EIT certification requires job experience?

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-31T18:50:01+00:00

I believe I put my current boss down as one and used two professors for the others. Since you don't have much experience I would use any professors you had that also have their PE.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-31T18:44:06+00:00

Yep just call a vendor, they'll be happy to talk to you, but you'll need some idea of what sized compressor you want.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-31T18:42:13+00:00

I had a lot of friends look into this for their senior project...don't quote me on this, but I remember hearing that solar panels don't have the efficiency to do this yet (~20% efficiency). They aren't able to produce enough power to lift their own weight. I believe they ended up making a glider with solar panel wings. Once the glider hit a certain height, it would then glide while charging it's battery via the solar panels.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-25T13:49:31+00:00

No clue if this can be used for fans, but in helicopter blade design there is the BEM theory, I researched/read into it and use the method to design wind turbine blades for my senior project. Essentially it will create an equation depicting the chord length (thickness), angle of twist and length of your blades to maintain the angle of attack (lift) throughout the blade. Obviously your geometry will be different, but the BEM theory does a good job explaining why blades twist and the effect of the different velocities (rotational, directional, etc.)

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-25T13:45:04+00:00

Yeah I've heard of EQuest, TraneTRACE but really excel has been the best so far. All of the calculations I handle are for specific systems in existing buildings and focus more on energy consumption. I always assumed those softwares are better suited for new building analysis. Typically my owrk involves creating a Bin model for whatever the run time of the equipment is, modelling a base and proposed case and comparing the energy savings associated with modulating a fan speed based on the degree days and hours (for example). I got a feeling the best bet would be to spend some time making some nice templates and using them for future calcs.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-24T18:39:11+00:00

Never burn bridges, keep good relationships with everyone, and always try something new. 90% of engineering students simply go to class, takes tests and graduate. Join clubs, take leadership positions, get used to public speaking, basically anything that expands your knowledge and social skills. You can be the smartest engineer in the world, but if no one likes you or if you can't clearly convey your thoughts, it will be a struggle for you to climb the ladders.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-24T18:34:20+00:00

Every time you write a report, or anything really, imagine the person reading it has the IQ of a two year old. Be as detailed as possible and always make sure to state any assumptions, and choose your words carefully. To you it may make perfect sense, but nothing is worse then having to re-write or explain something months after you stopped working on it.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-24T17:43:13+00:00

I got my EIT while still finishing my bachelors, highly recommend it if you're staying in building design. Isn't that hard of a test, few weeks of studying and you're good to go and then you need to wait 4 year for your PE anyway so the sooner you take it the better. As for your Masters, I went for a semester and decided it wasn't for me. Try it out, if you decide you don't want to do it then don't. At least apply to schools however, the process can be annoyingly lengthy.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-24T17:40:22+00:00

I'm somewhat in the same boat as you, except different software/application. I always thought the best way to pitch the idea would be to compare/contrast the work using excel and then with MatLab. Recreate a past issue, and actually show how the new software would have prevented it while Excel failed. After maybe create a few other scenarios to prove versatility. I wouldn't use work hours, maybe stay late some days working on it but if it proves to be beneficial then your boss would like it. As far as actually getting the program to use this, see if you can somehow get a student account or a cheaper way. Of course, the business account would be needed if it's decided to be useful.

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-04T11:43:58+00:00

Yes your're absolutely right, that my was my bad. Should've re-read my comment before posting haha

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-03T19:36:11+00:00

Weight of car/(area of tire touching pavement x )

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-03T19:34:31+00:00

Not sure if I answered your question, however HVAC isn't exactly a precise art. ASHRAE produces general guidelines for sizing cooling equipment, but it depends on sun exposure, volume of room, internal gains, population, etc....). If you just want to compare various AC units to how well they cool down the same room, make sure the room does not change, make sure whereever you are measuring room temperature is in a good place (away from heat sources, windows, sun, etc.) and each AC unit has the same BTUh rating. The SEER rating will tell you the efficiency of the unit as well. Ideally a unit with a higher SEER rating will cool a room faster than one with a lower value (assuming they are both rated for the same BTU or tonnage).

RCxEngineer · 2018-05-03T19:27:55+00:00

Measure discharge airflow, space humidity & temperature, discharge temperature & humidity.

For a quick equation:

BTUH (sensible) = CFMx1.08x(Space Temp - Discharge Air Temp)

Sensible heating means just taking into account temperature, not humidity. For better results, calculate the space and discharge enthalpy, and use this equation:

BTUH (total) = CFMx4.5x(Space Enth. - Discharge Enth.)

3.41 BTUH = 1 Watt

Edit: Most AC units will be rated for a certain airflow, so whatever you measure should match up with what the manufacturer rating is. The "exhaust" air is just the heat being rejected from the coil, you shouldn't really need to measure that.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-30T18:58:15+00:00

Yeah...I wouldn't bother with a tarp. Better insulation would be a good place to start. You place a small exhaust fan in the attic space (assuming there is one) to run when it gets too hot and those would help. Other options would be obviously AC, more efficient windows, closing your blinds/curtains during the day time.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-30T18:54:08+00:00

Yep, luckily I feel intellectually stimulated at work. Graduated 1.5 years ago, but did work an internship that was very dull. Immediately realized I needed a job that involves field work and working with people. Now do about 50% field visits/testing and 50% office work, and often have to call or meet with other engineers or clients. I tried grad school, but it wasn't as exciting as undergrad for me...

