Environmental Technology Applications in the Retrofitting of Residential Buildings

The impact of buildings on the environment is nothing short of devastating. In recent years, much attention has been given to creating an environmentally friendly built environment. Nonetheless, it has been levied on new buildings. Residential buildings make up at least 80% of the built environment, most of which were built before any energy efficiency guidelines or regulations were introduced. Retrofitting existing residential buildings is a key yet neglected priority in effecting the transition to an environmentally friendly, sustainable built environment. It is pivotal to reducing a building’s energy consumption while simultaneously improving indoor environmental quality and minimizing harmful emissions. This Special Issue showcases studies investigating applications of environmental technology that is tailored to enhance the sustainable performance of existing residential buildings. It helps to better understand the innovations that have been taking place in retrofitting residential buildings, as well as highlighting many opportunities for future research in this field

Cyber security of smart building ecosystems

Abstract. Building automation systems are used to create energy-efficient and customisable commercial and residential buildings. During the last two decades, these systems have become more and more interconnected to reduce expenses and expand their capabilities by allowing vendors to perform maintenance and by letting building users to control the machines remotely. This interconnectivity has brought new opportunities on how building data can be collected and put to use, but it has also increased the attack surface of smart buildings by introducing security challenges that need to be addressed. Traditional building automation systems with their proprietary communication protocols and interfaces are giving way to interoperable systems utilising open technologies. This interoperability is an important aspect in streamlining the data collection process by ensuring that different components of the environment are able to exchange information and operate in a coordinated manner. Turning these opportunities into actual products and platforms requires multi-sector collaboration and joint research projects, so that the buildings of tomorrow can become reality with as few compromises as possible. This work examines one of these experimental project platforms, KEKO ecosystem, with the focus on assessing the cyber security challenges faced by the platform by using the well-recognised MITRE ATT&CK knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques. The assessment provides a detailed categorisation of identified challenges and recommendations on how they should be addressed. This work also presents one possible solution for improving the detection of offensive techniques targeting building automation by implementing a monitoring pipeline within the experimental platform, and a security event API that can be integrated to a remote SIEM system to increase visibility on the platform’s data processing operations

Algoritmy pro řízení výtahů

Práca porovnáva rôzne systémy riešenia výťahov vo výškových budovách s použitím počítačovej simulácie. Tieto systémy sú porovnávané podľa rôznych kritérií, pričom základným kritériom je priemerný čas čakania na výťah. Ďalšími kritériami sú náklady na dopravu a najdlhší čas čakania na výťah. Použité algoritmy sú testované na väčšom počte ľudí než vo väčšine dostupnej literatúry, ktorá skúma zlepšenia väčšinou na dvoch, troch ľuďoch. Výsledky ukazujú, že má zmysel zaoberať sa každým testovaným algoritmom, pretože každý z nich má svoje výhody a nevýhody.This thesis compares various systems of elevator solutions in high-rise buildings using computer simulation. These systems are compared according to the various criteria. The basic criterion is the average waiting time for the elevator. The other criteria are the costs of the transport and the longest waiting time. The algorithms for the management of the various types of elevators are tested on the larger group of people than in the most of the available literature that examine the improvements mostly on two or three persons. The results show that it is meaningful to consider all algorithms because each of them has its advantages and disadvantages.Department of Applied MathematicsKatedra aplikované matematikyFaculty of Mathematics and PhysicsMatematicko-fyzikální fakult

Technology and Management for Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructures

A total of 30 articles have been published in this special issue, and it consists of 27 research papers, 2 technical notes, and 1 review paper. A total of 104 authors from 9 countries including Korea, Spain, Taiwan, USA, Finland, China, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Germany participated in writing and submitting very excellent papers that were finally published after the review process had been conducted according to very strict standards. Among the published papers, 13 papers directly addressed words such as sustainable, life cycle assessment (LCA) and CO2, and 17 papers indirectly dealt with energy and CO2 reduction effects. Among the published papers, there are 6 papers dealing with construction technology, but a majority, 24 papers deal with management techniques. The authors of the published papers used various analysis techniques to obtain the suggested solutions for each topic. Listed by key techniques, various techniques such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the Taguchi method, machine learning including Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), regression analysis, Strength–Weakness–Opportunity–Threat (SWOT), system dynamics, simulation and modeling, Building Information Model (BIM) with schedule, and graph and data analysis after experiments and observations are identified

Inequalities in travel time, cost, risk as cause of persistent social and health inequalities

