TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY
Basic knowledge acquired in the
Thermodynamics and heat transfer course is
required, in particular:
1. Operation of thermal machines (motor and
refrigerator cycles)
2. Heat transfer
Learning assessment is carried out through a final oral exam. For the exam, it is necessary to submit and discuss some exercises proposed during the course. This discussion has a weight of 35% on the final grade. The rest of the oral exam may concern the entire program. The evaluation will take into account in particular the knowledge acquired and the ability to rework, present, argue and synthesize such knowledge
The course Technologies for energy
sustainability, will deal with energy
sustainability. The skills acquired contribute
to defining the professional profile of an
engineer of the sustainability in work
environments with regard to energy and
related plant engineering.
At the end of the course, the students will
have acquired the notions for:
1. Set up the energy diagnosis
2. Identify the main energy efficiency
measures (including the possible integration
with renewable sources plants)
3. Critically analyze the technological and
organizational context of the analyzed
company to define an effective intervention
strategy
4. Implement the sizing of limited
interventions to replace or integrate
technologies
5. Carry out the economic and financial
evaluation of the proposed interventions (including any available incentives)
6. Present the results of their work with
different tools: oral presentation, written
presentation, spreadsheet.
The course contents are divided into six modules and some integrative topics:
Module 1 (8 hours) – ENERGY SYSTEMS AND DECARBONIZATION
Energy use and transformation, from national to local scale; national energy balance and historical trends. Environmental impact of energy systems (mainly greenhouse gas). Decarbonization goals in national and international contexts and technological solutions for their achievement.
Module 2 (16 hours) - HEATING AND COOLING OF BUILDINGS
Demand for space heating and cooling in buildings and refurbishment of building envelopes. Technologies for space heating and cooling (boilers, heat pumps and air conditioners, solar thermal). District heating for recovering ambient and industrial waste heat. Visit to the district heating plant and its related solar thermal park.
Module 3 (20 hours) - PHOTOVOLTAIC AND ELECTRICAL LOADS IN THE CIVIL SECTOR
Photovoltaic generation technology, from cells to systems; simulation of generation profiles. Electric loads in buildings; analysis of hourly consumption profiles and their aggregation. Power systems, electricity markets and extended self-consumption (in particular, Renewable Energy Communities).
Module 4 (4 hours) - HYDROGEN AND E-FUELS
Hydrogen, as a seasonal energy storage vector and for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors; technologies for its production, use and storage.
Module 5 (8 hours) - INDUSTRY
Current high and low temperature processes. Technological solutions for decarbonization of industry (including solar thermal, heat pumps, cogeneration, CO2 capture and storage).
Module 6 (4 hours) - TERRITORIAL ENERGY PLANNING
Tools for planning the whole energy system of an administrative entity (e.g., regions). Optimization of the technological mix from a system perspective.
Integrative topics (12 hours)
To complement the modules, some integrative topics are proposed during the course, through lectures or seminars. Topics include life-cycle-assessment, optimization, economic and financial indicators. Further topics may be defined starting from proposals by the steering committee and students.
Frontal lectures through the use of presentations and the use and analysis of spreadsheets. Seminars with experts. Adoption of tools and strategies for interacting with students.