Training Events Calendars |
Use the calendars below to see when and where the publicly available training events I am involved with will happen, including links to additional information. Generally, I will try to show what is coming up in the next five to six months, so you may want to check back every once-in-a-while to see if there is anything new.
If you are interested in a private training class focusing on your organizations specific needs as they pertain to commissioning, control systems, or the technical side of HVAC systems, please contact me or Facility Dynamics and we will get in touch with you to see if there is a good fit between our capabilities and your needs.
If you are interested in a private training class focusing on your organizations specific needs as they pertain to commissioning, control systems, or the technical side of HVAC systems, please contact me or Facility Dynamics and we will get in touch with you to see if there is a good fit between our capabilities and your needs.
Pacific Energy Center
I have reached a point in my life where I needed to slow down a little bit and travel a little less. So, my direct involvement with the classes at the energy center is changing a bit, but I am still involved. The links below take you to the class descriptions and at those locations, I outline a bit more about my direct involvement in that particular class.
Design, Performance and Commissioning Issues Series
The Design, Performance and Commissioning Issues classes are intended to provide a technical overview of the targeted system with a field orientation by providing a layman's perspective on the engineering and operational issues. The classes typically include interactive exercises that use SketchUp Models and common/free software based tools and other free resources to illustrate basic energy and assessment calculations. They are complemented by self study materials and are intended to inform those who would like to know a bit more about the subject systems and to support students taking or planning to take the Existing Building Commissioning Workshop Series. And you can attend most if not all of them via a web conference connection that the Energy Center provides.
In terms of my involvement with these classes, Ryan is expanding his instructor pool so that others can take some of them on. I will continue to support some of them directly where I have some sort of unique skill or perspective that I can offer. For instance, I am old enough that when I came into the industry, I worked directly with pneumatic controls. As a result, for a class that had an element that touched on that topic, I may show up so I can support the class in person. And will also directly support the RCX101 class which is a part of this series and is the prerequisite for the Existing Building Commissioning Workshop Series.
Other times, I may call in and provide support via a web conference connection. And we are working to convert some of the basic content associated with this series into "bit sized" video modules that you could watch on a break or over lunch. They would be posted on the On Demand Training page of this web site as well as on the Energy Center;s web site, so keep an eye out for them because we plan to get that process underway soon.
I plan to use the calendar below to show instances were I will be directly or indirectly supporting a class, usually with a 4-6 month "look ahead". The links in the course titles will take you directly to the Pacific Energy Center Education Class web page where you can sign up for the class if you want to and also see what other offerings there are. Note that some classes may not be visible or available for registration until one or two months prior to the class. But the dates I have show below are the dates I have blocked on my calendar to deliver them so they are firm.
In terms of my involvement with these classes, Ryan is expanding his instructor pool so that others can take some of them on. I will continue to support some of them directly where I have some sort of unique skill or perspective that I can offer. For instance, I am old enough that when I came into the industry, I worked directly with pneumatic controls. As a result, for a class that had an element that touched on that topic, I may show up so I can support the class in person. And will also directly support the RCX101 class which is a part of this series and is the prerequisite for the Existing Building Commissioning Workshop Series.
Other times, I may call in and provide support via a web conference connection. And we are working to convert some of the basic content associated with this series into "bit sized" video modules that you could watch on a break or over lunch. They would be posted on the On Demand Training page of this web site as well as on the Energy Center;s web site, so keep an eye out for them because we plan to get that process underway soon.
I plan to use the calendar below to show instances were I will be directly or indirectly supporting a class, usually with a 4-6 month "look ahead". The links in the course titles will take you directly to the Pacific Energy Center Education Class web page where you can sign up for the class if you want to and also see what other offerings there are. Note that some classes may not be visible or available for registration until one or two months prior to the class. But the dates I have show below are the dates I have blocked on my calendar to deliver them so they are firm.
Existing Building Commissioning Workshop Series
The Existing Building Commissioning Workshop class is a year-long series of all day sessions during which the students attend a monthly class at the Pacific Energy Center to learn about the technical skills needed to perform existing building commissioning. Students are required to have a facility they can use to practice their skills on over the course of the class and ultimately need to have identified energy savings measures and assessed the savings potential in order to successfully complete the class.
