Students in Lakeland College's Renewable Energy program practice analyzing real data from the college's Renewable Energy Cabin.

If you’d like to make your home more energy efficient, get into the growing field of renewable energy, or simply learn more about issues related to global warming and climate change, eCampusAlberta and Lakeland College may have the program for you.

The Renewable Energy and Conservation certificate program, offered online by Lakeland College, provides a broad-based introduction to conservation, climate change and renewable energy.

“Our decision to create this program was prompted by an increased public awareness of climate change,” says Mel Mathison, Dean, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Applied Research.

“We heard from people who wanted to learn how to reduce their home energy use or wanted training in the renewable energy field but didn’t know where to look,” Mathison says.

In the one-year program, students will learn to: install and maintain common renewable energy systems; increase energy efficiency through conservation and building construction practices; and reduce waste. The college is actively trying to align courses with industry associations to allow students the possibility of transferring credits to another program.

Upon earning their certificates, graduates will have a number of career options open to them, including:

• sales and working with the installation of solar, geothermal and wind energy systems for homes and small commercial projects;
• developing energy conservation, resource and water reduction programs for municipalities and government agencies;
• operating a building’s renewable energy system.

Students work with real data
A distinctive aspect of the program is its Renewable Energy Cabin. The cabin, which is not connected to the electricity grid and relies on propane backup on cloudy days, has several renewable energy technologies built into it. These include solar hot water and hot air systems to heat the building as well as solar panels and a small wind turbine to provide electricity.

Local weather reports and data from the cabin’s renewable energy systems are uploaded every 15 minutes to the intranet where students can access the information to complete assignments. An assignment might require students to calculate heat loss from the cabin at a particular time or the amount of energy the systems would produce in January, based on the angles of the sun.

“It’s a virtual lab and we’re really pleased with how it’s working out,” Mathison says.
“It’s almost as good as being here.”

Students may enrol in the program full time and follow the sequence of courses or enrol part time and take selected courses of interest. And, while there are no prerequisites, the program does require some basic chemistry, math and physics. Mathison says students should expect to spend 10 to 12 hours a week on each course.

“These are full-credit courses that require quite a bit of reading and include a number of assignments in addition to the exams.”

Launched in October 2008, the program is offered completely online with no practicum requirement. The first three students to complete the program will graduate this spring.

Mathison says this is the faculty’s first online program and that it’s working well.

“We’ve had very positive feedback and a lot of enthusiasm. We’re also grateful for the financial support from eCampusAlberta to help develop the courses.”

The college is currently investigating the possibility of developing a second year of courses to create a diploma program.
 
To view the Renewable Energy Cabin, go to: www.lakelandecabin.ca

Learn more about Lakeland College’s Renewable Energy and Conservation certificate program.