Building Engineers

Building control systems are central to efforts to improve operations, improve occupant comfort and safety, and increase energy savings. Control Systems (most often referred to as BAS, EMS, or BMS) perform many critical functions; yet the effective use of these systems relies on many factors, especially the advanced training of building engineers to take full advantage of system capabilities, the accuracy of sequences of operation as designed and programmed, the proper calibration of sensors providing data inputs to the control system, and more.
 
Attend this training to better understand and use the capabilities of your Building Control System tools and learn how they can help you and your team solve problems, troubleshoot equipment, increase energy efficiency, and improve building operations. One of the major goals of this training is to give you the knowledge of how Building Automation Systems work so you can better determine what you can fix and when you need to call in help. We'll cover all basic aspects of a Building Automation System, from the physical devices to the graphics and alarms. Almost every presentation has a companion hands-on activity and many an open discussion, especially on topics such as troubleshooting, data analysis, and loop tuning. This training consists of sixty-two hours of presentations, discussions, and hands-on lab activities spread over six weeks, including five days in person at Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
 

 

 Online and In-person Training Dates
Dates  | Time (Pacific)  Subject Learning Outcomes Recording

May 10, 2024

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

 Controls Basics
  • Points and Point Mapping
  • Control Signals
  • Electrical Theory
  • Concepts of low voltage wiring

(Click to download Powerpoint)

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May 16 & 17, 2024

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Controls Basics Lab
  • Wiring input and output control devices to the controller
  • Programming BAS for digital control
  • Basic troubleshooting for BAS systems

Day 2. Part I

Day 2. Part II

Day 2. Part III

Day 3. Part I

Day 3. Part II

Day 3. Part III

May 24, 2024

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Overview of Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization

Intro to BAS user interface
  • Navigation
    • Alarm console
    • History console
    • Graphical User Interface

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May 31, 2024

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

The Importance of Alarms and Alarm Management

Basic Data Analysis
  • Good alarms vs. nuisance alarms, the importance of alarm logs, and auditing alarm logs.
  • Trend analysis 
  • Detection of sensor errors

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June 12, 2024

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

 

Applications of Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization
  • Utilize rate structure to determine energy costs.
  • Develop a list of ASHRAE Level 1 Energy Conservation Measures related to controls.
  • Work with schedules, overrides, and resets to save energy.
  • Apply economizer knowledge to save energy.
  • Apply reset schedules.
  • Learn how to reset setpoints for trim and response.
  • Modify set points to save energy.
    • space temperatures, fan speed, discharge air pressure and temperature, lighting, and more
  • How to use data and trend analysis to save energy
  • Apply basic understanding of decarbonization
  • Understand how energy efficiency and decarbonization integrate

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June 13, 2024

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

 

Writing and Programming Sequences for Controls
  • Basic VAV air terminal unit sequence
  • Digital vs Analog control
  • What is a Reset?
  • What is a loop?
  • How we implement analog control strategies
  • How we test analog control strategies
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June 14, 2024

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

 

Troubleshooting Physical Equipment

Loop Tuning
  • What is Troubleshooting?
  • Basic precepts of Troubleshooting
  • How to determine if an end device (sensor, actuator, relay, etc) is bad
  • How a control loop works
  • How to tune a control loop

(Click to download Powerpoint)

(HPBOP Presentation)

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June 21, 2024

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

 

Advanced Features of BAS User Interface

Communication protocols within Buildings and point mapping for data retrieval
  • BACnet, LON, Modbus, and proprietary protocols

(Click to download Powerpoint)

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