Curriculum
What's inside Field-Ready
Three tracks covering the full stack of building systems work. One is live now.
HVAC Controls Track
Building Automation Systems
Field controllers, terminal units, air handling systems, central plant, supervisory controls, and protocols. The full picture of how a commercial building automation system is built and operated.
Lesson 3.2 — Rooftop Units
Cross-section diagram: tap each point to learn what it does and why the controller needs it.
Orientation
Foundation Series
What Is a Field Controller
One board. A hundred terminals. Here's what they all mean.
There's No Button
There's no on/off switch. This is what you do instead.
Bips and Bops
AI, AO, DI, DO. Four signal types that run everything.
Learning the Language
ZN-T, OAT, HTG-VLV-CMD. How to read a point list without guessing.
Terminal Unit Series
Introduction to VAV Boxes
One box in the ceiling. Six points. Here's how it thinks.
VAV Box Simulator
Wire it yourself. Watch the sequence run. See what breaks.
Reheat Boxes
Air flows constant. Only the heat changes.
VVT Systems
One RTU. Multiple zones. One mode at a time.
Fan Coils, Cab Heaters, and Unit Vents
FCUs, unit vents, cab heaters, radiant. The ones that aren't VAVs.
Air Handling Systems
What Is an Air Handling System
The machine in the mechanical room that makes the whole system work.
Rooftop Units
Staged heat, staged cool, and a sequence that locks out at the wrong OAT.
Built-Up Air Handling Units
Mixed air, chilled water, hot water, VFD. A real AHU sequence, start to finish.
AHU Simulator
Build the wiresheet. Run the sequence. See it respond.
Makeup Air Units
100% outside air. No return. And a freezestat that will shut it down before you blink.
Plant Controls
Boilers and Chillers: The Big Picture
What a plant is, what it does, and why the whole building depends on it.
Hot Water Systems
One boiler, two pumps, reset logic, and a DP loop. Live simulator included.
Chilled Water Systems
Same structure as the hot water lesson. Applied to the cooling side.
System Review
How It All Connects
Everything you've learned, shown together in one diagram.
Supervisory Controls
Supervisors and Basic Graphics
The software above the controller. What it does and what it looks like on a real job.
Protocols
BACnet
The dominant protocol in commercial BAS. How objects work and what breaks in the field.
Modbus
Register maps, coils, function codes. How to read Modbus without guessing.
LonWorks
Still running in a lot of buildings built before 2010. Here's how to work with it.
OT/IT Networks
Operational Technology and Building Automation
Where the building network ends and the IT network begins. And why it matters to you.
Also inside
Troubleshooting Scenarios
Real fault conditions. Investigate the points, form a diagnosis, get the debrief. A new scenario each time.
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Commissioning Exercises
Point-to-point checkout, sensor verification, and the field steps you'd actually run before signing off on a system.
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Programming Sandbox
Wire logic blocks, run the simulation, watch values propagate. Build and debug real sequences on a live wiresheet.
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Access Control Track
Physical Security Systems
Card readers, door controllers, credential management, and how access control integrates with BAS.
Surveillance Systems Track
IP Video and VMS
IP cameras, network video recorders, video management software, and the infrastructure behind a real surveillance system.
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Every lesson, simulator, and field exercise. Work through the HVAC Controls Track at your own pace, on any device.
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