Environmental Control Technology
29 courses · Laney College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Classes: Fall 2026
ECT 1 Physics for Building Science
- Units
- 4
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Advisory
- MATH 201, MATH 210D.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Principles of physics relevant to Environmental Control Technologies: Thermodynamics, refrigeration cycles, principles of heat transfer transfer, fluid mechanics, electricity and power and energy conversion, and properties of light.
ECT 11 Mechanical and Electrical Devices
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Corequisite
- ECT 013.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to fundamentals of electricity and controls as applied to HVAC&R operations: Basic theory, tools, instrumentation, AC and DC circuits, electrical and mechanical devices, controls.
ECT 12 Blueprint Reading and Interpretation for ECT
- Units
- 1.5
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture
- Transfers to
- CSU
Basic techniques for reading and interpreting typical design documents, drawings, and specifications: Emphasis on interpreting HVAC mechanical and electrical drawings, symbols and abbreviations.
ECT 13 Fundamentals of Refrigeration
- Units
- 4
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
Principles and processes of refrigeration systems: Thermodynamics, heat transfer, refrigeration cycle, types of systems and piping, energy efficiency, electrical and mechanical components, tools and instruments, brazing and soldering; methods for charging, recovering, and evacuating refrigerants; EPA laws and regulations, and safe handling of refrigerants.
ECT 15 Advanced Refrigeration & Troubleshooting
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 013.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Advanced methods of investigating and servicing refrigeration system components: Medium and low temperature refrigeration; defrost methods; controls; accessories; and commercial equipment; troubleshooting practices on commercial refrigeration equipment; electrical diagrams, service diagnostic procedures, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair, proper charging, leak testing, evacuating and recovering methods, including safety practices.
ECT 17 Fundamentals of HVAC and Troubleshooting
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to residential and light commercial heating and air conditioning components and functions: Natural gas, propane gas, forced air, and hydronic equipment; emphasis on reading electrical diagrams, tracking sequence of operation, and safety procedures.; troubleshooting residential and light commercial heating and air conditioning equipment:; controls, electrical diagrams, sequence of operation, service diagnosis procedures, maintenance and repairs with emphasis on types of ignition systems and safety.
ECT 18 HVAC Installation Practices
- Units
- 1
- Hours
- .5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 017.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to practical applications on residential and light commercial HVAC systems: Proper procedures for sizing and installing electrical and mechanical devices, HVAC equipment, Title 24 requirements, ventilation, filtration, flue pipes, (flex, square and rigid duct pipes).
ECT 19 Psychrometrics and Load Calculations
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture
- Prerequisite
- ECT 022.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Analysis of physical properties of air in refrigeration and air conditioning: Use of proper analytical instruments, manual load calculation and software for calculating cooling and heating loads.
ECT 21 Introduction to Direct Digital Controls
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to direct digital control systems and building automation systems: Basic electric DDC system and overview of fundamental logic, troubleshooting, hardware, software, network topology, and basic building operations.
ECT 22 Commercial HVAC Systems and Troubleshooting
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 017.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to physical properties, interactive components, and methods for operating and controlling commercial HVAC systems: Thermodynamic principles of pressure, specific heat, specific volume, density and enthalpy; hydronic systems including boilers, chillers, cooling towers, water pumps; ventilation, filtration, air distribution; controls and instruments. Introduction to troubleshooting procedures for commercial HVAC systems: Methods used for repairing, servicing and installing electrical and mechanical devices, including ventilation, filtration, air distribution, and treatment systems.
ECT 23 HVAC System Design
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture
- Prerequisite
- ECT 022 and ECT 214.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to concepts and principles for the design of commercial HVAC systems and system controls: All-air systems, all-water systems and air-water systems.
ECT 25 Introduction to Building Commissioning
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Corequisite
- ECT 022.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to fundamentals of commissioning, re-commissioning, retro-commissioning, and mechanical and electrical building systems: Review of building equipment and building control systems and the commissioning, re-commissioning and retro-commissioning process.
ECT 26 Advanced Building Commissioning
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 025.
- Corequisite
- ECT 029.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Advanced processes and applications of building commissioning, re-commissioning and retro-commissioning: Conceptual design through the construction process, acceptance testing, writing final commissioning reports, and training of building maintenance and operations personnel.
ECT 27 Advanced Direct Digital Controls
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 021.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to advanced concepts and operation of DDC controls: Input and output devices, programming strategies and translating sequence of operation documents for an HVAC system into an operations program for a DDC system.
