Courses

New students should register for First Semester Courses. Continuing students should register for Second, Third, or Fourth Semester Courses. Download the four-semester course plan for ECT students.

Summer

ECT 01
Physics of Building Science
This course is designed for high school students to enhance their physics knowledge, theory and practice and also enables students to earn college credit.

ECT 013
Fundamentals of Refrigeration
Principles and processes of refrigeration systems: Thermodynamics, heat transfer, refrigeration cycle, type of systems and piping, energy efficiency, electrical and mechanical components, tools and instruments, brazing and soldering, methods for charging, recovering, and evacuating refrigerants. EPA laws, regulations, and safe handling of refrigerants.
Syllabus

ECT 011
Mechanical and Electrical Devices
Introduction to fundamentals of electricity and electronics as applied to HVAC&R operations: Covers Ohm’s law, power and electrical instruments, basic electrical AC and DC circuits, electrical and mechanical devices, and electrical and electronic controls.
Syllabus

ECT 214
Technical Mathematics for ECT
Selected topics in math with specific application to HVAC&R industry: Decimals, ratios/proportions, algebra/trigonometry to do load calculations and analyze data.
Syllabus

ECT 012
Blueprint Reading and Interpretation
Basic techniques for reading and interpreting typical design documents, drawings, and specifications: Emphasis will be given on interpreting HVAC mechanical and electrical drawings, symbols and abbreviations.
Syllabus

E/ET 202
Fundamentals of Electricity for ECT
Introduction to basic concepts of electricity: Ohm’s law, power, electrical circuits, electrical diagrams, magnetism and electromagnetism, instruments and tools used in the industry, safety procedures, controls and motors.
Syllabus

ECT 211
Mechanical and Electrical Codes
Introduction to National, State and Local regulations and standards that govern the design, installation and operation of Air Conditioning, Heating, Ventilation, and Refrigeration systems: Code development process, its adoption and its enforcement by local building authorities.
Syllabus

WEL 215
Welding for ECT Technicians
Basic theory and manipulative practices of using various welding methods: electric welding, oxy-acetylene welding and gas cutting equipment.

Second Semester

ECT 014
Advanced Refrigeration
Introduction to more complex and detailed methods of investigating and servicing refrigeration system components: Heat pumps, low temp defrost methods, evaporative condensers, capacity controls, multiplex and multistage systems.
Syllabus

ECT 015
Refrigeration Equipment Troubleshooting
Introduction to troubleshooting practices on commercial refrigeration equipment: Covers electrical diagrams, service diagnostic procedures, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair, proper charging, leak testing, evacuating and recovering methods, including safety practices.
Syllabus

ECT 016
Fundamentals of Heating and Air Conditioning
Introduction to residential and light commercial heating and air conditioning components and functions: Includes natural gas, propane gas, forced air, and hydronic equipment. Emphasis will be, on reading electrical diagrams, tracking sequences of operation, mechanical principles of operation and application and safety procedures.
Syllabus

ECT 017
Heating and Air Conditioning Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting residential and light commercial heating and air conditioning equipment: Controls and devices will be covered, also electrical diagrams, sequence of operation, service diagnosis procedures, maintenance and repair and special emphasis will be given on different types of ignition systems and safety.

ECT 018
HVAC Installation Practices
Introduction to practical applications on residential and light commercial HVAC systems: Including proper procedures for sizing and installing electrical and mechanical devices such as, HVAC equipment, ventilation, filtration, flue pipes, (flex, square and rigid duct pipes).
Syllabus

E/ET 221
Motors and Drives
Introduction to the application of motors and drives used in commercial and industrial Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilation: Covers the different types of motors and drives and their applications, including electric and magnetic (VFD) Variable Frequency Drives for improved efficiency control and energy savings.
Syllabus

ECT 028
Energy Management and Efficiency in Building Systems
Introduction to technical and economic operating principles of Electrical and Mechanical devices enabling to make cost-effective decisions and energy efficient choices: Introduces the energy analysis software tools such as Energy +, Cal Arch, DOE 2 and other.

Third Semester

ECT 022
Commercial HVAC Systems
Introduction to the physical properties, interactive components, and methods for operating and controlling commercial HVAC systems: Thermodynamic principles of pressure, specific heat, specific volume, density and enthalpy; hydronic systems including boilers, chillers, cooling towers, water pumps; ventilation, filtration, air distribution; controls and instruments.

ECT 024
Commercial HVAC System Troubleshooting
Introduction to troubleshooting procedures for commercial HVAC systems: Methods used for repairing, servicing and installing electrical and mechanical devices, including ventilation, filtration, air distribution, and air and water treatment systems.

ECT 025
Introduction to Building Commissioning
Introduction to fundamentals of commissioning, re-commissioning, retro-commissioning, and mechanical and electrical building systems: Review of building equipment and building control systems and the commissioning, re-commissioning and retro-commissioning process.

ECT 212
Testing, Adjusting and Balancing
Introduces the theory and practice necessary to properly test, adjust and balance HVAC systems: It cover both air and water systems and instruments used to properly balance the systems.

E/ET 011
Commercial Electricity for HVAC
Introduces the operation, testing and diagnosing of three phase motors, Y and Delta Transformers and protective devices used in commercial systems: Proper sizing of branch circuit breakers and conductors serving single and three phase systems; The use of proper test equipment and tools for diagnosing and repairing Electrical and Mechanical systems.

ECT 019
Psychrometrics and Load Calculations
Analysis of the physical properties of air in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: Use of proper analytical instruments and manual load calculation and software for calculating cooling and heating loads.

ECT 021
Introduction to Direct Digital Controls
Introduction to direct digital control systems and building automation systems: Including some basic electricity and electronics and overview of the various approaches to system architecture, hardware, software, and system components.

Fourth Semester

ECT 027
Advanced Direct Digital Controls
Introduction to advanced concepts and operation of DDC controls: Covers input and output devices, programming strategies and translating sequence of operation documents for an HVAC system into an operations program for a DDC system.

ECT 026
Advanced Building Commissioning
Advanced processes and applications of building commissioning, re-commissioning and retro-commissioning: Conceptual design through the construction process, acceptance testing, writing final commissioning reports, and training of building maintenance and operations personnel.

ECT 213
Indoor Air Quality and Building Envelope
Introduction to building indoor air quality standards and maintenance procedures associated with comfort and health problems faced by workers and managers: Covers the building envelope and testing procedures for proper service and maintenance of building heating, cooling and ventilation systems.

ECT 023
HVAC System Design
Introduction to concepts and principles for the design of commercial HVAC systems and system controls: All-air systems, all-water systems and air-water systems.

ECT 029
Data Analysis for Performance Monitoring
Introduction to the methods of acquiring HVAC equipment performance data and using that data to improve operations and reduce energy consumption: Data acquisition through the use of portable data loggers and DDC control systems will be emphasized. Methods of trending and visualizing data through the use of electronic databases and spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel will be discussed.

ECT 030
Introduction to Control System Networking
The installation and use of common digital control system networks is presented: Practices for the installation of some of the standards such as, MS/TP, ARCNET, LONWORKS, Ethernet networks, etc. will be discussed. This will also include discussion of the benefits of each type of network and diagnosis of common network problems.

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New students should register for First Semester Courses. Continuing students should register for Second, Third, or Fourth Semester Courses.

Download the four-semester course plan for ECT students.

(download pdf brochure)