NEXUS Net Zero Energy™
Courses on HVAC Systems and Renewable Energy for Net Zero Energy design are now live and registration is available. From analysis to technologies to modeling to full integration, NEXUS Net Zero Energy trainings series provides a full professional development platform to enable you to design zero-energy buildings. See below for the courses that best meet your needs.
NEXUS's new Net Zero Energy Training Series aims to close the gap between building designers and the over-arching goal of Net Zero Energy by offering highly-technical lectures and hands-on sessions that follow the building design-construction-operations phases. The training series is aimed at the enablers of this paradigm shift - the architects, engineers and design/engineering students - from new construction and existing buildings to master planning. Read Net Zero Energy blog postings and read the bio of instructor Ravi Srinivasan, CEM, LEED AP.
Highlights:
- Increase your understanding of Net Zero Energy and its definitions based on energy boundaries, case studies of buildings that have achieved (or trying to achieve) these goals, research publications, and lessons learned in Net Zero Energy building design.
- Real-life software training in net zero building design . Participants get free access to these and other software tools after the training.
- Build your firm's capacity in designing net zero energy buildings with our tiered training series -- walking you through Building Envelope and Internal Load Design to HVAC Systems Design to On-Site Renewable Energy Design.
- Maintain your professional certifications with continuing education units (CEU) from GBCI LEED Professionals, AIA, IESNA and more.
Tracks:
- NZE 401: Introduction to Net Zero Energy: Climate, Site and Building Concepts & Analysis
- NZE 411: Daylighting & Electric Lighting Concepts & Analysis
- NZE 412: High Performance Daylighting & Electric Lighting Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
- NZE 421: Building Envelope Concepts & Analysis
- NZE 422: High Performance Building Envelope Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
- NZE 431: HVAC System Concepts & Analysis
- NZE 432: High Performance HVAC System Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
- NZE 441: Renewable Systems Concepts & Analysis
- NZE 442: High Performance Renewable Systems Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
- NZE 501: Analyzing Climate, Site and Building
- NZE 511: Modeling Daylighting & Electric Lighting
- NZE 521: Modeling Building Envelope & Internal Loads
- NZE 531: Modeling HVAC Systems (DesignBuilder, EnergyPlus)
- NZE 541: Modeling Renewable Systems (PVSYST, RETScreen)
- NZE 621: Building Envelope & Internal Loads Optimization
- NZE 631: HVAC Load Optimization (DesignBuilder, EnergyPlus)
- NZE 641: Integrating Renewable Energy Systems (PVSYST, RETScreen)
- Additional Green Building Events
NZE 401: Introduction to Net Zero Energy: Climate, Site and Building Concepts & Analysis
Who should attend? Owner, Developer, Facility Manager / Operations & Maintenance, Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Contractor, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor, Real Estate Broker, Building product manufacturer / distributor, Students.
This 4-hour session will introduce Net Zero Energy (NZE) and its definitions based on energy boundaries or flow. Net Zero Energy is a global phenomenon and goals are set by agencies, and countries. NZE 401 will provide an overview of such goals, its relevance to existing technology & know-how. In addition, this seminar will discuss buildings that have achieved (or trying to achieve) Net Zero Energy goals, research publications and, more importantly, the lessons that can be learnt from the mistakes of the past in approaching Net Zero Energy buildings.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of Net Zero Energy buildings.
- Evaluate current Net Zero Energy accounting principles.
- Recognize Net Zero Energy building design and high performance strategies.
Find out when this event is offered next.
NZE 411: Daylighting & Electric Lighting Concepts & Analysis
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
This 4-hour session will introduce daylighting and electric lighting relevant to buildings. NZE 411 will provide underlying concepts of daylighting and measurement factors. In addition, the seminar will discuss electric lighting, their types, standards and best practices. The NZE objective is to reduce the use of electricity for artificial lighting through effective use of daylight penetration and this seminar will build the necessary fundamentals towards the goal.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU, IES CEU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of daylighting and electric lighting.
- Measure and evaluate daylighting.
- Develop knowledge in daylighting and electric lighting standards and best practices.
Find out when this event is offered next.
NZE 412: High Performance Daylighting & Electric Lighting Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
This 4-hour session will introduce daylighting and electric lighting, standards and best practices for Net Zero Energy building design. Owing to advancement in technologies, there are several high performance design strategies that can be integrated, specifically deeper daylighting penetration and energy efficient electric lighting. In addition to identifying high performance strategies, NZE 412 will provide an overview of emerging technologies in daylighting and electric lighting.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU, IES CEU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of daylighting and electric lighting.
