Course detail

Environmental Engineering

FSI-ITPAcad. year: 2025/2026

On average, people in developed countries spend more than 90% of their time indoors (buildings, vehicles, etc.). The course is focused on environmental technologies, i.e. technologies for creating healthy and comfortable indoor environments. These issues include thermal comfort, indoor air quality, ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, energy conservation, and basics of engineering acoustics.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. Pavel Charvát, Ph.D.

Department

Energy Institute (EÚ)

Entry knowledge

Practical knowledge of mathematics, physics, thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The written exam consists of theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is a multiple choice test. The practical part includes solving one task. The theoretical and practical parts have equal weights for exam grading.
Attendance at seminars is obligatory. Condition for granting the credit is proper completion of exercises. In justified cases, the absence can be compensated by elaboration of individual tasks in the area of solved problems (tasks are assigned by the teacher).

Aims

The course addresses technologies for creating healthy and comfortable indoor environments with a special focus on minimizing energy consumption. Students get familiar with basic design and computational procedures in various areas of indoor environmental engineering.
Students get familiar with the technologies for creating healthy and comfortable indoor environments. Students also learn basic design and computational procedures in various areas of indoor environmental engineering.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

ASHRAE Handbook - Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment (SI Edition). American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., [2012]. ISBN 9781936504268
ASHRAE handbook: Fundamentals (SI Edition). American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., [2013]. ISBN 978-1-936504-46-6
McQUISTON, Faye C., Jerald D. PARKER and Jeffrey D. SPITLER. Heating Ventilating, and Air Conditioning, John Wiley and Sons, [2005]. ISBN 0-471-66154-6

Recommended reading

JANOTKOVÁ, Eva. Technika prostředí - 1. a 2. část. FSI VUT v Brně, [2014]. Elektronická verze v pdf dostupná v e-learningu.
JOKL, Miloslav. Zdravé obytné a pracovní prostředí. Nakladatelství Academia. [2002]. ISBN 8020009280
NOVÝ, Richard a kol. Technika prostředí. České vysoké učení technické v Praze. [2006]. ISBN 80-01-03492-5

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme N-ETI-P Master's

    specialization TEP , 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
    specialization ENI , 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
    specialization FLI , 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory

  • Programme N-SUE-P Master's 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

39 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Pavel Charvát, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to indoor environmental engineering (outdoor and indoor environment, human thermal comfort).
2. Thermal environment (operative temperature, PMV, PPD, DR, WBGT).
3. Indoor air quality (types of pollutants, health protection, and ways of providing required indoor air quality).
4. Building ventilation (natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation, air cleaning).
5. Ventilation technology (air transport and distribution, components of ventilation systems).
6. Energy demand of ventilation, waste heat recovery.
7. Air-conditioning systems (classification, components).
8. Sizing and operation of air-conditioning systems.
9. Space heating in buildings, classification of heating systems.
10. Heat sources and components of space heating systems.
11. Energy performance of buildings and its evaluation, integration of renewable energy sources.
12. Noise and its influence on humans, basics of engineering acoustics, health protection in noisy environments.
13. New trends in indoor environmental engineering.

Exercise

26 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Pavel Charvát, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Instruments and techniques for evaluation of thermal environment.
2. Human thermal comfort, thermal comfort diagrams.
3. Indoor air quality, calculation of ventilation rates.
4. Natural ventilation (air flow through ventilation openings and ventilation shafts).
5. Mechanical ventilation, air supply, air jets.
6. Ventilation heat recovery, air recycling.
7. Moist air calculations (heating, cooling, mixing, humidification, dehumidification).
8. Summer operation of an all-air air-conditioning system.
9. Winter operation of an all-air air-conditioning system.
10. Calculation of design heat load.
11. Sizing of space heating systems.
12. Evaluation of energy performance of buildings.
13. Noise and engineering acoustics, basic quantities and calculations.