design – The Energy Chronicle

Students Shine at EnergyWhiz Olympics

Sherri Shields Awards, Energy News May 15, 2009alternative fuel, alternative fuel workshop, BP, Bright House, car, competition, design, Energy Innovations, EnergyWhiz Olympics, H2, hydrogen, Hydrogen Sprint, JSS, Junior Solar Sprint, race, renewable energy, solar chef, solar cooker, solar cooking, Solar Cookoff, Solar Energy Cookoff, students, Susan Schleith, vehicle 5 Comments

Florida students have creative ideas for solving some of our world’s greatest energy challenges, and their renewable energy solutions were demonstrated at the EnergyWhiz Olympics – a series of day-long activities dedicated to students with an interest in alternative fuel technologies.

Nearly 700 students throughout Florida converged at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa on Saturday, May 9, 2009 to compete in the seventh-annual EnergyWhiz Olympics. Events included the new Bright House Solar Energy Cookoff, a solar cooker and cooking contest; the Junior Solar Sprint, model-size solar car races; the High School Hydrogen Sprint, model-size hydrogen fuel cell car races; and Energy Innovations, a full-scale solar electric design challenge.

Energy Experts Offer Zero Energy Green Home Webinar Series

Sherri Shields Energy News, Press Release May 4, 2009appliance, attic, design, energy, energy efficient, green, home, HVAC, roof, solar electric, solar water heating, water heating, webinar, zero energy 11 Comments

The University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) will now offer a 12-course Webinar series on how to design, build and operate a Zero Energy Home — a home that produces as much energy as it uses.

This series of online courses offers practical education from building science experts with more than 30 years of research and experience. These courses are appropriate for architects, builders, contractors, designers, educators, energy auditors, energy raters, engineers, prospective homebuyers and utility representatives.

During these tough economic times, builders are looking for ways to attract home buyers and the new government administration is concentrating on creating “green jobs.” Zero Energy Homes provide an opportunity to accomplish both and save consumers money while reducing their carbon footprint. These courses will show participants how to maximize energy-efficient design, make the best “green” choices, and optimize performance from solar and home energy management systems.

Building Science Experts Offer Green Building Courses

Sherri Shields Energy News, Press Release January 21, 2009air conditioning, building, building code, building envelope, buildings, charrette, commercial, courses, design, Designing and Maintaining the High Performance Green Building, education, energy efficient, EnergyGauge, green building, humidity control, HVAC, indoor air quality, LEED, mold, pressure imbalances, research, Rob Vieira, Summit, training, vapor barriers, ventilation, window 3 Comments

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is offering a series of five courses on “Designing and Maintaining the High Performance Green Building” for architects, engineers, mechanical contractors, building inspectors, facility managers and indoor air quality specialists. Initial course offerings will be held at FSEC in Cocoa starting Feb. 4.

This series of courses will demonstrate:

How to design and maintain a green building that has good indoor air quality
How to make a building durable, comfortable and energy efficient
How to protect buildings from mold
What types of air-conditioning systems will cause mold problems
What advanced dehumidification technologies are available for use in buildings.

“A recent study finds about 25 percent of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified green buildings use more energy than expected and about 12 percent use more energy than allowed by the building code. Our courses will provide the knowledge to address these issues,” said Rob Vieira, director of buildings research at FSEC.

The courses will focus on problems in commercial buildings, although the principles discussed will be applicable to all buildings. The FSEC buildings researchers will discuss such areas as ventilation requirements, humidity control, building envelope design, pressure imbalances, HVAC systems, window selection, vapor barriers and related issues.

Students who attend all five courses in the series and pass the exam in Courses one, two and three will earn an FSEC Green Commercial Building Design and Maintenance Certificate.

The courses and schedules are:

Course 1: “Designing Building Envelopes to Control Air and Moisture in High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 4

Course 2: “Designing and Maintaining Building Air Flows in High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 5

Course 3: “Designing and Maintaining HVAC Systems for High Performance Green Buildings,” Feb. 18

Course 4: “Design Charrette — Practice Design of a High Performance Green Building,” Feb. 19

Course 5: “Commercial Energy Code and Green Building Modeling Using EnergyGauge Summit,” Feb. 26

The cost of each course is $269. For more information about the courses or to register, visit: www.floridaenergycenter.org/go/courseschedule.