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Learn how things actually work

Short, plain-language courses and how-tos from the Cobler team, explained from the ground up. Pick a course, start at part one, and work straight through.

7 courses91 lessonsFree to read
Riso illustration for the Electricity Fundamentals course15-part course

Electricity Fundamentals

15 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 15-lesson course for anyone curious about electricity, built around surprising facts: why the light comes on instantly, why birds don't get shocked, how a phone charger changes the electricity twice. No science background needed.

  1. 1What Is Electricity, Actually?
  2. 2Volts and Amps: Electrical Pressure and Flow, Explained
  3. 3What Is an Electric Circuit? Series vs Parallel
  4. 4Earthing and RCDs: Why Birds Don't Get Shocked
  5. 5Power vs Energy: The Difference Between kW and kWh
  6. 6AC vs DC: Why the Grid Alternates and Your Phone Does Not
+9 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Understanding Your Electricity Bill course7-part course

Understanding Your Electricity Bill

7 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 7-lesson course for facility staff and building owners in Peninsular Malaysia: what you pay for, how the meter works, every line of a TNB RP4 bill, maximum demand, Time-of-Use and power factor, with a worked office tower bill.

  1. 1Power vs Energy: What You Actually Pay For
  2. 2How Electricity Meters Work: Disc to Smart Meter
  3. 3Your TNB Bill, Line by Line
  4. 4Maximum Demand: Why One Bad Half-Hour Costs So Much
  5. 5Time-of-Use, Green Tariffs and Avoidable Penalties
  6. 6Power Factor Correction: What Capacitor Banks Do
+1 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Building Electrical Fundamentals course11-part course

Building Electrical Fundamentals

11 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 11-lesson course on the electrical system inside a building: switchboards, substations, single line diagrams, breakers, cables, earthing, surge protection, power cuts and control panels, plus what to do when something trips.

  1. 1MSB, SSB and DB: Your Building's Electrical Tree
  2. 2Inside the Consumer Substation: The Locked Room
  3. 3How to Read a Single Line Diagram
  4. 4Circuit Breaker Types: ACB, MCCB, MCB, RCCB, RCBO
  5. 5Cable Size and Voltage Drop: Why Distance Matters
  6. 6Neutral and Earth: Why They Stay Separate (TT and TN-S)
+5 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Cooling Fundamentals course20-part course

Cooling Fundamentals

20 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 20-lesson course on how buildings are cooled: the refrigeration cycle, humidity, fresh air, chillers, pumps, cooling towers and efficiency, with a route for buildings on split units.

  1. 1How Does an Air Conditioner Work? It Moves Heat, It Doesn't Make Cold
  2. 2The Refrigeration Cycle Explained Simply: The Loop That Carries Heat Outside
  3. 3Why Is My Office Cool but Still Humid? Sensible Heat, Latent Heat and Dew Point
  4. 4Indoor Air Quality in Offices: Fresh Air, Filters and What CO2 Really Tells You
  5. 5What Is a Ton of Refrigeration? Tons, BTU and kW of Cooling Made Simple
  6. 6How to Calculate a Building's Cooling Load: Where Heat Sneaks In
+14 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Building Automation & BMS Fundamentals course16-part course

Building Automation & BMS Fundamentals

16 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 16-lesson course on building management systems: sensors, controllers, control loops, schedules, trends, integration, network ownership and how to prove a BMS works at handover.

  1. 1What Is a Building Management System (BMS)? A Plain-Language Start
  2. 2BMS Sensors and Actuators: A Building's Senses and Muscles
  3. 3Controllers, DDC and I/O Points: The Brain Behind the BMS
  4. 4How Control Loops Work: Setpoints, Feedback and Closing the Loop
  5. 5PID Control Explained Simply: Why a Valve Overshoots, Hunts or Settles
  6. 6What Is a Sequence of Operation in a BMS?
+10 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Water Fundamentals course12-part course

Water Fundamentals

12 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 12-lesson course on water in buildings: supply, pressure, tanks, pumps, safe storage, meters, tariffs, cooling towers, water balance and finding leaks with night flow.

  1. 1Building Water Supply System: How Water Reaches Your Tap
  2. 2Water Pressure in Buildings, Explained
  3. 3Water Tank Level Control in Buildings
  4. 4Water Pumps in Buildings Explained
  5. 5Keeping Stored Water Safe in Buildings
  6. 6How Water Meters Work in Buildings
+6 more lessonsStart the course
Riso illustration for the Energy Management: The Economics of Saving Energy course10-part course

Energy Management: The Economics of Saving Energy

10 lessonsBeginner-friendlySelf-pacedFree

A free 10-lesson course on the economics of saving energy: what a saved kWh is worth, baselines and M&V, payback, NPV, life-cycle cost, cash-flow models and risk, worked on one office tower project.

  1. 1Why Saving Energy Is Really About Money (and Carbon)
  2. 2From Kilowatt-Hours to Ringgit and Tonnes of CO₂
  3. 3Before You Claim Savings: Baseline and Load Profile
  4. 4How to Prove Energy Savings: A Simple M&V Plan
  5. 5Simple Payback and ROI: The Quick Screening Tools
  6. 6The Time Value of Money: NPV and IRR Explained Simply
+4 more lessonsStart the course

More courses on the way

In the meantime, the blog has one-off explainers and how-tos on energy and buildings.

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