CEM study guide
CEM · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Energy Manager (CEM) is a personnel certification administered by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) for professionals who optimize the energy performance of facilities, buildings, and industrial plants. AEE describes the CEM as a systems integrator for electrical, mechanical, process, and building infrastructure who analyzes cost-effective solutions to reduce energy consumption, and notes that CEMs often serve as team leaders developing and implementing organizational energy management strategies. The CEM study guide has 12 sections and about 5,378 words.
01Energy and Sustainability Policies
This domain tests how energy management decisions connect to policy, regulation, and corporate sustainability reporting. CEM-style questions often ask you to distinguish mandatory rules from voluntary frameworks, classify emissions by scope, and calculate a simple footprint from utility data.
463 words, about 2 min02Codes and Standards
This domain tests your command of the standards that define minimum energy performance, ventilation, comfort, auditing, commissioning, and energy management. Questions frequently ask which standard applies to a building type, which compliance path is being used, and whether a design meets a prescriptive limit.
461 words, about 2 min03Energy Rates, Tariffs and Supply Options
This domain tests whether you can read a utility bill, separate energy from demand and fixed charges, and evaluate supply alternatives. Exam questions often hinge on the difference between kWh and kW, the demand interval, a ratchet clause, or a power-factor penalty.
465 words, about 2 min04Energy Audits and Instrumentation
This domain tests audit levels, field measurement, data quality, and measurement and verification planning. CEM-style questions ask you to select an instrument, interpret a trend, or match an audit deliverable to the ASHRAE level.
448 words, about 2 min05Energy Accounting and Economics
This domain tests whether you can turn energy data into a defensible baseline and evaluate projects with the right financial metric. Questions often contrast simple payback with life-cycle measures, or ask you to compute NPV, IRR, or a weather-normalized baseline.
377 words, about 2 min06Electrical Power Systems and Motors
This domain tests power fundamentals, motor efficiency, variable-frequency drives, power-factor correction, and demand management. Questions often require a kW/kVA/kVAR calculation or an estimate of VFD savings using the affinity laws.
429 words, about 2 min07Lighting Systems
This domain tests lighting metrics, technology comparisons, code limits, and controls. Questions often ask you to calculate lighting energy savings, check an LPD limit, or distinguish lamp lumens from delivered lumens.
425 words, about 2 min08HVAC Systems and Building Envelope
This domain tests HVAC performance metrics, psychrometrics, envelope effects, ventilation, and system interactions. Questions often require converting COP to kW/ton, estimating chiller energy, or identifying why an economizer is not saving energy.
396 words, about 2 min09Building Automation, Controls and Artificial Intelligence Systems
This domain tests control architecture, sequences, scheduling, fault detection, and the realistic use of AI in buildings. Questions often ask you to estimate scheduling savings or identify why a control sequence is wasting energy.
401 words, about 2 min10Energy Storage Systems
This domain tests battery and storage metrics, applications, codes, and economics. Questions often ask you to separate nameplate from usable capacity, calculate round-trip efficiency effects, or evaluate demand-charge savings against arbitrage.
356 words, about 2 min11Boiler and Steam Systems
This domain tests combustion efficiency, boiler efficiency, steam-system losses, and cost calculations. Questions often require converting boiler horsepower to fuel input or estimating savings from reduced excess air or improved condensate return.
371 words, about 2 min12Distributed Generation & Renewable Energy Systems
This domain tests solar PV, wind, CHP, fuel cells, interconnection, and renewable economics. Questions often ask you to convert DC capacity to annual AC energy, calculate capacity factor, or compare net metering with net billing.
786 words, about 4 min