Energy Education Curriculum

Energize Colleges energy education project-based curriculum engages college-level students in sustainability topics and teaches valuable career skills. Curriculum is freely available to California instructors.
Energy Auditing
​Course
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Oscar Ortiz and Dennis Bogle
​Orange Coast College
  • Teach the fundamentals of residential energy auditing and California energy codes and standards
  • Empower students to conduct a technical analysis of the building as a system to identify opportunities for energy efficiency and conservation, as well as alignment with codes and standards
  • Curriculum Includes: Approved course outline
Energize 101: Energy Fundamentals & Auditing - A Four Part Series
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Carla Grandy, PhD and Carina Anttila-Suarez, PhD
​Skyline College
  • ​​Explore the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy
  • Acquire basic energy auditing skills to assess energy use in the classroom and campus
  • Conduct a mock audit to identify measurable efficiency and conservation measures on your campus
  • Curriculum Includes:  presentation slides, handouts, take home assignments, pre & post tests 
​Solar Chemistry and
​Energy Storage
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Safiyyah Forbes, PhD
​Skyline College​
  • Define the important chemical steps in the conversion of photons to electricity using solar photovoltaics
  • Identify both advantages and challenges of solar as a renewable energy source
  • Explain the benefits of energy storage in addressing the duck curve
  • Explore the chemical processes of oxidation and reduction by building a citrus battery
  • Identify applications of varied energy storage technologies
  • Curriculum Includes: Curriculum outline and instructional plans, instructional powerpoint, laboratory handouts
Energy Systems Technology
Energy Auditing Lab
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Ramiro Galicia
​College of the Desert 
  • Learn how to conduct an energy audit using an energy meter
  • Develop an understanding of phantom loads

Curriculum includes:  3-part lab (Part I: Plug Load Readings Lab Activity, Part II: Phantom Load Readings Lab Activity, Part III: Energy Calculations)
​Click here to request curriculum.
Energy Conservation Methods for
​HVAC Lab
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George Brown, A.S.
College of the Desert 
  • Identify energy inefficiencies in building envelope and HVAC systems
  • Diagnose and troubleshoot energy efficiency problems in residential and light-commercial building envelope and HVAC systems and retrofit building systems to address these problems
  • Summarize their findings and proposed solutions in a report

Curriculum includes:  3-part lab (Part I: FLIR Camera Lab Activity, Part II: HVAC Ductwork Lab Activity, Part III: Building Envelope Lab Activity)
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Building & Energy Systems Professional (BESP) AS Degree
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Jon Caffery, M.Ed; Ramiro Galicia; George Brown, A.S. and Bryan Lee
College of the Desert
  • The Building & Energy Systems Professional Associate of Science Degree is developed to offer students a broad overview of the energy and construction industries. 
  • The Degree and Certificates include cross-disciplinary courses in Energy Systems, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, Architecture, Computer Information Systems, and Building Inspection Technology.
  • Students will have the technical background that can lead to multiple industry-recognized credentials and careers as an Energy Auditor, Energy Consultant, ZNE Technician, Green HVAC Technician, Facility Management, Construction Management and Solar Residential Technician.

Curriculum includes: A description and course map of the core requirements of the Degree and each career pathway Certificate.
Click here to request curriculum.
Data Server
​HVAC Unit
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George Brown, A.S.
College of the Desert
  • Identify the parts of an HVAC system
  • Learn how to perform routine maintenance on a data server HVAC system​

Curriculum includes:  Liebert Unit activity outline
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Fundamentals of Power Systems 
​and Renewable Energy 
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CSU Bakersfield
Saeed Jafarzadeh, PhD
  • Gain an introductory understanding of the field of electric power systems
  • Explore the importance of electric power systems in transmitting and transforming energy in industrial, military, and transportation use
  • Learn about the generation and storage of wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric energy and the grid

Curriculum Includes: 13 powerpoint presentations
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Sustainable Energy
​Studies Certificate
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Marie Vicario-Fisher
Southwestern College 
  • Six course certificate that prepares students to be building energy professionals
  • Learning outcomes aligned with industry certifications

Curriculum includes: Approved Course Outlines of Record for six courses in the certificate (Introduction to Sustainable Energy Studies, Introduction to Energy Generation, Delivery, Storage, and Efficiency, California Green Code and Sustainable Technologies, Introduction to Building Science, The Energy Efficient Building, Building Energy Analysis Using BIM). Additional curriculum resources coming in Fall 2019!
Click here to request curriculum.
Microgrids and Foldrz ​Demonstration
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Jon Caffery, M.Ed
​College of the Desert
  •  Learn about the solar and zero net energy industries
  • Learn how solar energy technologies (concentrated solar and solar photovoltaics) work
  • Learn about the role that solar energy plays in microgrids
  • Learn how the Foldrz Microgrid unit functions and can be used as an interactive tool
Curriculum includes: Curriculum writeup
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Signals and Systems
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Saeed Jafarzadeh, PhD
​California State University Bakersfield
  • ​Participate in hands-on engineering design labs using Ardunio
  • Use signals and systems analysis in an energy application
  • Students showed a 22% increase in proficiency with hand-on labs

