Energy Systems Analysis
- Course introduction; fundamentals of microeconomics; the concept of a market and demand; the demand curve; supply and the supply curve; market equilibrium and key points in equilibrium analysis.
- The concept of elasticity; price elasticity of demand, income elasticity of demand, and price elasticity of supply; the production function.
- Fundamentals and concepts of macroeconomics; gross domestic product (GDP); further discussion of GDP and the concept of energy intensity.
- Problem-solving exercises and review of the topics covered; introduction to sustainable development; principles of sustainable development and their relationship to energy.
- General characteristics of residential, commercial/service, industrial, and transportation energy systems; introduction to the reference energy system diagram and its use in systems analysis.
- Introduction to energy balances, their principles and objectives; review of existing energy balances, challenges and trends, and their relationship to sustainable development.
- Completion of the energy balance topic; introduction to Sankey diagrams and examples; introductory hands-on work with Sankey diagram software.
- Solving selected exercises and sample exam questions; review and summary of the first part of the course; first midterm exam.
- Basic principles of engineering economics; introduction to present worth (P), annual amount (A), and future worth (F); application of engineering economy factors, use of factor tables and interpolation; practice exercises on engineering economy factors.
- Introduction to the uniform gradient (G) and worked examples using engineering economy factors; the present worth method, including present worth of costs (PWC), present worth of benefits (PWB), and net present worth (NPW).
- Practice exercises on the present worth method; the equivalent uniform annual worth method, including equivalent uniform annual benefits (EUAB), equivalent uniform annual costs (EUAC), and net equivalent uniform annual worth (NEUA).
- The rate of return method, including rate of return (ROR), minimum attractive rate of return (MARR), and internal rate of return (IRR); practice exercises on the equivalent uniform annual worth and rate of return methods; sample questions and a question-and-answer session.
- Second midterm exam; solving selected exercises and sample exam questions; review and summary of the second part of the course.
- Further discussion of relevant institutions; financing and credit facilities; an introduction to COMFAR software and its use in the economic evaluation of projects.
- Introduction to international climate change organizations and institutions; climate-related treaties; introduction to energy-related frameworks and models; course summary.