The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of
Central Florida, is offering a series of five courses on "Designing and Maintaining
the High Performance Green Building" for architects, engineers, mechanical
contractors, building inspectors, facility managers and indoor air quality
specialists. Initial course offerings will be held at FSEC in Cocoa starting Feb. 4.

This series of courses will demonstrate:

    ·    How to design and maintain a green building that has good indoor air quality
    ·    How to make a building durable, comfortable and energy efficient
    ·    How to protect buildings from mold
    ·    What types of air-conditioning systems will cause mold problems
    ·    What advanced dehumidification technologies are available for use in buildings.


"A recent study finds about 25 percent of the U.S. Green Building Council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified green buildings use
more energy than expected and about 12 percent use more energy than allowed by the
building code. Our courses will provide the knowledge to address these issues," said
Rob Vieira, director of buildings research at FSEC.

The courses will focus on problems in commercial buildings, although the principles
discussed will be applicable to all buildings. The FSEC buildings researchers will
discuss such areas as ventilation requirements, humidity control, building envelope
design, pressure imbalances, HVAC systems, window selection, vapor barriers and
related issues. 

Students who attend all five courses in the series and pass the exam in Courses one,
two and three will earn an FSEC Green Commercial Building Design and Maintenance
Certificate.

The courses and schedules are:

Course 1: "Designing Building Envelopes to Control Air and Moisture in High
Performance Green Buildings," Feb. 4
Course 2: "Designing and Maintaining Building Air Flows in High Performance Green
Buildings," Feb. 5
Course 3: "Designing and Maintaining HVAC Systems for High Performance Green
Buildings," Feb. 18
Course 4: "Design Charrette - Practice Design of a High Performance Green Building,"
Feb. 19
Course 5: "Commercial Energy Code and Green Building Modeling Using EnergyGauge
Summit," Feb. 26

The cost of each course is $269. For more information about the courses or to
register, visit: www.floridaenergycenter.org/go/courseschedule

The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central
Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in
the country. Current divisions and their research activities include Advanced Energy
Research: alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells;
Buildings Research: energy-efficient buildings; and Solar Energy: solar water and
pool heating and solar electric and distributed generation systems. For more
information about the center, visit www.floridaenergycenter.org or call
the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.