- Develop knowledge in high performance design strategies and emerging technologies.
- Develop knowledge in daylighting and electric lighting standards and best practices.
Find out when this event is offered next.
NZE 421: Building Envelope Concepts & Analysis
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
An in-depth understanding of building physics & heat flow through building envelope is paramount for Net Zero Energy building design. Building simulation software tools aid designers in studying various components of buildings in relation to the environment, both internal and external influences. However, these tools should not be used purely with a “black box” approach and without proper understanding of fundamental knowledge of building physics. This 4-hour session will discuss the fundamentals of envelope and heat flow concepts, and introduce building physics terminologies related to the building envelope.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Develop knowledge in fundamentals of building envelope.
- Evaluate current building envelope options.
- Develop knowledge in building envelope analysis methods.
Register for this training on March 16. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 422: High Performance Building Envelope Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
Developing high performance design strategies for building envelope calls for an understanding of energy flow based on thermo-physical characteristics of materials and environment, illuminance, airflow, etc. This 4-hour session will discuss simulation software tools available, issues of interoperability, high performance strategies, and existing & emerging technologies in designing the building envelope towards Net Zero Energy.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of building envelope design.
- Develop knowledge in high performance design strategies and emerging technologies.
- Develop knowledge in standards and best practices.
Register for this training on April 1. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 431: HVAC System Concepts & Analysis
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
This 4-hour session will introduce fundamentals of refrigeration and HVAC system types, etc. The performance parameters of system types will be discussed in detail. Several analysis tools that are available to study energy performance of HVAC systems will be discussed.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of refrigeration and HVAC systems.
- Develop knowledge in HVAC system performance parameters.
- Develop knowledge in HVAC system analysis tools.
Register for this training on May 4. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 432: High Performance HVAC System Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
Several new high performance HVAC systems are available owing to advancements in building technologies. Some of these technologies and their underlying concepts will be discussed in this seminar. This 4-hour session will also touch new emerging technologies in thermal comfort conditioning systems.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of HVAC systems.
- Develop knowledge in high performance design strategies and emerging technologies.
- Develop knowledge in standards and best practices.
Register for this training on May 20. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 441: Renewable Systems Concepts & Analysis
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
This session will introduce different types of renewable resources. Site renewable resources change based on building design, orientation and location. Site renewable potentials and performance issues will be discussed. We will identify and discuss tools used for renewable systems analysis.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of fundamentals of renewable systems.
- Develop knowledge in tools for analysis.
- Develop knowledge in renewable system integration.
Register for this training on July 13. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 442: High Performance Renewable Systems Design Strategies & Emerging Technologies
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
Owing to advanced research and development, several new emerging technologies in renewable energy systems have surfaced. This session will discuss the various high performance systems through improved efficiencies and new emerging products available for renewable energy generation.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of renewable systems.
- Develop knowledge in high performance systems and emerging technologies.
- Develop knowledge in energy generation potential.
Register for this training on July 29. Discounted early registration fee of $150.
NZE 501: Analyzing Climate, Site and Building
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
During Conceptual / Schematic Design phases of Net Zero Energy building design, the building location, climate & weather characteristics are studied in-depth. A thorough understanding of climate and site features is a critical component of Net Zero Energy buildings and is provided in this training. The studies in this 8-hour training include shadow analysis, daylighting & solar access studies and thermal study of building form. Self-shading and shading due to nearby buildings will be discussed and modeled for both daylighting and thermal analysis. The objective of these studies is to optimize the building form / shape and orientation based on preliminary architect’s conceptual / schematic design sketches. NZE 501 training will include both lecture and hands-on training.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of climate and weather characteristics.
- Develop knowledge in shadow analysis, daylighting & solar access studies and thermal study of building form.
- Develop knowledge in optimization of building form and orientation based on climate characteristics.
Find out when this event is offered next.
NZE 511: Modeling Daylighting & Electric Lighting
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
This 8-hour provides training on modeling daylighting and electric lighting using state-of-the-art software for integration into Net Zero Energy building design. The critical component of electric lighting is the Lighting Power Density (LPD) reduction. Based on the desired illuminance levels derived from standards and best practices, optimal LPD requirements for spaces can be developed using software. Through an iterative process, the requirement of electric lighting is computed; daylighting will be studied in detail and will be the first option sought after in a Net Zero Energy design as compared to electric lighting. Issues of reflectances, shading device design, material surface properties, etc., will be studied in depth. Glare control measures will be discussed and modeled for spaces. Effects of building orientation will also be dealt with in the training.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU, IES CEU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of daylighting and electric lighting concepts.
