AE 454Advanced Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

3 credits · Architectural Engineering · Penn State

This course provides students with fundamental theories and advanced knowledge to design HVAC systems for energy-efficient, healthy, and sustainable buildings. Students learn approaches to analyzing complex and integrated building mechanical systems for improved energy and environmental quality performance. Using scientific theories and analysis techniques from thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, students critically evaluate building environmental quality, heating and cooling loads, and energy and mass transfer in the HVAC system, building envelope, and occupied spaces. This course provides a foundation for engineering students who will design and/or operate building mechanical systems including air and water distribution systems that promote energy savings, occupant comfort, and health for commercial and residential buildings. Based on these foundations, students learn engineering design and performance analysis procedures for residential and commercial building mechanical systems. By the end of the course, students will be able to apply fundamental thermodynamics and heat transfer principles to HVAC design and analysis; interpret the role of the HVAC system in energy consumption, indoor air quality, and thermal comfort; design HVAC components for residential and commercial construction using appropriate references; calculate heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning loads for a variety of buildings; critique and evaluate energy efficiency and environmental quality associated with building environmental systems; evaluate thermal comfort, productivity, and environmental quality associated with building environmental systems; and identify building performance standards and guidelines.