Curriculum includes: Overview of redesigned hands-on labs, learning objectives, outcomes and student-facing lab handouts with Arduino script and sample graphs
Click here to request curriculum.
Development of Hydrogen Powered Drone
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Po-Ya Abel Chuang, PhD
​University of California, Merced
  • Apply fundamentals of electrochemistry, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat and mass transfer, as appropriate, to examine fuel cell systems.
  • Identify the main components, advantages, and limitations of proton exchange membrane
fuel cell systems.
  • Design and conduct experiments and/or simulations of mechanical systems, and to
analyze and evaluate these solutions in the context of fuel cell technology.
Curriculum includes: project overview, materials list, and final posters
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Evaluating Sustainable Living Spaces: Leadership in Energy &
​ Environmental Design (LEED)
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Dr Martha Conklin and Lynn Sullivan
University of California, Merced
  • This course focuses on key environmental issues facing the construction of new buildings.  Students examine the interactions between the environment and the social and scientific conservation mechanisms, which are needed to achieve and sustain an acceptable quality of life for all.  Students study LEED design, active and passive design, building operation and maintenance.  By the end of the semester students are prepared to sit for the LEED Green Associate exam.

Curriculum includes: example syllabus, presentation slides, handouts, and reading assignments focused on LEED Process, Location & Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Material & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation in Design
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Introduction to Architecture and Environmental Design: Sustainability in Architecture
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Elisabeth Doermann, M.Arch
College of Marin
  • Explore basic elements of architecture and the built environment
  • Addresses the design process and professional practice
  • Emphasis on the process of developing one's personal approach to design