ECT 28 Energy Management and Efficiency in Building Systems
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to technical and economic operating principles of electrical and mechanical devices for making cost-effective decisions and energy-efficient choices: Concepts include principles of energy, energy and its relation to the building shell, building system energy optimization, and efficiency.
ECT 29 Data Analysis for Performance Monitoring
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 025.
- Corequisite
- ECT 026.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to methods of acquiring HVAC equipment performance data to improve operations and reduce energy consumption. Data acquisition, portable data loggers and DDC control systems; methods of trending, electronic databases and spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel.
ECT 31 Introduction to DDC Hardware for Building Automation Systems
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- E/ET 202 and ECT 214.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to basic microprocessor/microcontroller operations: Analog and Digital, Input and Output Interfaces. Microprocessor and microcontroller hardware understanding in conjunction with software routines. Introduction to Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). Understanding of hardware communication standards and sequence of operation.
ECT 33 Control Systems Networking for Building Automation
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- E/ET 037 or ECT 037.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to global and local communication networks: Emphasis on design, installation and troubleshooting for building control systems using direct digital control systems.
ECT 34 Control Routines for Energy Efficiency
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Advisory
- ECT 026.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Methods and practices for developing energy saving control routines: Energy efficient operating sequences for programming, testing, and troubleshooting; optimizing systems interactions; using metrics to drive sequences, fault detection diagnostics, and measurement and validation techniques.
ECT 35 Control Systems Integration and Design
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Prerequisite
- ECT 021.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to control system integration practices: Common open protocols such as BACNET, Modbus and Lonworks, use of wireless protocol integration platforms such as Tridium Niagara and FieldBus, and review of whole building systems integration strategies; introduction to control systems documentation practices; HVAC system schematics, I/O tables, network diagrams, logic diagrams and other drawings.
ECT 36 Energy Issues, Policies, and Codes
- Units
- 1.5
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture
- Advisory
- ECT 025.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to regional and global energy issues: Energy efficiency market sectors, impact of building energy use on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Overview of national and regional codes and policies regulating energy efficiency in buildings.
ECT 37 Introduction to PC Hardware and Software for Building Technicians
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to computer hardware and software: Practical computer skills, including computer components and functions; basics of Windows competency and file structure system; Excel, Visio and databases; Internet protocols and Ethernet cabling basics.
ECT 40 Introduction to Control System Networking
- Units
- 1
- Hours
- 1 hour lecture
- Prerequisite
- ECT 021.
- Transfers to
- CSU
Introduction to global and local communication networks: Standard protocols such as, BACNet, MS/TP, ARCNET, LONWORKS, and Ethernet will be discussed and the benefits of each type of network and diagnosis of common network problems.
ECT 101 Fundamentals of Building Science
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture
- Transfers to
- CSU
Study of the physical interaction of climate (humidity, temperature, wind, sun, rain, snow, etc.) and buildings: Psychrometrics; indoor air quality; indoor thermal comfort; heat transfer; air infiltration; solar insolation; heating and cooling load calculation; building energy and environmental performance factors.
ECT 211 Mechanical and Electrical Codes
- Units
- 1.5
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture
- Advisory
- ECT 012.
Introduction to national, state and local regulations and standards that govern the design, installation and operation of air conditioning, heating, ventilation, and refrigeration systems: Code development process, its adoption and enforcement by local building authorities.
ECT 212 Testing, Adjusting and Balancing HVAC Systems
- Units
- 2
- Hours
- 1.5 hours lecture, 1.5 hours lab
- Corequisite
- ECT 022.
Introduction to theory and practice necessary to properly test, adjust and balance HVAC systems: Air and water systems and instruments used to properly balance the systems.
ECT 213 Indoor Air Quality and Building Envelope
- Units
- 1
- Hours
- 1 hour lecture
- Prerequisite
- ECT 021.
Introduction to building indoor air quality standards and maintenance procedures associated with comfort and health problems faced by workers and managers: Building envelope and testing procedures for proper service and maintenance of building heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
ECT 214 Technical Mathematics for ECT
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture
- Advisory
- MATH 201 or MATH 210D.
Selected topics in mathematics with specific application to the HVACR industry: Decimals and fractions, ratios and proportions, unit conversions, areas and volumes, application of algebraic equations in gas laws and load calculations, relevant trigonometric functions, and use of graphs to represent and analyze data. The course is designed specifically to reinforce practice with HVACR example problems.
ECT 466A Work Experience in Environmental Control Technology
- Units
- 1-4
- Hours
- 3 - 12 hours lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
Supervised employment providing opportunities in environmental control technology or a related field: Develop desirable work habits, become a productive, responsible individual, and extend education experience with on the job training. A maximum of 14 units may be earned during one enrollment period.