KERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT – CERRO COSO COLLEGE

RET C115 COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD

  1. DISCIPLINE AND COURSE NUMBER:
    RET C115
  2. COURSE TITLE:
    Fundamentals of Electricity for Renewable Energy
  3. SHORT BANWEB TITLE:
    Fund. of Electric
  4. COURSE AUTHOR:
    Buxamusa, Adnan
  5. COURSE SEATS:
    -
  6. COURSE TERMS:
    70 = Fall; 30 = Spring; 50 = Summer
  7. CROSS-LISTED COURSES:
  8. PROPOSAL TYPE:
    CC New Course
  9. START TERM:
    30 = Spring, 2012
  10. C-ID:
    N
  11. CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
    This course introduces students to the basics of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) electricity. Students gain a broad understanding of the physics of current flow, what is a circuit, what is isolation and grounding, and what causes arcing as circuit parameters change. Students gain hands-on experience in the application of these concepts and apply safe practices to wire circuits and to troubleshoot faults.

  12. GRADING METHOD

    Default:
    S = Standard Letter Grade
    Optional:
    P = Pass/No Pass;A = Audit
  13. TOTAL UNITS:
    4

  14. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS / UNITS & HOURS:

    Method
    Min Units
    Min Hours
    Lecture
    3
    54
    Lab
    1
    54
    Activity
    0
    0
    Open Entry/Open Exit
    0
    0
    Volunteer Work Experience
    0
    0
    Paid Work Experience
    0
    0
    Non Standard
    0
    0
    Non-Standard Hours Justification:

  15. REPEATABILITY

    Type:
    Non-Repeatable Credit
  16. MATERIALS FEE:
    No
  17. CREDIT BY EXAM:
    No
  18. CORE MISSION APPLICABILITY:
    Associate Degree Applicable (AA/AS);Certificate of Achievement (COA);Career Technical Education (CTE)
  19. STAND-ALONE:
    No

  20. PROGRAM APPLICABILITY

    Required:
    Renewable Energy Technology (AS Degree Program)
    Renewable Energy Technology - Entry Level Wind Energy Technician (Certificate of Achievement)
    Elective:

  21. GENERAL EDUCATION APPLICABILITY

    Local:
    IGETC:
    CSU:
    UC Transfer Course:
    CSU Transfer Course:

  22. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to

    1. Identify component symbols and simple circuit schematics
    2. Demonstrate safe operation practices around energized circuits by the proper selection and usage of appropriate test and personal protective equipment.
    3. Demonstrate competency with Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) usage and logic tracing.
    4. Perform wire tracing and isolate faults to field-replaceable components

  23. REQUISITES

    Advisory:

    INSF C070
    and
    MATH C056
    and
    RET C100

  24. DETAILED TOPICAL OUTLINE:

    Lecture:

     

     

    A.   Basics of electricity
    1.      Basic electrical terms
    2.      How voltage is generated and makes the current flow
    3.      A simple circuit and the flow of     Direct Current (DC) in the circuit
    4.          What is Alternating Current (AC) and how is it generated
    5.      AC Frequency and its relationship over time
    6.      Advantages of AC over DC
    7.      Relationship of power and energy in terms of voltage, current, and time
    8.          Relationship between instantaneous, peak and RMS voltages and currents

     

     

    B.   Safety
    1.      Importance of safety and general safety rules
    2.      Appropriate test and personal protective equipment (PPE)
    3.          Safe operating procedures (SOPs) — includes proper and safe usage of test and personal protective equipment around low, medium and high voltage circuits
    4.      What is Arc Flash and its danger — including safe operating procedures to prevent its occurence
    5.      What to do in an emergency, if it does occur

     

     

    C.   Electrical components and their functions in electrical energy transfer
    1.      Conductors
    2.      Resistors
    3.      Insulators
    4.      Capacitors
    5.      Inductors
    6.      Battery and other energy storage devices for renewable energy (RE) applications (including safety)

     

     

    D.  Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s Laws
    1.      Ohm's Law
    2.      Application of Ohm's Law to circuit elements
    3.      Kirchhoff's Law
    4.      Application of Kirchhoff's Law to circuit nodes
    5.      Series and parallel components
    6.      Application of Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s Laws to voltage/current divider networks
    7.      Explanation of superposition of signals in terms of Ohm's and Kirchhoff's Laws

     

     

    E.   Electrical and electronic materials
    1.      Periodic Table and atomic structure
    2.      Electron energy bands and valence electrons
    3.      Correlation between valence electrons and materials properties of conductors, semiconductors and Insulators
    4.          Common conductor materials and wire sizes
    5.      Doping of semiconductor materials to make N and P semiconductor layers
    6.      Overview of a photovoltaic (PV) cell
    7.      Wire Insulation: function and nomenclature
    8.      Overview of National Electrical Code (NEC) and applicability to wire sizing, component ratings, and protective devices

     

     

