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Module 1: Power and Energy Fundamentals

Welcome to Module 1. This module establishes the core knowledge you'll need for all ITAC (Industrial Technical Assistance Consultant) work. Before you can evaluate equipment efficiency or recommend improvements, you must understand how facilities buy, measure, and pay for energy.

Energy assessment work requires fluency in electrical systems and utility billing structures. This module builds that foundation systematically, starting with fundamental units and conversions, moving through AC power systems, and ending with the commercial billing structures that determine facility energy costs.

Module Objectives

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • Convert between electrical units (kW, kWh) and thermal units (BTU, MMBtu)
  • Understand AC power systems, including single-phase and three-phase configurations
  • Calculate real, reactive, and apparent power
  • Understand power factor and its impact on facility energy costs
  • Interpret commercial utility bills including demand charges, ratchet clauses, and power factor penalties
  • Apply power and energy concepts to facility assessments

In This Module

  • Power and Energy — foundational electrical and thermal units, and the conversions between them
  • AC Power — single- and three-phase systems, and real, reactive, and apparent power
  • Utilities — commercial billing structures, demand charges, ratchet clauses, and power factor penalties