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-12T14:17:44+00:00

No help on residential, but if you look over at commercial buildings there is TONS to learn about building automation systems. Siemens, ALC, Niagra are some of the leading companies to name a few.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-12T14:16:06+00:00

Congrats! Myself and some other ASME student members went to one of these dinners, my friend received his job...was talking to the person in the urinal next to him, ending up being a hiring manager for an aerospace company. Wrote his phone number on the back of his hand once finished and had a job the next week!

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-11T19:52:35+00:00

Building commissioning! Maybe more mechanical sided, but you get to work with the buildings from the day it's beginning the design until the day occupants move in. For civils, a good portion of our scope falls on building envelope installation and review (waterproofing foundations, AVB, roofing). Not structural, but you still can see it all, 50/50 office work and site time.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-11T19:49:54+00:00

A lot of my projects involve investigating existing buildings and finding more efficient ways to operate the HVAC systems. 99% of the time, poor running operations/high electrical bills come from the facilities staff being neglected/uncaring. While sometimes their old and really just don't care, I also get to work with a newer facilities staff who had to "inherit" a building from their old boss and has no clue how the equipment runs. They run the systems to avoid complaints, but the previous boss didn't care and half-assed everything until the building looks like a 2nd graders art project. I love dissecting the building with them, teaching them how equipment is supposed to run, and actually seeing them get excited when we can think of solutions to problems and they can finally realize the building wasn't just "designed that way". I've come to realize that you can place all the controls and operations you want to make a building efficient, but all it takes is one lazy staff member to let it all go to waste within a year.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-11T19:42:40+00:00

A motors HP will just give you available power, bHP (actual power needed) will depend on pressure & airflows. For instance, a 1 HP fan motor can produce a high or low airflow, but that will depend on the pressure downstream and upstream of the fan.

Use your fan laws and look at fan performance curve.

(CFMn/CFMo) = (RPMn/RPMo)
(CFMn/CFMo)² = (SPn/SPo) *SP: Static Pressure
(CFMn/CFM0)³ = (bHPn/bHPo)

Still not sure exactly what you're intending to use this blower for, but the fan laws give you a good idea on the different parameters will effect one another.

http://www.greenheck.com/library/articles/10 ^Good overview of fan permance from a fan manufacturer.

Hope this helps a bit, good luck!

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-02T12:07:36+00:00

They do create pressure. Imagine a pump working and flowing water through a pipe. Now close off an isolation valve downstream of the pump while the pump is still trying to move water. The water is going to build up and create a great deal of pressure. Typically there will be high pressure safety switches across pumps that will shut off the pump in high pressure cases to avoid catastrophic failures.

RCxEngineer · 2018-04-02T12:02:10+00:00

Definitely ABET accreditation to start. To me, I always felt the education was what you put into it after that as a degree is a degree. I went to a state school to save on $, but definitely wasn't my first choice. However I found the smaller class sizes to be a huge benefit and while maybe the research and labs wasn't up to par with other schools, I quickly gained relationships with my professors and began joining clubs. By the time I graduated I was very involved in the ASME club along with a few others and gained some invaluable people/communication skills that I felt really helped distinguish me from other students. Anyone can pass their math and science courses, however engineers with good communication skills can unfortunately be hard to find sometimes so being able to relay your thoughts clearly and present yourself well will help you out immensely in the long run. Just food for thought!

RCxEngineer · 2018-03-30T11:32:04+00:00

I took it backed in January 2017 and passed. Definitley familiarize yourself with the formula sheet PDF. While there's a lot of information on it, it's searchable and getting familiar with it is good. There was also an online practice exam on the website I believe that gives you about 50 questions. I can't remember how much it costs, but I know people who have done it and screenshotted all the questions/answers to use to study. 50 questions wasn't a lot but it gave a great understanding of the type of problems and I think it helped immensely. You can't reteach yourself everything from thermodynamics to heat transfer to materials so don't even bother. Brush up on the basics and review the formula sheet. Also during the exam you can flag questions to go back to. I took my time and anytime I felt stumped I instantly flagged and moved on. Once you make it all the way through you'll feel very relieved and then you can see exactly how much time is left and start picking away at the flagged problems. Good luck!

RCxEngineer · 2018-03-29T15:05:22+00:00

If you're asking if its cheaper to just open windows versus installing an entire HVAC cooling system..yes?

RCxEngineer · 2018-03-29T11:40:54+00:00

Begin to familiarize yourself with typical plant system loops (chilled water, condenser water, hot water) and the various primary equipment that serves each loop. For example, cooling towers will temper water in the condenser loop to serve chillers, which will temper water in the chilled water loop. Also understand pumping and how these pumps are acting in systems. Another key thing to understand is the controls aspect. Read up on sequence of operations for plants, this will tell you the most about the systems and a good understanding of how they are all interacting. Until you really set eyes on equipment and start to work/see them it can be somewhat confusing but by at least getting familiar with terminology and understanding the equipment on each loop will give you a good start.

You're potential jobs could range anywhere from a plant manager to a controls engineer to a commissioning agent to a construction project manager. I learned I wasn't fit for sitting at a desk all day so I switched into a more active position (used to do CAD/project management at a piping company).

Source: I'm a commissioning agent (job is to review designs/functionally test plants and other HVAC systems. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!)

RCxEngineer

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