Development of a Course in Energy Management for Engineering and Technology Programs

The energy management field is experiencing significant growth, due to the restructuring of the utility industry, the building automation, and increasing demand for energy services. There is a growing need for engineers with skills in energy, environmental, and facilities management. This paper presents the development of an undergraduate course in the area of energy management and industrial energy systems. The objective of this course is to study energy management methods, procedures and functions as performed in modern residential, commercial and industrial facilities. "Energy management" is a broad term that has a number of different meanings. However, energy management is about managing available resources and equipment to make the most efficient use of energy. Courses with "energy management" in their names or descriptions often cover broader environmental and economic issues as well the implementation of practical solutions. Energy Studies and Energy Management are all about how to make best use of our present and future energy sources, by addressing critical economic and environmental issues, by considering the technical, economic and social factors, affecting energy demand. Our course is focusing more on technical and engineering aspects of energy management, rather than environmental or economic aspects. The course aims are to train students to use process integration methods and analysis and optimization tools necessary for identifying and designing efficient industrial energy systems that contribute to sustainable development. The paper describes our efforts and challenges, course contents, pedagogical approaches to enhance student comprehension of the concepts involved. The course goals and objectives are to provide students with methods, tools and procedures to identify the cost-optimal mix of different energy technologies to satisfy a given energy demand in most efficient way. Introduction, Fusion Green Manufacturing into Engineering and Technology Programs Energy is a vital source of economic development. To meet the global needs of economic growth there is a dramatic increase in the demand of energy. Unlike the developed countries the developing countries are struggling to meet the increasing demands of energy. Hence different energy management systems and models are adopted to fulfil the needs of the growing economy. Today economies, both developed and developing ones face a two-fold energy challenge in the 21st century: meeting the needs of billions of people who still lack access to basic, modern energy services while simultaneously participating in a global transition to clean, low-carbon energy systems. Both aspects demand urgent attention, because of the access to reliable, affordable and socially acceptable energy services is a pre-requisite to alleviating poverty and meeting other societal development goals and because of emissions from developing countries are growing rapidly and are contributing to environmental problems that put the health and prosperity of people around the world at grave risk. P ge 26519.3 Historically, humanity’s use of energy has been marked by four broad trends: (1) rising consumption and a transition from traditional sources of energy (e.g., wood, dung, agricultural residues) to commercial forms of energy (e.g., electricity, fossil fuels); (2) steady improvement in the power and efficiency of energy technologies; and (3) a tendency (at least for most of the 20th century) toward fuel diversification and de-carbonization, especially for electricity production; and (4) reducing pollution emissions1-16. These trends have largely been positive. However, the rate of technology improvement has not been sufficient to keep pace with the negative consequences of rapid growth in energy demand. The task, then, is not so much to change course as it is to accelerate progress, especially toward increased energy efficiency and lower-carbon emissions. This would have many concurrent benefits for developing countries in terms of reducing pollution and improving public health, making feasible a broad expansion of access to basic energy services and laying the foundation for more competitive industries and future economic growth. Moreover, to the extent that sustainable energy policies promote the development of indigenous renewable-energy industries, they will have the additional benefit of creating new economic opportunities, reducing countries’ exposure to volatile world energy markets and conserving resources for internal investment by curbing outlays for imported fuel. Energy management, sustainability energy conservation and efficiency can be taught in many disciplines, including, but not limited to: design, engineering, manufacturing, technology, and management1-14. Either we are focusing here on the issues related to development of the energy management or industrial energy course, will also outline how sustainability and energy management might be integrated into the curriculum from perspectives of courses and students’ research and projects. At the course level, examples of how to integrate the concepts and applications of sustainability into existing material will be discussed. The current situation and the demand for a sustainable and efficient use of energy knowledge are more and more required and expected by employers. Sustainable development is a contemporary issue for everyone to embrace, especially engineers, engineering technologist, architects, designers, manufacturers, etc. Sustainable development is common practice in most of the developed countries; however, the concept has not been mainstreamed into engineering education within the U.S4-12. Several U.S. engineering societies have made declarative statements about their commitments to sustainable development5-12. Students who at least have some knowledge of sustainability related to their discipline can be winners in obtaining careers in the new green jobs market. While green energy jobs are found across all industries, the most likely place to find them are in renewable energy, industrial energy systems, green and eco design and energy management. Green energy jobs involve any of the following activities: 1. Energy generation from renewable energy sources 2. Manufacturing of goods used in renewable power generation, construction, and installation of energy and pollution management systems 3. Engineering and consulting services in support of the activities above There is increasing motivation to incorporate concepts of sustainability, energy efficiency and management into the undergraduate engineering and technology curricula. The Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology, Inc. (ABET), requires that graduates be able “to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and P ge 26519.4 sustainability”3,4. There are several initiatives to promote the sustainability of engineered systems and energy efficiency, while still improving the quality of life, looms more immediate. Not only accreditation boards and professional organizations but many major corporations are concerned with sustainable development to reduce costs and liabilities and to create products that help improve the quality of life here and abroad. One of the steps in developing the curriculum was to assess the availability of educational and training programs available to students. It was found that not too many institutes were offering courses and/or training programs that were related to the energy efficiency, sustainability, green design and renewable energy fields. Schools with undergraduate engineering programs are working to include sustainability and sustainable design into their curricula6-12. The methods for doing so can be subject-, problem-oriented, can be based on case studies, or could be part of a capstone experience. Sustainability can also be an opportunity to satisfy the general education component of ABET criteria. In our green manufacturing project, a two-level approaches was taken in our curriculum changes to incorporate sustainability, green, sustainable design and renewable energy subjects. A first level such topics, subjects and problems were introduced by the faculty involved in this project in their courses, where it is appropriate. Projects for the senior deign project capstone course sequence were proposed and directed by the investigators. Limited financial support was also provided, via grant funds for these senior design projects. At second level several courses on green manufacturing, sustainability, industrial energy systems, and renewable energy technology were proposed, developed or underway to be developed. However, the efforts to integrate sustainability, green manufacturing, renewable energy into our curricula have met with some resistance in problems related to 1) adding new courses or integrating instruction in sustainability, green design, industrial energy systems and renewable energy contexts into already tight engineering technology curricula, 2) the faculty inter-disciplinary expertise necessary to teach new sustainability, green design or renewable energy topics, 3) the resistance to revising existing senior design project courses, and 4) new laboratory infrastructure6-12. The green manufacturing, renewable energy technology and sustainability skills and knowledge are required to meet the following objectives, including energy efficiency and management, sustainable planning and design, sustainable and green manufacturing, and renewable energy sources such as biomass, biofuels, solar power, and wind energy. These components are selected because they represent green technologies highest potential impact in our areas. Development of a workforce skilled in these areas is essential toward sustaining a green economy in these regions. Several interdisciplinary, sust