Curriculum includes: Course Reader
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Sustainability Studies
​ AA Degree Curriculum Outline
​
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Butte College
Mimi Riley and John Dahlgren
  • Discuss and write about the ways in which fields such as environmental ethics, ecology, sociology, technology and others interconnect in Sustainability Studies.
  • Develop ideas to create common ground and promote the principles of sustainability to diverse groups of people.
  • Develop a knowledge base to enable them to choose lifestyles and careers that will promote sustainable principles.
Curriculum includes: Sustainability Studies AA Degree Curriculum Outline
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Integrating Energy & Climate Change
​into Environmental Education
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Paul Faulstich, PhD
​Pitzer College
  • Integrate energy and climate change into college and elementary school environmental science education
  • Prepare college students for careers in environmental education
  • Engage college students in educating elementary school students in energy, climate change, and environmental science
​​Curriculum includes:  syllabus, field book, activity guide, climate change assignment, examples of student climate change assignment with lesson plans
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Introductory Statistics - Data Analysis and Visualization for Sustainable Development
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Maula Allen
​College of Marin
  • Basic concepts such as descriptive statistics, basic probability, probability distributions, regression, sampling distributions, inferential statistics, and modeling
  • Applications of statistical methods extend to sustainable development in business, the social sciences, psychology, life science, health sciences and education disciplines
  • The use of technology to perform data analytics and visualization with sustainable development data to learn basic concepts critical for understanding applications in context
​​Curriculum includes: course syllabus, main course assignment, data sources and bibliography, career opportunities
Click here to request curriculum.
Cross-Border Urbanizations:
​Energy Equity​
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Fonna Forman, PhD and Teddy Cruz, M.Des.S
UC San Diego
  • Introduction to urban inequality issues across the Tijuana-San Diego region, including energy poverty
  • Preparing for internship experiences designing and implementing strategies for resilient and equitable energy access
  • Discussion of border and energy flows that make the marginalized neighborhoods within this geography of conflict into sites of socioeconomic and cultural productivity
  • Laboratories to rethink the gap between wealth and poverty and the importance of energy access to economic empowerment
​Curriculum includes: Course introduction, Powerpoint, Syllabus and Lecture Notes
Click here to request curriculum.
Bending the Curve:
​Solutions to Climate Change
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Veerabhadran Ramanathan, PhD and Fonna Forman, PhD
UC San Diego
  • Examining climate change through the lens of 10 scalable solutions found in the University of California's Bending the Curve report 
  • The class takes an interdisciplinary approach toward climate change solutions, with students learning material from video lectures prepared by experts across the UC system
​See an example report by students in the Winter 2018 Course titled, "Stockholm: An Environmental Leader" by Lead Authors: Lucero Sanchez, Kathryn Young and Contributing Authors: Brody Paterson, Emelie Ravelli, Jasmine Sabei
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Business AS Degree,
​Revision for Sustainability 
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Nancy Willet, JD
College of Marin
  • View model to incorporate sustainability into Business degree and Certificate 
  • Students learn to about the triple bottom line - measuring and evaluating performance and impacts on people, the planet, and profitability
  • Students create a sustainable business plan for a new initiative or organization
Curriculum includes: Business AS Degree design with Sustainability Area of Emphasis, Certificate of Achievement in Business, Labor Market Data, and comparative college program research
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Energy Life Cycle
Cost Analysis
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Tanja Srebotnjak, PhD
​Harvey Mudd College
  • Integrate energy projects into life cycle analysis training
  • Prepare college students for careers in LCA for energy systems
  • Engage college students in a specific examination of energy in Asia
Curriculum Includes:  Intro lesson with slides on energy LCA, light bulb analysis exercise, Asia energy intensity exercise, and suggested reading list
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Energy Systems and Climate
​
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Anne K Stephens
California State University, Chico
  • Designed for an audience of pre-service teachers
  • Prepare participants to bring climate science, energy auditing, and career skills curriculum and activities to their classroom
  • Topics covered include energy sources and systems, demand-response, energy efficiency, and energy career opportunities
  • Includes activities that introduce practical skills such as energy auditing and evaluating climate change indicator data
​Curriculum includes:Energy Systems and Climate slide deck, Energy Systems and Climate instructional notes, Strength of Evidence Activity instructional notes and handouts, Energy Auditing Activity instructional notes and handout
Click here to request curriculum.
Building Modeling and Energy Efficiency Planning with CalAdapt
​
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Daniel Soto
Sonoma State University
  • ​Use degree days to estimate the energy use of a building using measured data
  • Use degree days from a typical meteorological year (TMY) to estimate building energy, cost, and carbon emissions
  • Describe how the expected change in degree days influences building design decisions
Curriculum includes: Instructional notes, student exercises and calculations around heating and cooling degree days
Click here to request curriculum.
Using Energy Efficiency to Lower the Emissions Trajectory & Adapt to High Heat Days
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Dr. Mark Stemen 
California State University, Chico
  • Students will forecast the potential climate change scenarios for their communities and communicate possible implications 
  • Identify and communicate potential adaptation and mitigation measures in regards to climate change
  • Develop working literacy in Cal-Adapt, a web-based climate-adaptation planning tool
Curriculum includes: Learning objectives, course overview, instructional videos, guiding handouts for software navigation, and assignments focused on environmental justice, climate modeling, climate adaptation, climate mitigation, energy auditing, and storytelling 
Click here to request curriculum.
Revit Student Exercise:
Adding Energy Modeling to
​Architectural Design Projects
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Elisabeth Doermann, M.Arch
College of Marin
  • ​Faculty can have Autodesk Revit students explore how to create an energy model
    as part of a building design
  • Integrate information from Autodesk Insight into a building information model
  • Extend sustainability and energy concepts into computer aided drafted models

Curriculum includes: Step-by-step images of energy tools and commands for students using Revit to align with architectural design projects
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Deep Decarbonization

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Robert D. Cormia
Foothill College
  • Provides college students with the opportunity to use real campus data in exploring building energy systems, onsite solar PV and cogeneration
  • Model the impact of energy storage and electric vehicle charging in active demand side management, or Integrated Demand Side Management (IDSM)
  • Conduct data analysis and modeling exercises that provide a comprehensive view of campus energy operations, including building energy, transportation, on-site generation, and energy storage as well as their contribution to the total (electric and thermal) power demand and energy use on campus.

Curriculum includes: Decarbonization and Energy Systems (curriculum, slides, student activities), Decarbonization - Building Level (curriculum, slides, student activities), Decarbonization - Campus and Community Level (curriculum, slides, student activities)
Click here to request curriculum.

Introductory Energy Curriculum

This project-based energy curriculum is designed for high school and introductory-level college courses.
Eco Audit
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Perform a sustainability audit for a local business, including an analysis of waste, water, greenhouse gas emissions, and procurement. Practice professional communications
Watersheds and Public
​Water Systems
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Explore local water systems, including water quality testing and GIS mapping of both local watersheds and public water systems
Biomimicry:
Engineering Inspired by Nature
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Investigate biological systems and design nature-inspired solutions to address changing environmental conditions
Solar USB Charger
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Design and construct a solar USB charger while learning solar science and career skills

Request Energize Colleges Curriculum

Energize Colleges is a program of Strategic Energy Innovations, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
​Contact Us

Phone: (415) 507-2181

Email: connect@energizecolleges.org

899 Northgate Dr, Suite 410
San Rafael, CA 94903
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