    F.   Practical simple circuits with emphasis on adhering to safe operating procedures together with using personal protective equipment
    1.      Component symbology and understanding circuit schematics
    2.      Basic test and measurement instruments
    3.          Internal resistance of measuring instruments in voltage and current measurements
    4.      Function of shunt and multiplier (series) resistors in ammeter and voltmeter functions respectively
    5.      Examples of common circuits
    6.      Circuit wiring and component and pin identification and wire tracing
    7.      Fault location
    8.      Fault review and corrective action

     

     

    G.  Isolation and grounding principles
    1.      Transient line surges from lightning or other sources
    2.      Surge suppression and     lightning detraction/dissipation
    3.      Importance of proper isolation and grounding/bonding techniques

     

     

    H.  Single and three phase AC power
    1.      Output waveforms
    2.      Typical 3Ø industrial generator

     

     

    I. Digital timing concept basics
    1.      Sensors and their functions for controlling processes
    2.      Applications to control systems and programmable logic controllers
      

    Lab:

    A.      Safety
                1. Test equipment (selecting safe test equipment and operational settings & safe usage)
                2. Personal protective equipment (selecting correct PPE & safe usage)
                3. Safe operating procedures (following all appropriate safety procedures)

    B.      Electrical/Electronic Tools & Test instrumentation
                1. Common electrical and electronic hand tools (use/operation of)
                2. Multimeter (use/operation of)
                3. Oscilloscope (use/operation of)
                3. Power Supply (use/operation of)

    C.      Component identification and circuit wiring
                1. Component identification to schematic on trainer/panel
                2. Circuit tracing to schematic on trainer/panel
                3. Circuit analysis on trainer/panel (comparing theoretical versus measured results)

    D.      Troubleshooting component and circuit faults
                1. Troubleshoot circuit on trainer/panel (measuring multiple circuit parameters & applying logical deduction)

    E.      Programmable logic controllers (PLCs)
                1.  Set-up and basic programming

  25. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION--Course instructional methods may include but are not limited to

    1. Audiovisual;
    2. Demonstration;
    3. Discussion;
    4. Field trip;
    5. Group Work;
    6. Guest Lecturers;
    7. Instruction through examination or quizzing;
    8. Laboratory;
    9. Lecture;
    10. Library;
    11. Outside reading;
    12. Peer analysis, critique & feedback;
    13. Peer-to-peer instruction;
    14. Presentations (by students);
    15. Problem Solving;
    16. Project-based learning;

  26. OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: Out of class assignments may include but are not limited to

    • Review personal lecture notes taken during class • Review classroom handouts • Conduct individual research (library, internet, etc.) • Collaborate on team project [Example: Research and write a ¾ ~ 1 page report expanding on a topic covered in class and weave it into a more comprehensive, logical and seamless team report of 2 ~ 4 pages and present to the instructor and the class. For example, "Describe the function of P-N junction and its applications to electronics," or it could be a computational problem, where the team collaborates to: "Determine the current flowing through a particular resistor that forms part of a resistor network."]

  27. METHODS OF EVALUATION: Assessment of student performance may include but is not limited to

    • Class discussion (Be active listener and participant in discussing lecture topics as needed for best learning comprehension.)
    • Short report(s) on assigned topics (Up to a single page report and oral presentation in class)—for example: "Weather and climate effects on siting wind farms," or "Effect of latitude on set-up of a solar array."
    • Quizzes on topics covered in class &/or assigned study topics.
    • Problems requiring mathematical solutions cross-checked by team members and reviewed by instructor—for example, these would be to "Determine an equivalent resistor to substitute for a resistor network," or "Determine the current flowing through a voltmeter when checking voltage across a set of live terminals," or "Determine the voltage across an ammeter's internal resistance when measuring a given current." This is an example of evaluation of a team project.

  28. TEXTS, READINGS, AND MATERIALS: Instructional materials may include but are not limited to

    Textbooks
    Herman, S. (2011) Delmar's Standard Textbook of Electricity, 5th Ed., Cengage
    Solar Energy International. (2009) Photovoltaics — Design and Installation Manual, , New Society Publishers
    Henry, T. (2008) Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits Workbook, , Henry Publications
    Manuals
    Periodicals
    Software
    Other
  29. METHOD OF DELIVERY:
    Online with some required face-to-face meetings (“Hybrid”);Face to face;
  30. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
    Engineering (Masters Required);Engineering Technology (Masters Required);Industrial Technology;Technology (Masters Required);

  31. APPROVALS:

    Origination Date
    09/28/2011
    Last Outline Revision
    02/10/2012
    Curriculum Committee Approval
    02/10/2012
    Board of Trustees
    03/08/2012
    State Approval
    UC Approval
    UC Approval Status
    CSU Approval
    30 = Spring 2012
    CSU Approval Status
    Approved
    IGETC Approval
    IGETC Approval Status
    CSU GE Approval
    CSU GE Approval Status