Building energy systems have a profound impact on the human condition, providing a comfortable, healthy, and productive indoor environment for daily life, while being responsible for significant energy, environmental, and economic costs. Buildings must meet increasingly complex objectives to achieve greater electrification and decarbonization and respond to societal needs for affordable housing and changes in the use of commercial buildings. To design effective solutions and analyze their performance, both engineers and architects need to stand on a solid foundation of engineering fundamentals, which this course intends to impart. After reviewing the motivation, history, and trends in building energy system design, you will learn psychrometric applications and analysis, the climate factors that affect building system design, the application of heat transfer to building heat gains and losses, and the calculation of heating and cooling loads that drive the engineering design of building energy systems, covered in subsequent courses.

Engineering Foundation for Building Energy Systems

Engineering Foundation for Building Energy Systems
This course is part of Building Energy Systems Engineering Specialization


Instructors: Gregor Henze
Included with
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Advanced level
Recommended experience
4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Apply psychrometric principles to analyze and compare the performance of building energy equipment and systems.
Apply heat transfer methods to calculate steady state and transient heat transmission through building envelopes, infiltration, and ventilation.
Apply methods to calculate design heating and cooling loads and analyze the impact of key environmental and design variables.
Skills you'll gain
- Architectural Engineering
- Engineering Design Process
- Systems Engineering
- Energy and Utilities
- Building Design
- Engineering Calculations
- Sustainable Design
- Sustainable Engineering
- HVAC
- Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mathematical Modeling
- Engineering Analysis
- Building Services Engineering
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Thermal Management
Details to know

Shareable certificate
Add to your LinkedIn profile
Recently updated!
January 2026
Assessments
19 assignments
Taught in English
91%
of learners achieved a positive career outcome
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Build your subject-matter expertise
This course is part of the Building Energy Systems Engineering Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 6 modules in this course
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
Instructors


Offered by
Explore more from Mechanical Engineering

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Boulder
Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online



