kinetic pumps) and special effects pumps. Jet pumps, reversible centrifugal, gas lift and electromagnetic are examples of special effect pumps, which are not covered in this course. The operating principle of  more...

Heat Transfer Fundamentals Overview Heat transfer occurs when there is a temperature difference between two bodies. There are three modes of transferring heat - conduction, convection and radiation. Heat is capable of being transferred through solids and fluids by conduction, through fluids by convection, and through empty space by radiation. The transfer of heat is an integral part of many industrial processes.  more...

Combined Heat and Power CHP Systems Guidelines Overview Energy is becoming more and more a major factor in building systems design. Engineers who strive to utilize the most current technology and efficient systems are looking at Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systems as a primary option early in the building design. CHP is an important part of America's energy future. In this course the student will learn some of the basic guidelines  more...

Fire Protection of Confinement Ventilation Systems Overview Fires in industrial and nuclear facilities have been caused by a variety of energy sources, including electrical energy and spontaneous combustion of pyrophoric metals. While fixed fire suppression systems or operator intervention have limited the size and consequences of most of these fires, some did propagate and cause significant damage and material release. In this course the  more...

Energy Sources for the Future Overview Throughout its history, the Department of Energy's Office of Science has designed, constructed, and operated many of the Nation's most advanced, large-scale research and development user facilities, of importance to all areas of science. These state-of-the-art facilities are shared with the science community worldwide and contain technologies and instrumentation that are  more...

Ductwork - Exterior Exposed The extent and impact of the duct-related thermal losses depends directly on the location of the ductwork. For ducts located entirely within the conditioned space, any thermal losses go directly to the conditioned space. The greatest thermal losses and related energy penalties occur when ducts are located entirely outside of the building envelope. Factors affecting thermal losses and energy  more...

Valve Fundamentals Overview Valves are used to regulate the flow of fluids in piping systems. They are used to throttle flow, shut-off flow, reduce pressure, relieve pressure and prevent backflow. Valves are one of the simplest components in most piping systems, but the importance of proper valve selection cannot be overemphasized. Premature valve failure can result in loss of fluid pressure containment, which  more...

Air-Cooled Lithium Bromide Absorption for CHP Applications Overview The objective of the source document for this course was to summarize the development status of air-cooled lithium bromide water absorption chillers. The use of LiBr is possible in CHP systems but research is still in progress for commercial applications. In this course the student will learn some of the more recent design approaches of LiBr chillers. The student is expected to read  more...

Filters for Industry Overview Filtration of air is crucial to the HVAC system performance and the commercial and industrial applications that these systems serve. Filters are widely used in nuclear ventilation, air cleanup, and confinement systems to remove particulate matter from air and gas streams. Air filters are defined as porous structures through which air is passed to separate out entrained particulate  more...

Biomass Cofiring in Coal-Fired Boilers Biomass energy technologies convert renewable biomass fuels to heat or electricity. Biomass cofiring is attracting interest because it is an economical near-term option for introducing new biomass resources into today? s energy mix. Cofiring is the simultaneous combustion of different fuels in the same boiler. Cofiring inexpensive biomass with fossil fuels in existing boilers provides an  more...

Fluid Flow Fundamentals This course covers the basics of fluid flow. You will learn the difference between laminar and turbulent flow, how to calculate Reynolds Number and how to do simple piping friction loss calculations. Learn the difference between pressure head, velocity head and elevation head, which are the components that comprise the Bernoulli Equation ? the basic equation of fluid flow. Understand the  more...

Explosives Safety Overview Department of Energy (DOE) policy requires that all DOE activities be conducted in a manner that protects the safety of the public and provides a safe and healthful workplace for employees. DOE has also prescribed that all personnel be protected in any explosives operation undertaken. The level of safety provided shall be at least equivalent to that of the best industrial practice. The  more...

Characteristics and Properties of Metals The understanding of the structure and properties of metals, stress mechanisms, failure modes and the characteristics determine their usefulness for a specific application. Often, materials are subject to variable forces (loads). The mechanical engineer calculates these forces to establish the service that can be expected and material scientists experiment to determine how materials deform  more...

Engineering Symbology Prints and Drawings Drawing is the universal language of engineering. Drawings from an engineer provide a raw account of the fundamentals that will eventually go into making something useful and necessary. Engineering drawings are a formal and precise way of communicating information about the shape, size, features and precision of physical objects. The drawings of the engineer are an obvious case of making  more...

Steam System Surveying for Energy and Efficiency Improvements Overview Often operations personnel and energy managers are unaware of the opportunities available for energy and productivity savings in their steam systems, or they are unsure of the calculation procedures required to determine the savings opportunities. Steam system surveys can save energy and provide significant economical benefits to the building owner. In this course, the student will  more...