Course: REEC 120 Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Unit 3 Overview

page 1

In Unit 3 we are going to explore materials from the book Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air by David Mackay. You are expected to read one section this week, “The Balance Sheet” pages 22- 28. The rest of this unit has been adapted from a presentation by Timothy Wilhelm, from Kankakee Community College.

The balance sheet explores the consumption side of our existence, and the right-hand side will highlight the sustainable production stack of material.
In order to understand renewable energy we need to understand energy conservation. Key concepts in HVAC principles we will cover:

- the difference between heat and temperature
- heat is the quantity of energy present
- temperature is the intensity of the energy
- types of insulation

In terms of money invested, insulation and conserving is more valuable than installing renewable energy systems.