The class uses the Pacific Energy Center systems as a "living lab" to learn and develop commissioning skills and techniques. While the focus of the class is existing building commissioning, the technical skills learned will also apply to new construction commissioning and ongoing commissioning/daily operations.
In addition to the monthly sessions at the Pacific Energy Center, two to three additional sessions are held each year at one of the student's project sites. For these sessions, the format of the class is totally field oriented, starting with an overview of the site and tour of the facility. The afternoon is spent in field lab sessions that use the on-site equipment and systems as a hands-on training venue to expose the students to field tools and techniques in a real world setting.
The class has limited space and to participate, you need to meet a number of requirements, including attended the RCx 101 course offered annually at the Pacific Energy Center. This is a very intense class and will involve significant self-study and work outside the class room to complete it. But most students report that the effort is worth it.
In terms of my ongoing direct involvement with these classes, the plan is for me to be there in person for the field sessions and for the first class in the series. I will also support the other monthly sessions via a web conference for a portion of the morning. And I will provide one-on-one support for students via web conference when Ryan feels such support is warranted.
The class uses the Pacific Energy Center systems as a "living lab" to learn and develop commissioning skills and techniques. While the focus of the class is existing building commissioning, the technical skills learned will also apply to new construction commissioning and ongoing commissioning/daily operations.
In addition to the monthly sessions at the Pacific Energy Center, two to three additional sessions are held each year at one of the student's project sites. For these sessions, the format of the class is totally field oriented, starting with an overview of the site and tour of the facility. The afternoon is spent in field lab sessions that use the on-site equipment and systems as a hands-on training venue to expose the students to field tools and techniques in a real world setting.
The class has limited space and to participate, you need to meet a number of requirements, including attended the RCx 101 course offered annually at the Pacific Energy Center. This is a very intense class and will involve significant self-study and work outside the class room to complete it. But most students report that the effort is worth it.
In terms of my ongoing direct involvement with these classes, the plan is for me to be there in person for the field sessions and for the first class in the series. I will also support the other monthly sessions via a web conference for a portion of the morning. And I will provide one-on-one support for students via web conference when Ryan feels such support is warranted.
If you would like a little more information, the left link below will let you download a brochure Ryan created which includes a bit more information, testimonials, and the anticipated schedule for the upcoming year. The link on the right will let you download a paper Ryan presented at ACEEE that includes an overview of the training series, training modules examples, and examples of student projects, including the energy savings data associated with them. And this link takes you to a blog post that describes the class in a bit more detail.
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The first session of the series is typically during the last week of June or in mid-July. The RCx 101 prerequisite is typically offered in May or early June. So, if you are interested in the class, you will do well to get it in your calendar well in advance and also to get in touch with Ryan Stroupe at the Pacific Energy Center as soon as possible so you can get on the mailing list for the class. You can reach Ryan at [email protected]. I would suggest that you include something like Interested in attending the EBCx Workshop Series in the reference line of the e-mail.
I plan to use the calendar below to show instances were I will be directly or indirectly supporting a class, usually with a 4-6 month "look ahead". The link in the course title below will take you directly to the Pacific Energy Center Education Class web page where you could eventually sign up for the class if you wanted to and also see what other offerings there are. Note that classes are generally not made visible or available for registration until one or two months prior to the class on the PEC website. But the date I have show below is the date I have blocked on my calendar to deliver the class so it is firm.
I plan to use the calendar below to show instances were I will be directly or indirectly supporting a class, usually with a 4-6 month "look ahead". The link in the course title below will take you directly to the Pacific Energy Center Education Class web page where you could eventually sign up for the class if you wanted to and also see what other offerings there are. Note that classes are generally not made visible or available for registration until one or two months prior to the class on the PEC website. But the date I have show below is the date I have blocked on my calendar to deliver the class so it is firm.
