Environmental Conservation 697P - ST- Pathways to Zero

To meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals and stand a chance of keeping global mean temperature rise to 2?C above preindustrial levels, carbon emissions must decline to zero by 2050. Buildings are responsible for roughly 40% of all carbon emissions, and 90% of all the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built. Thus, we need to rapidly develop planning techniques and technologies to retrofit existing buildings so that they can become net-zero carbon emitters. This course will introduce graduate students already familiar with building energy systems to analysis and diagnostic techniques that will enable them to design retrofit plans for actual institutional, municipal, some non-profit commercial buildings as well as water treatment plants. Class activities will include field trips to buildings to conduct energy audits and diagnostic testing, desk-top analysis of energy and cost data, engineering design of building systems, and research and reading on innovative solutions in the published literature. Evaluation will be based on participation, and final deliverables including a report for an assigned building and a presentation to stakeholders.

BCT 211, 311, 520, 521