Preparing Energy Managers and Technicians for Energy Data Collection: New Instrument Familiarization Activities

Abstract

ABSTRACT Energy audits can be used to provide hands-on activities related to an energy management course. After learning the necessary background concepts, students need to be aware of what measurements must be taken to evaluate an existing energy system. In industry and universities, one may find apprentices and students from different educational backgrounds, such as electricians with no exposure to newer measuring instruments and students with no ability to take electrical and/or mechanical measurements. By studying the capabilities and limitations of measuring instruments, newcomers to energy auditing may collect reliable data. This article introduces several hands-on activities that could be replicated to teach students how to take accurate measurements of electrical, light, and heat flow parameters, ultrasonic leak detection, electronic combustion analysis, and simple data acquisition before conducting energy audits. A sample laboratory activity includes a description of the measuring instrument, fa...