North Carolina Energy Efficiency and Ethics 15 PDH Discount Package 2

This online engineering PDH course provides information on advancements made in systems and technologies related to oil and natural gas development to produce cleaner fuels. It pays special attention to advancements aimed at reducing the environmental impact associated with the production of oil and natural gas. It also discusses the safety conditions for those involved in the development process.

Fossil fuel resources account for 82% of total U.S. primary energy use because they are abundant, have a relatively low cost of production, and have a high energy density—enabling easy transport and storage. The infrastructure built over decades to supply fossil fuels is the world’s largest enterprise with the largest market capitalization. Of fossil fuels, oil and natural gas make up 63% of energy usage. Across the energy economy, the source and mix of fuels used across these sectors is changing, particularly the rapid increase in natural gas production from unconventional resources for electricity generation and the rapid increase in domestic production of shale oil. The United States will, for the foreseeable future, continue to rely heavily upon oil and natural gas to support its economy, national security, and energy security.

This online engineering PDH course provides information on a wide variety of energy-related topics, ranging from simple weatherization, insulation, heating and cooling system improvements in homes, to installing and maintaining efficient water heaters, home appliances and solar panels.

Every year, a typical family in the United States spends around half of its home energy budget on heating and cooling. Unfortunately, many of those dollars are often wasted, because conditioned air escapes through leaky ceilings, walls and foundations, or flows through inadequately insulated attics, pipes, exterior walls and basements. In addition, many appliances, heating systems and air conditioners aren’t properly maintained, are old and inefficient, compared to models being sold today.

By properly maintaining your existing heating and cooling equipment (or replacing aging units with high-efficiency models), addressing weatherization and insulation issues at your house and getting into the habit of using energy efficiently all the time, you can save 10 to 30 percent (or more) on your utility bills every year. You will also help reduce pollution at utility plants that use fossil fuels to generate electricity.

This online engineering PDH course provides basic information on LED troffer retrofit lighting and controls best practices.

Lighting use constitutes about 20% of the total source electricity consumption in commercial buildings. Most of the lighting in U.S. commercial buildings is provided by fluorescent troffer ceiling fixtures. There are currently over 350 million installed troffers using more than 65 million kWh (the annual energy usage of 6 million U.S. homes).

Retrofitting these fluorescent troffers to light-emitting diode (LED) sources offers the potential for enormous energy savings. As of 2015, only 5% of the troffers in use had LED light sources. At a project level, retrofitting or replacing fluorescent troffers with LEDs can result in energy savings of 20% to 60% and help agencies meet energy-efficiency goals.

This online engineering PDH course provides basic information on wireless occupancy for lighting controls.

Lighting use constitutes about 20% of the total energy consumption in commercial buildings. Adding lighting controls is a simple retrofit option than can save on energy costs while helping to meet agency and federal energy savings mandates. Some energy codes and federal standards require the use of lighting controls.

Studies have shown that adding lighting controls can reduce lighting energy use 10% to 90% or more depending on the use of the space in which the sensors are installed. One study conducted on a university campus found that installing wired occupancy sensors to control lighting in more than 200 rooms in 10 buildings provided an annual cost savings of about $14,000 with a simple payback of 4.2 years.

This online engineering PDH course will establish, through the presentation of many examples, the principles of distinguishing between a gift and a bribe.

The federal government has formulated detailed rules covering gifts given to executive-branch employees in many situations. The rules are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and are illustrated through many examples. Even though the examples are intended for government employees (many of whom are engineers), they also apply to private-sector engineers in similar situations. This course presents selected CFR examples that furnish guidance on the ethics of gift giving in situations that are especially relevant to engineers.