- Develop knowledge in effect of material color / reflectance and shading device designs, etc., and daylighting penetration.
- Develop knowledge in daylighting and electric lighting analysis.
Register for this training on March 17. Discounted early registration fee of $395.
NZE 521: Modeling Building Envelope & Internal Loads
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
The Design Development, and later the Construction Document phases of Net Zero Energy buildings should rely greatly on building envelope and internal load optimization. The basic premise of this 8-hour training is that the Net Zero Energy buildings must optimize load or energy consumption. In NZE 521, building envelope will be studied in detail, including computing U-factors using THERM software. Vertical fenestration and skylights and their response to external forces such as sunlight (energy flow and light penetration) will be studied.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of thermal envelope and internal loads design.
- Develop knowledge in thermal envelope and internal loads using advanced simulation analysis.
- Develop knowledge in building U-factors using 2D finite element analysis for heat transfer computation.
Register for this training on April 14. Discounted early registration fee of $395.
NZE 531: Modeling HVAC Systems (DesignBuilder, EnergyPlus)
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
In a Net Zero Energy building design, the building envelope is designed for optimized for loads. This then is translated into HVAC loads that are required to provide comfort. HVAC systems modeling is a critical component of a Net Zero Energy design. HVAC modeling parameters including performance & system efficiencies, fan power determination, etc., will be discussed in this 8-hour training. We will use DesignBuilder software with EnergyPlus building simulation engine.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Develop knowledge in HVAC modeling parameters such as system efficiencies, fan power determination, etc.
- Develop knowledge in HVAC systems analysis using software.
- Develop knowledge using EnergyPlus engine.
Register for this training on June 16. Discounted early registration fee of $395.
NZE 541: Modeling Renewable Systems (PVSYST, RETScreen)
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
Building energy optimization, a key for Net Zero Energy building design, is followed by integrating renewable energy systems. This 8-hour training will discuss renewable energy system types, their relevance to project & site, and their performance. Software such as PVSYST and RETScreen will be used to identify the renewable potential of the project and its site. In addition, we will analyze Life Cycle Cost / Payback for renewable feasibility.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of renewable energy resources.
- Develop knowledge in using software to determine renewable energy resources potential at a given site.
- Develop knowledge in renewable energy system availability and types.
Register for this training on August 11. Discounted early registration fee of $395.
NZE 621: Building Envelope & Internal Loads Optimization
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, Planner, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
In this two-day training, building internal loads are studied thoroughly for Net Zero Energy building design. Issues such as infiltration and its impact on energy flow, building schedules, occupancy, lighting power density (internal), etc., will be discussed. Energy used for vertical transportation and other process loads, including the exterior lighting load will be analyzed. Benchmarking will be conducted to compare the optimal (energy-wise) building during the session. This training will include both lecture and hands-on training.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of building envelope and internal loads.
- Develop knowledge in infiltration and its impact on energy flow, building schedules, occupancy, lighting power density (internal), etc.
- Build skills in using simulation software for building envelope and internal loads optimization.
Register for this training on May 25-26. Discounted early registration fee of $695.
NZE 631: HVAC Load Optimization (DesignBuilder, EnergyPlus)
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
In this two-day training, HVAC design, performance parameters, and efficiencies are studied thoroughly for Net Zero Energy building design. The training will provide in depth information about HVAC loads optimization. Besides, the seminar discusses standards and best practices. The overall objective is to reduce the use of electricity and/or other fuel types for thermal comfort. This training will include both lecture and hands-on training.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of HVAC systems integration
- Develop knowledge in best practices and emerging technologies.
- Build skills in using simulation software for HVAC systems integration.
Register for this training on July 27-28. Discounted early registration fee of $695.
NZE 641: Integrating Renewable Energy Systems (PVSYST, RETScreen)
Who should attend? Architect, MEP Engineer, Building Performance Specialist, Energy Auditor.
In this two-day training, we will analyze the availability of renewable energy sources and opportunities for use of such systems. Software will be used to determine the peak energy generation and several options will be evaluated using a spreadsheet-based analysis. We will provide the calculations for technical and financial feasibility, ranking of such renewable sources, system sizing and design and renewable integration. This training will include both lecture and hands-on training.
AIA/CES Sustainable Design HSW LU and GBCI CE offered.
Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge of renewable systems.
- Develop knowledge in determining the peak energy generation using simulation software.
- Build skills in preparing technical and financial feasibility for renewable systems integration.
Register for this training on September 21-22. Discounted early registration fee of $695.
Image Credit: The Green Roundtable / NEXUS