Background: inequalities in travel time, travel cost, and travel risk (ITTRC) can consistently affect access to primary care and social services for disadvantaged and marginalized patients. At the same time, the most disadvantaged patients may face the highest travel time, travel cost, and travel risk due to pre-existing disability, poverty, or other intersectional marginalization. Case Report: to study ITTRC as a confounder which reinforces social and health inequalities, key-informants in the World Health Organization Healthy Cities program, Age-Friendly Cities program, and global EcoCities research initiatives (n=5) were engaged to validate a city planning model towards minimizing ITTRC. A case review of Vancouver, Canada, shows developments which help minimize ITTRC have increased over the last decade, but are not financially-accessible for disadvantaged and marginalized patients. Conclusion: ITTRC can be reduced through city planning, but underlying classism and capitalism must be acknowledged and addressed towards equitable physical access to life opportunities

Working in the Accommodation Industry: an Experience at Tripas-Coração

This report is part of the curricular internship of the Master’s Degree in Intercultural Studies for Business, at the Porto Accounting and Business School (Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto). The internship was developed in the company Tripas-Coração, Lda., inserted in the tourism sector. Freedom of movement between countries and the democratization of transport has made intercultural flows possible in the majority of the world. This has led to some serious changes in culture and its commodification and in the way that cities are structured nowadays. Bearing this in mind, it is possible to identify that there is a growing need for the analysis and understanding of intercultural communication and its impact on society. These intercultural flows and communication are intrinsically linked to the area of tourism. This is a reality for Portugal, which benefits from it and also has to deal with new issues and their consequences. This also applies to the city of Porto, and it is necessary to admit the importance of adapting cultural discourses and behaviors to accommodate all cultures. The objective of this report is to present and describe the work developed at Tripas-Coração, a company that operates in the tourism industry in Porto. In this way, the tasks developed within the scope of the curricular internship will be described in order to be able to relate them to the knowledge acquired during the master's degree and previous education, while providing an analysis of the importance of this knowledge.O presente relatório enquadra o estágio curricular do Mestrado em Estudos Interculturais para Negócios, no Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto. O estágio foi desenvolvido na empresa Tripas-Coração, Lda., inserida na área do turismo. A liberdade de movimentação entre países e a democratização dos transportes tornaram os fluxos interculturais possíveis em grande parte do mundo. Isto levou a algumas mudanças na cultura e na sua comodificação e na forma como as cidades se estruturam atualmente. Tendo em conta isto, é possível identificar que existe uma crescente necessidade para a análise e a compreensão da comunicação intercultural e do seu impacto na sociedade. Estes fluxos e esta comunicação interculturais estão intrinssecamente ligadas à área do turismo. Isto é uma realidade para Portugal, que usufrui e que tem de lidar com estas novas questões e com as suas consequências. Isto também se aplica para a cidade do Porto, e é necessário admitir a importância de adaptar os discursos e os comportamentos culturais para acomodar todas as culturas. O objetivo deste relatório é apresentar e descrever o trabalho desenvolvido na Tripas-Coração, empresa que atua na atividade turística do Porto. Deste modo, as tarefas desenvolvidas no âmbito do estágio curricular serão descritas para ser possível relacionar as mesmas com os conhecimentos adquiridos ao longo do mestrado e de educação prévia e fornecer uma análise da importância destes conhecimentos

Integrated performance framework to guide facade retrofit

The façade retrofit market faces some key barriers: the selection of performance criteria and the reliability of the performance data. On the demand side, the problem is approached from an investment perspective which creates "split incentives" between the stakeholders who pay for the investment and those who benefit from it. On the supply side, there is an inherent complexity in modeling these options because of the incomplete knowledge of the physical and cost parameters involved in the performance evaluation. The thermal comfort of the building occupant is an important component of the retrofit performance assessment. This research attempts to fill a gap in the approach to façade retrofit decision by 1) quantifying uncertainties in these three dimensions of performance, 2) incorporating new financing models available in the retrofit market, 3) considering the target and risk attitude of the decision maker. The methodology proposed in this research integrates key indicators for delivery process, environmental performance, and investment performance. The purpose is to provide a methodological framework for performance evaluation. A residential case study is conducted to test the proposed framework. Three retrofit scenarios including the financing structure are examined. Each façade retrofit scenario is then evaluated based on the level of confidence to meet or exceed a specific target improvement for the Net Present Value and the risk to fall below a minimum improvement threshold. The case study results confirm that risk must be considered for more reliable façade retrofit decision-making. Research findings point to further research needed to expand the understanding of the interdependencies among uncertain parameters.PhDCommittee Chair: Augenbroe, Godfried; Committee Chair: De Wilde, Pieter; Committee Member: Aksamija, Ajla; Committee Member: Brown, Jason; Committee Member: Eastman, Charle

2020-2021 Campus Life Handbook

The Campus Life Handbook is the official guide for all students of Otterbein University. It is updated annually by the Student Affairs Office. The handbook provides information you need now and throughout the academic year