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Follow the links below to find material targeted to the unit's elements, performance criteria, required skills and knowledge

Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Prepare to design RE heating system
  2. Scope of the electrical installation for RE heating system is determined from design brief
  3. Safety and other regulatory requirements to which the electrical installation must comply are determined and applied
  4. Design development work is planned to meet scheduled timelines in consultation with relevant person/s involved in the RE heating system installation or associated work
  5. Develop RE heating system design
  6. Alternative heating system design/s is considered in accordance with the design brief
  7. Safety, functionality and budgetary considerations are incorporated in the RE heating system design
  8. RE heating system design is drafted and checked for compliance with the design brief and regulatory requirements
  9. RE heating system design is documented for submission to relevant person/s for acceptance and approval
  10. Unplanned situations are dealt with safely and effectively in accordance with workplace procedures
  11. Obtain design approval for RE heating system
  12. Requests for alterations to the design are negotiated with relevant person/s within the constraints of workplace policies
  13. Final design is documented and approval obtained from relevant person/s
  14. Quality of work is monitored in accordance with relevant performance agreement and/or workplace procedures or industry standards

Performance Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria on at least one occasion and include:

developing outlines of alternative designs

developing the design within the safety and functional requirements and budget limitations

documenting and presenting design effectively

successfully negotiating design alteration requests

obtaining approval for final design

dealing with unplanned events

applying relevant work health and safety (WHS)/occupational health and safety (OHS) requirements, including

implementing workplace procedures and practices

using risk control measures

applying sustainable energy principles and practices when designing renewable energy (RE) heating system

preparing to design RE heating system.


Knowledge Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include knowledge of:

design of RE heating, including:

heat transfer encompassing:

modes of heat transfer

conduction through a flat plate, series flat plates, thick and thin wall pipe, and composite pipes (e.g. lagged pipes and drums)

convection at a flat surface or tube

radiation from a flat surface or tube for black or grey bodies

combined conduction and convection through single or multiple flat plates or thin wall tubes

combined convection and radiation

combined conduction, convection and radiation such as fluid in a tank (convection to wall), through wall and/or insulation (conduction) to outside air (convection and radiation)

heat exchangers - parallel, counter flow and cross flow

combustion and fuels encompassing:

the combustion process

fuels - desirable and undesirable characteristics, solid, liquid and gaseous types, their relative advantages and disadvantages and common methods of combustion

air/fuel ration - stoichiometric excess or insufficient air

emissions and pollutants and their control

combustion equations - element mass balance

combustion products - gravimetric basis

steam encompassing:

importance of steam for heat transfer and power production

steam/water properties and the interrelationship between the various properties for unsaturated or saturated water or steam either superheated, saturated or wet

saturation temperature and pressure, specific enthalpy, specific volume and dryness fraction

temperature-specific enthalpy diagram for steam/water

use of steam table to determine steam/water properties (any condition except supercritical)

steam generation - water tube and fire tube boilers, and boiler efficiency

safety devices and controls used with boilers

steam plant - steam traps, economiser, air, pre-heater, superheater, air/water separators, water treatment, feedwater pump and exhaust gas treatment

heat transfer rates to or from steam/water (any condition except supercritical)

steam throttling and formation of flash steam

steam heat exchangers and barrel calorimeters

steam plant for process heating

steam plant for power production

refrigeration/heat pump encompassing:

basic principles and terminology

vapour compression cycle

performance criteria

types of refrigerant - designation, properties advantages and disadvantages

refrigerant properties using the pH diagram

ideal vapour compression cycle on the pH diagram

energy balance and heat transfers in compressor, evaporator and condenser

actual vapour compression cycle and variations from the ideal - pressure loss in lines and non-ideal compression

superheating and sub-cooling with or without suction/liquid heat exchanger

Carnot principle applied to refrigerator and heat pump principles of evaporative refrigeration, absorption refrigeration, air cycle refrigeration and thermo-electric refrigeration

daily irradiation encompassing:

definition of the terms: declination angle, reflectance, sunshine hours and extraterrestrial irradiation

solar radiation data tables and contour maps

determination, using field measurements and a sun path diagram, the times and dates when a photovoltaic (PV) array will be shaded by obstacles at a particular site

calculation of the daily average irradiation on a horizontal plane given extraterrestrial irradiation, location constants and sunshine hour data

calculation of the monthly mean daily irradiation falling on a PV array for each month of the year, adjusted for the effects of shading, using irradiance and irradiation data tables and a sun path diagram and/or appropriate software

energy balance encompassing:

definitions of the terms: transmittance, absorptance, emittance, specific heat, absorber, heat removal factor and stagnation temperature

heat transfer mechanisms of conduction, convection and radiation and their operation in a simple fin and tube collector

how the transmittance, absorptance and emittance properties of materials used in the collector affect the performance of the collector

