In Person Lunch & Learn
Free – BYOL
Course Description / Strategic Objectives
How do we design for renewable energy? There are a variety of reasons and incentives to design for renewable energy:
- Environmental – climate change, less dependency on fossil fuels
- Regulatory (local, state, federal) – CA Title 24, CA Building Climate Zones
- Client Demand & Expectations – Environmental impact, energy cost savings, reduced dependency on PGE/utilities, backup power during outages (e.g. PSPS).
This course will go over various strategies and considerations for helping clients navigate the renewables landscape and provide a general overview of how to specify renewable energy for your projects, and pros and cons of specific selections.
Expected Outcomes (Pending AIA Course Approval)
Learning Objective 1:
Understand the major types of renewable energy and storage (PV, wind, hydronic). Pros and cons of each type of mount/system, grid-tie vs. off grid systems, and battery specifications, including whether indoor or outdoor, and microgrids and grid-tied considerations.
Learning Objective 2 (merged 2 and 4):
Understand how to incorporate client objectives into the design including aesthetics, integrating equipment into the overall layout, and auxiliary equipment location selection (inverters, batteries, generator, panels, etc). Understand how proper renewable energy design can improve your project and the client’s environment. Understand how to enhance your project by exceeding client expectations, fulfilling client needs, elevating user experience and interface, and increasing monitoring efficiency.
New Learning Objective 3:
Understand how to evaluate different existing conditions including sites with existing NEM 2.0 agreements, sites with excess solar production capacity, sites requiring emergency power capabilities.
New Learning Objective 4:
Understand market conditions in 2025 and beyond concerning skilled workforce capacity, ethical labor practices and raw materials sourcing and circularity, tariffs and international trade issues, and governmental incentives (local, state, and federal)