Syllabus

Term: Fall 2017

Course Title: Home Energy Basics

Dept. & Number: ENVI 120

Credits: 1

Prerequisites: None

Location: Online

Instructor: Dr. Tom Marsik

Office Location: UAF Bristol Bay Campus, Room 117

Office Hours: By Appointment

Phone: 907-842-5109

Email: tmarsik@alaska.edu

Required Text

1) Energy Savers Tips for Alaska, 3rd Edition, SWAMC/AEA/AHFC/ABSN, 2014. Available free online at http://www.ahfc.us/files/4713/9327/8963/energy_saver_tips_2014.pdf

2) Chapter 2 (Building Science Basics) of Alaska Residential Building Manual by Rich Seifert et al., UAF Cooperative Extension Service, 2008. Available free online at http://www.ahfc.us/files/2813/5716/1325/building_manual.pdf

3) Renewable Energy Atlas of Alaska, AEA/REAP, 2016. Available free online at http://alaskarenewableenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/RenewableEnergy-Atlas-of-Alaska-2016April.pdf

Course Description

Basics of space heating and electricity use and production for Alaskan homes. Main topics include fundamentals of physics related to home energy, lighting and appliances, energy bills, building science, retrofits, home renewable energy systems. Course emphasizes how to decrease fossil fuel consumption of homes.

Course Goals

The general goals of this course are to provide education that will help students understand energy flows in a home and make educated decisions regarding home energy use and production.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Recognize basic science concepts (such as transformations between forms of energy) as related to home energy flows.
  • Identify types of basic home energy monitoring tools and demonstrate their use.
  • Discuss home energy improvement options with respect to both space heating and electricity.
  • Describe the procedure of setting up a renewable energy system for a home.
  • Understand the basic principles of renewable energy systems

Instructional Methods

  • Lectures
  • Individual mini projects
  • Discussions
  • Class examples
  • Homework
  • Readings

Course Calendar

Segment 1 (3 hrs) – Course introduction

Home energy intro

Flow of energy in a typical home and ways to affect the flow

Mini project 1 – cost of energy

Reading assignment: Get familiar with the first text - Energy Savers Tips for Alaska

Segment 2 (4 hrs) - Heat

Basic building science – heat transfer, air flow, moisture, condensation

Heat recovery ventilators (HRVs)

Mini project 2 – energy to take a shower

Home retrofits

Heating systems

Reading assignment: Get familiar with the second text - Chapter 2 (Building Science Basics) of Alaska Residential Building Manual

Segment 3 (3.5 hrs) - Electricity

Electricity intro

Basic physics related to electricity

Mini project 3 – basic measurements with a Kill A Watt meter

Lighting

Appliances

HW assignment – Kill A Watt meter measurement and analysis

Segment 4 (3.5 hrs) – Renewable energy

Renewable energy intro

Renewable energy for heating

Electric renewable energy systems

Photovoltaic simulation tool

Mini project 4 – resources in your region

Economic comparisons – renewable energy, energy efficiency, residential, utility scale - video

Exit survey

Course Policies

  1. UAF requires students to conduct themselves honestly and responsibly, and to respect the rights of others.
  2. Completion of all class sessions is mandatory.
  3. Homework is due one week after it is assigned.
  4. The instructor reserves the right to amend this course outline as needed.

Evaluation and Grading

This is a Pass/Fail course. Completion of the following will result in a passing grade:

Attendance and Participation

Attendance of all class sessions is required to receive a passing grade. Students are expected to actively participate in group discussions and individual mini projects.

Homework

Each student will use an energy monitoring tool (typically a Kill-A-Watt meter) provided by the instructor to measure the electrical consumption of an appliance of the student’s choice (e.g. a refrigerator in his/her home), and based on the collected data make projections about the annual electricity consumption and associated cost. The student will then elaborate on the possibilities to reduce the amount of electricity consumed by the appliance and calculate potential savings.

Exit Survey

Each student will be required to complete an exit survey at the end of the class and demonstrate good understanding of the basics of home energy.

Failure to complete all class sessions, complete the homework, or complete the exit survey will result in a failing grade.

Support and Disability Services

UAF Bristol Bay Campus – Student Services

PO Box 1070

Dillingham, Alaska 99576

907-842-5109, 800-478-5109, Fax: 907-842-5692

Students can also go to the UAF website http://www.uaf.edu or to the College of Rural and Community Development website http://www.uaf.edu/rural/ or to Bristol Bay Campus website http://www.uaf.edu/bbc/index.html or to the UAF Office of Disability Services website http://www.uaf.edu/disability/ .