Note: Though not submitted in time for the MIT course catalogue deadline, this class is still a full MIT Special subject.
Overview
This course explores Thermal Energy Networks (TEN) drawing inspiration from local and North American expertise, with lectures based on leading professional association trainings (IDEA, California Geo, ASHRAE) including the IGSHPA Certified GeoExchange Designer (CGD) course. It will cover both fundamental topics (air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, geo-exchange, thermal energy storage, waste heat recovery), and advanced topics including TEN case studies of several leading campuses.
MIT campus as a test bed
MIT is in the process of making a multi-billion-dollar decision in the coming period that will address the fact that 26% of ALL City of Cambridge carbon emissions are from MIT and that 97% of all MIT’s carbon emissions are from its buildings. In this course, we will learn about the pathways under consideration for MIT’s energy future in terms of the multiple options for heating/cooling its building and for future grid connectivity.
In the spirit of D-Lab pedagogy, this class will include hands-on-learning with campus-as-a-test-bed projects. Students will train in 3-D modeling of MIT campus buildings, forming teams and selecting a small cluster of buildings to evaluate, “fitting” their solutions to those buildings’ specific requirements. This class will also engage students by taking a multi-disciplinary approach including technical, financial, and campus engagement as it pertains to decarbonizing campus building energy systems.
Students will come away from this class with marketable skills in building decarbonization.
Pre-requisites
No prerequisites, except eagerness to learn and make the future planet livable.
Instructors and guest speakers
Instructors
- Susan Murcott (MIT D-Lab – Lead Instructor/Contact murcott@mit.edu)
- Harvey Michaels (MIT Sloan School of Management)
Guest speakers
- Tunca Alikaya (Celsius Energy)
- Ed Lohrenz (IGSHPA CDG course/GEOptimize)
- Rick Clemenzi (MIT Alumni for Climate Action, Geothermal Design Center)
- TBD from VPCSS/Dept of Facilities, Mass CEC