ways to reduce heat losses from a collector

energy balance and instantaneous efficiency equations for a collector

calculation of the collector constants from the instantaneous collector efficiency equation for a linear relationship

solar collector encompassing:

five major factors that affect the selection of materials for solar collectors

features of collectors for low, medium and high temperature applications in terms of heat transfer, optical properties and materials of construction

the scope and content of Australian Standards (AS) AS/NZS 2712 Solar and heat pump water heaters, or similar standards

requirements of AS/NZS 2712 Solar and heat pump water heaters, or similar standards in one aspect of collector construction

tests required by AS/NZS 2712 Solar and heat pump water heaters, or similar standards with regard to collector construction

solar collector performance encompassing:

scope and content of AS/NZS 2535 Test methods for solar collectors, and AS 2984 Solar water heaters – Method of test for thermal performance – Outdoor test method, or similar standards

method for testing the thermal performance of a solar collector or a solar water heater according to AS/NZS 2535 Test methods for solar collectors. and AS 2984 Solar water heaters – Method of test for thermal performance – Outdoor test method, or similar standards

instantaneous efficiency of a solar collector for different inlet temperatures and flow rates

effect of varying inlet temperature and flow rate on the performance of a solar collector

efficiency curves for various types of solar collectors

performance of various types of solar water heaters in terms of their design, location and predicted solar fraction

hydraulic circuits encompassing:

definition of the terms: equivalent length, static head, dynamic head and heat exchanger

configuration of a hydraulic circuit for a pumped storage solar water heating system

function of the components in the circuit

effects of water quality on the life and performance of components in the hydraulic circuit

suitable type and size components to minimise hydraulic and energy losses, including pipes, pumps, heat exchangers, expansion tanks, valves and filters for a hydraulic circuit with a given flow rate and head

safety requirements of the hydraulic circuit in terms of temperature, pressure and hydrogen gas release

requirements to balance flow through parallel/series combinations of collector arrays

suitable water and energy conservation measures, including user education, water conservation technologies and insulation

suitable types and level of insulation for system components to minimise heat losses

domestic solar water heaters encompassing:

definition of the terms: thermosiphon system, pumped storage system and sacrificial anode

function of the components in a domestic solar water heater, including the collector, storage tank, valves, piping, differential controllers, pumps, insulation and support frames

schematic diagram of different types of system configurations showing collectors, storage tank, piping, pumps, filters, valves, heat exchangers and expansion tanks

factors which affect system performance, including storage tank and collector design, system location and collector orientation, water quality, hot water demand and usage pattern

safety requirements that prevent injury from high temperature water and hydrogen gas explosions during installation, maintenance and use of solar water heaters

demand for hot water and irradiation for a given location and collector tilt angle, orientation and shading

selection a suitably sized system for a given demand and location to meet a specific solar fraction and/or minimise life cycle cost

consequences of under/oversizing of solar water heating systems in terms of the effect on system performance, safety and life expectancy of components

installation, commissioning and maintenance requirements for a given situation including location and mounting of collectors, storage tanks, valves, pumps, pipes and ancillary fittings

energy conservation and efficiency measures that will enhance the performance of a solar water heater such as appropriate usage patterns, insulation, water conservation technologies and auxiliary energy tariffs

the capital cost, simple pay back and life cycle cost of solar and electric or gas hot water heaters according to AS 3595 and AS/NZS 4536 Life cycle costing

commercial solar hot water heaters encompassing:

schematic diagrams for two different types of system configurations showing collectors, storage tank, piping, pumps, filters, valves, heat exchangers and expansion tanks

steps involved in the design of a commercial solar water heating system

assessment of the demand for hot water and irradiation for a given location and collector tilt angle, orientation and shading

selection of a suitably sized system for a given demand and location to meet a specific solar fraction and/or minimise life cycle cost

consequences of under/oversizing of a solar water heating system in terms of system performance, safety and life expectancy of components

installation, commissioning and maintenance requirements for a given situation, including location and mounting of collectors, storage tanks, valves, pumps, pipes and ancillary fittings

evaluation of energy conservation and efficiency measures that will enhance the performance of a solar water heater such as appropriate usage patterns, insulation, water conservation technologies and auxiliary energy tariffs

the capital cost, simple payback time and life cycle cost of solar and electric or gas hot water heaters according to AS 3595 and AS/NZS 4536 Life cycle costing

pool solar hot water heaters encompassing:

function of the components of solar pool heating systems

typical system configuration

two factors which affect system performance

heating system technologies encompassing:

types and their application

operating parameters of common systems

system component parameters and specifications

system performance and requirements

installation specifications and requirements

relevant job safety assessments or risk mitigation processes

relevant manufacturer specifications

relevant WHS/OHS legislated requirements

relevant workplace documentation

relevant workplace policies and procedures.