Overview
In this lesson, students learn how to evaluate the amount of energy used in a building and the amount of renewable power that can be generated on-site using photovoltaic (PV) panels on its roof (or in other locations on-site).
Using the school campus from the previous lesson as an example, students use the tools in Autodesk® Green Building Studio® software to estimate the energy needed to supply the electrical demands of the lighting fixtures, appliances, and other building equipment.
Then they explore the impact of reducing electrical demand by improving the efficiency of lighting fixtures and mechanical equipment as well as using controls to reduce waste.
Using this estimate of the energy demand as a target, they will then explore ways to determine the total area of PV panels required to meet all or a portion of that demand, focusing on payback analysis and the economic tradeoffs.