Low-Energy Cooling (Short Course)

Low Energy Cooling 8.5 CEUs

Low-energy cooling minimizes energy-intensive refrigerated air-conditioning by reducing solar gain, air leakage, and relative humidity. Refrigerated air-conditioning is the most expensive way to create summer comfort. When we reduce heat gains, air leakage, and internal gains, we can use air circulation and nighttime cooling to reduce air-conditioning costs or to eliminate the need for air conditioning.
2.1 Cooling Principles—2.5 CEUs

Air conditioning costs are rising and brown-outs are now common. Study how human-comfort and climate influence electricity consumption for air conditioning. This mini course explains common energy-efficiency strategies that minimize cooling costs by reducing heat gains. You’ll learn the following.

How to stop heat before it enters buildings.
How people and buildings expel excess heat.
Cost-effective alternative methods for removing excess heat.

2.2 Low Energy Cooling—1.5 CEUs

Many or most homes in your region have air conditioning systems. This lesson explains how to use low energy cooling to minimize the amount of time that air conditioners operate. Strategies include cool roofs, window treatments, circulation fans, whole house fans, and evaporative coolers. These alternatives save money and electricity.
2.3 Stopping Heat Gain—2.0 CEUs

In climates with cooling needs, the most effective cooling strategy stops heat before it enters the building. This lesson describes how heat enters buildings and the best strategies to stop heat gain. You’ll learn to limit heat gain in buildings, including: solar heat, air leakage, internal heat gains, and heat transmission. This lesson also discusses design details that limit heat gain and how to improve new-building design to minimize heat gain.
2.4 Cooling with Ventilation—2.0 CEUs

(1.5 CEU) This mini course discusses how to cool a home with only fans. Fans can create a wind chill effect, and they can cool the home with night air, assuming that the air outdoors is cooler than the air indoors. Here are the main topics of this course.

Circulating fans
Portable cooling fans
Whole-house fans
Evaporative coolers