Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

1. Design energy efficient building systems for use in residential construction.

2. Analyze residential structures for thermal deficiencies and moisture based aesthetic and structural failure.

3. Use common building science terms, measurements, units and analysis tools.

4. Apply strategic building techniques for implementing, ventilation systems, water management systems and superior thermal performance in buildings.

5. Analyze the economics of energy and durability improvements in building design and construction.

•Students will be engaged with research topics and be asked to prepare brief oral reports showing aptitude for subject matter.
•Instructor will conduct short quizzes at the beginning of each class on previous weeks homework assignments.
•Students will conduct heat loss calculations on instructor provided construction projects.
•Students will have mid-term and final exams to assess their understanding of the semesters subject matter.
•Students will be assessed not only on exam/quiz results but also on class participation, ability to ask questions and
engage topics.

•Introduction to “house as a system"
•Energy measurements – BTU’s, U-values, R-values
•Energy transport – Heat flow mechanics
•Moisture transport – bulk water, water vapor
•Thermal performance- calculating and measuring heat loss
•Moisture related building failure – identifying
•Water management strategies
•Insulation – products and practices
•Fenestration – window technologies
•HVAC systems
•Distribution systems
•Calculating heating and cooling loads
•Comfort in buildings
•Foundations
•Wall systems
•Roof and Attics systems