Introduction to Sustainable Energy Systems

The course is an introduction to energy technology and energy systems. It deals with the basics of how both energy technical components and energy systems work. The course begins with concepts such as sustainable development, energy, power, and efficiency. It treats different forms of energy and the basic energy principles to be able to carry out simpler energy engineering calculations and energy balances on components and energy systems. The course also includes the most common techniques for the generation and distribution of heat and electricity. The design of today‘s energy systems is treated and to understand how the energy systems are expected to change in the future, the historical background to today‘s energy system is given, while today‘s energy use in buildings, industry and for transport is described. The concept of sustainability is central and especially the environmental impact of energy systems and how the energy system of the future can look in order to reduce its impact on the environment.