Laboratory Building Low Energy Design

Steven G. Liescheidt, P.E., CCS, CCPR

Course Outline

This one hour online course discusses energy savings consideration that should be considered at the various stages of design and discussions on commissioning and operation and maintenance of laboratory HVAC systems.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Energy savings considerations in the planning and programming phase;
• Energy savings in the design phase; and
• Engineering, commissioning, O&M and power considerations.
  
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for mechanical engineers.

Benefit for Attendee

Attendee of this course will be able to understand how to design, commission, operate and maintain a laboratory facility with an emphasis on lowering energy use.

Course Introduction

The basic energy challenge confronting laboratory designers is the high cost of conditioning the large volume of ventilation air needed to meet safety requirements and building codes.  Because of stringent laboratory requirements, many best practices for energy-efficient laboratories attempt to reduce the amount of energy required to condition ventilation air. Fortunately, opportunities to do this arise at each phase of the design and construction process.

Course Content

This course is primarily based on Laboratories For The 21st Century – An Introduction To Low-Energy Design; Publication DOE/GO-102000-1112, August 2000:

Laboratory Building Low Energy Design

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course should help to sensitize building professionals and their clients to the complex array of issues associated with efficient laboratory design and performance.  The course discusses energy saving considerations throughout the life of the laboratory facility starting with the planning and programming phase of the project.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

United States Green Building Council – www.usgbc.com
US Department of Energy – www.doe.gov
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – www.nrel.gov

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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