Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (BTEC Advance) Course

Course Structure

Unit 1: Health, Safety and Welfare in Construction and the Built Environment CQF Level 3: BTEC National - Guided learning hours: 60

Health, safety and welfare are of paramount importance to any organisation operating within the construction industry. The Health and Safety Executive’s annual league table of fatal injuries shows the construction sector consistently tops the table.

The UK and European Union have created a legal framework for prosecuting employers and employees who disregard health, safety and welfare legislation. To reduce the significant accident record in construction, employers must formulate workplace safety policies. These must address the hazards, risks, policies, the organisational and control arrangements required to promote health, safety and welfare, and be communicated to all parties.

The unit will provide learners with knowledge and understanding of the legal framework relating to employer and employee responsibilities. An understanding of the principal causes of typical accidents and the associated costs of these will be developed, and learners will explore the methods used to identify workplace hazards in construction, together with the strategies used to control them including the use of risk assessments and monitoring and review procedures. Learners will become familiar with the roles and responsibilities of personnel and with the procedures required following the occurrence of accidents.

Unit content

• Understand the general and specific responsibilities both of employers and employees under current health, safety and welfare legislation
• Be able to identify workplace hazards, persons who may be affected by such hazards, and the potential consequences of accidents
• Know how to use risk assessments in appropriate formats
• Be able to use workplace health and safety policies to recommend control measures, reduce risk and meet legal requirements
• Understand own role in accident recording and reporting procedures

Unit 2: Heating in Building Services Engineering NQF Level 3: BTEC National - Guided learning hours: 60

Modern heating systems are expected to do much more than maintain the temperature of a space. They must be efficient, functional, environmentally friendly and should contribute to sustainable development. They might also be expected to add to the appearance and ambience of the buildings in which they are installed.

A sound understanding of the principles and practices of modern low pressure hot water (lphw) heating is therefore fundamental to the role of the building services engineer. This is particularly true for those involved in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) sector, also known as the ‘mechanical building engineering services’.

This unit explores the development of lphw heating installations in a progressive manner. This begins with agreement of the client’s requirements for a system, continues through the design of layouts and the sizing, selection and specification of pipes and equipment, and concludes with the commissioning of a system and its subsequent maintenance.

The unit does not consider specialised heating systems such as high pressure hot water and steam, such as are usually associated with large-scale projects. These systems and other more specialised heating installations are dealt with in the Higher National programmes in Building Services Engineering.

Unit content

• Know how to establish heating requirements for buildings, select design conditions and establish heating loads
• Know the operational features and characteristics of low pressure hot water (lphw) heating equipment, plant and materials and how they are applied in use
• Be able to design low pressure hot water (lphw) heating installations for specific applications
• Understand how to size, select and specify heating installation pipework, plant and equipment.

Unit 3: Ventilation and Air Conditioning in Building Services Engineering NQF Level 3: BTEC National - Guided learning hours: 60

For many centuries, ventilation has been recognised as being essential to the promotion of healthy and comfortable buildings for centuries. Today, ventilation is considered even more important, as buildings are more air-tight and legislation imposes a requirement for buildings to have a clean, wholesome, comfortable and fresh environment.

Many buildings have a tendency to over-heat in summer and often require methods of cooling them. Air conditioning, once seen as the benchmark for luxury, provides a method of doing this, but at a price that has to be justified and minimised in today’s energy-conscious world.

A sound understanding of the principles, procedures and technologies of modern ventilation and air conditioning is therefore fundamental to the role of the building services engineer. This is particularly true for those involved in the Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sector, often referred to as the ‘Mechanical Building Engineering Services’.

The unit explores the development of ventilation and air conditioning installations in a progressive manner. It begins with agreement of the client requirements for a system, through the design of layouts and the sizing, selection and specification of ductwork and equipment, and concluding with the commissioning of the system and its subsequent maintenance.

Unit content

• Know how to establish ventilation and air conditioning requirements for buildings, recommend strategies, select design conditions and estimate cooling loads
• Know how the operational features and characteristics of ventilation and air conditioning, equipment, plant and materials contribute to their application and usage
• Be able to design ventilation and simple single zone air conditioning installations for specific applications
• Understand how to size, select and specify ventilation and air conditioning systems, ductwork, plant and equipment

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