🏭 Plant Utility & Thermal Systems Engineering: Pumps, Fans, HVAC, Steam & Compressed Air

A practical engineering course that teaches you to quantify the energy performance of plant and building utility systems and to build the financial savings case for upgrades using real formulas and worked examples. The course is organized into 10 modules, ending with a final exam (pass mark 80%). It is independent, free exam-preparation training — not an official or accredited review course.

What you'll learn

• Energy Mapping: Where the Utility Money Goes
• Pump & Fan Hydraulics: From Flow and Head to Motor Power
• The Affinity Laws & VFD Energy Savings
• Premium-Efficiency Motor Upgrades
• Compressed Air: The Most Expensive Utility & the Cost of Leaks
• Chiller Performance: kW/ton, COP and IPLV
• HVAC Cooling-Load Estimation & Equipment Sizing
• Boiler Combustion Efficiency & Fuel Economy
• Steam Traps & Steam-System Loss Management
• Building the Savings Case: Payback, NPV & Measurement

Learning objectives

• Calculate hydraulic and shaft power for pumps and fans from flow, head/pressure and efficiency, and convert it to electrical demand.
• Apply the affinity laws to predict flow, head and power at reduced speed and quantify variable-frequency-drive (VFD) energy savings.
• Evaluate premium-efficiency motor upgrades and compute payback from the efficiency gain and running hours.
• Find, size and cost compressed-air leaks and assess specific power (kW per 100 cfm) of an air system.
• Interpret chiller performance metrics — kW/ton, COP and IPLV — and estimate annual cooling energy.
• Perform a sensible/latent HVAC cooling-load estimate and size cooling equipment correctly.
• Assess boiler combustion efficiency from flue-gas data and translate excess-air and stack-loss reductions into fuel savings.
• Quantify steam-trap and steam-system losses and prioritise a survey-driven repair programme by annual cost.