Welcome to the program Buildings as Sustainable Energy Systems, and in particular to the second course in this program, Energy Supply Systems for Buildings.

This second course has been developed to give you a basic understanding of the processes used to convert natural resources into heat, cold, and electricity, and of the extent to which these processes impact resource depletion and global warming. With this knowledge you will be able to make a preliminary choice for a suitable conversion system for your building, on the basis of investment costs, operational costs, primary energy, resource depletion, and CO2-emissions. You will also be able to match this energy supply system with the energy demand in buildings. Energy demand in buildings was the subject of the first course of this program.

Buildings and their energy systems are responsible for around 40% of the worldwide energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, they have an essential role to play in achieving carbon reduction targets and increasing the sustainability of the built environment.

With this program, consisting of four courses, you will acquire knowledge about thermal processes in buildings, the generation of heat, cold, and electricity, and the interactions between building, occupants and energy systems. This will support you in making sustainable designs for buildings, their indoor climate and energy systems. It will also help you better understand policies in this area. We have a tremendous task to achieve to make the world’s building stock sustainable and I hope this program will contribute to it by giving you the tools you need in order to address this challenge.

I hope you will enjoy the coming 5 modules and wish you good luck with the course!

Prof. dr. L (Laure) C.M. Itard and the BSES (Buildings as Sustainable Energy Systems) team