Existing Building Commissioning Project Review Workshop
Graduates of the Existing Building Workshop Series as well of graduates from similar programs like the Marriott AEP program and the Army's RCx Practicum program are eligible to attend the quarterly Existing Building Commissioning Project Review Workshops. These are informal sessions offered at the Pacific Energy Center which can also be attended as a web conference. In fact that is how I attend these sessions unless I happen to be in the Bay Area by coincidence during the week of the session.
As I mentioned above, these sessions are not open to the general public but are offered to graduates of the EBCx workshop series and similar programs. I show them here so that people contemplating attending the EBCx workshop are aware of one of the benefits offered to them upon graduation and also so graduates of the eligible classes who visit my web site can get the dates on their calendars.
During the class, students present current projects to share what they are learning and also receive input from the other students and instructors. The general idea is to foster the exchange of ideas, challenges, and solutions between the students and instructors in the context of real time, real world project work. Time permitting the instructors will also share relevant information from their own project and development work.
As I mentioned above, these sessions are not open to the general public but are offered to graduates of the EBCx workshop series and similar programs. I show them here so that people contemplating attending the EBCx workshop are aware of one of the benefits offered to them upon graduation and also so graduates of the eligible classes who visit my web site can get the dates on their calendars.
During the class, students present current projects to share what they are learning and also receive input from the other students and instructors. The general idea is to foster the exchange of ideas, challenges, and solutions between the students and instructors in the context of real time, real world project work. Time permitting the instructors will also share relevant information from their own project and development work.
University of Wisconsin
Department of Engineering Professional Development
DDC Controls
Most people involved with building operations and commissioning will tell you that having an expertise with control systems is very helpful. That is because just about every commissioning challenge will have a control system aspect associated with it, either as the underlying cause of a problem or as the solution or both. Fort those who are interested in really digging into this topic, especially in terms of developing logic and understanding how to procure better systems, Jay Santos (a founding Principal at FDE) teaches a course titled DDC Controls that goes into the topic in great detail.
Steve Briggs of FDE and I both assist with the course with Steve covering network topics like BACnet, LON, and open protocols. My role is to look at the topic from the perspective of the controlled systems; i.e. how the machinery and systems interact with the control hardware and software that manages them.
The the fee for the course and its' four and a half day agenda make it a significant commitment for anyone attending, but the reviews tend to indicate that people find it to be worth the cost and effort. Upon successful completion, the attendees can receive:
Note that when the word "Tentative" follows the title of the class, it means that while the indicated dates are firm, the class will only be held if registration reaches the level required to make the economics of the class work out. Generally, this happens several months before the class is scheduled to occur and I can't actually remember a time that a class was canceled due to lack of interest.
Steve Briggs of FDE and I both assist with the course with Steve covering network topics like BACnet, LON, and open protocols. My role is to look at the topic from the perspective of the controlled systems; i.e. how the machinery and systems interact with the control hardware and software that manages them.
The the fee for the course and its' four and a half day agenda make it a significant commitment for anyone attending, but the reviews tend to indicate that people find it to be worth the cost and effort. Upon successful completion, the attendees can receive:
- 3.6 Continuing Education Units (CEU) or
- 36 Professional Development credits (PDH), or
- 36 Green Building Certification Institute credits (GBCI)
Note that when the word "Tentative" follows the title of the class, it means that while the indicated dates are firm, the class will only be held if registration reaches the level required to make the economics of the class work out. Generally, this happens several months before the class is scheduled to occur and I can't actually remember a time that a class was canceled due to lack of interest.
Building Commissioning Association
Pre-Conference Workshop
I am a Building Commissioning Association member and usually attend the annual conference, often times presenting or supporting a workshop. I also sometimes support web based training sessions for them.
The conference evolved from the National Conference on Building Commissioning (a.k.a. NCBC, which some of us old folks still refer to it as). If you want to know more about the conference or the organization, you can visit their web site by following this link.
The conference evolved from the National Conference on Building Commissioning (a.k.a. NCBC, which some of us old folks still refer to it as). If you want to know more about the conference or the organization, you can visit their web site by following this link.
Portland General Electric
I occasionally do training for Portland General Electric. The calendar below lists any upcoming training events.
Electric League of the Pacific Northwest
I occasionally do training for the Electric League of the Pacific Northwest. The calendar below lists any upcoming training events.
