Enhanced Home Energy Management Scheme (EHEM) in Smart Grids

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become one of the most important components that play a major role in home environment applications. It plays a major role in the creation and the development of smart home environments. Smart homes creates home area network (HAN) to be used in different applications including smart grids. In this paper, we propose an enhancement to in-Home Energy Management (iHEM) scheme, namely EHEM, to reduce energy consumption by shifting the residents’ demands to mid-peak or off-peak periods depending on the appliances priorities and delays. The proposed system handles challenging cases by using internal storage battery. The performance of the proposed system is compared against iHEM and the traditional iHEM scheme, based on the total cost of the power consumption. Obtained results show slight improvement over the existing iHEM schem

Advanced Energy Harvesting Technologies

Energy harvesting is the conversion of unused or wasted energy in the ambient environment into useful electrical energy. It can be used to power small electronic systems such as wireless sensors and is beginning to enable the widespread and maintenance-free deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This Special Issue is a collection of the latest developments in both fundamental research and system-level integration. This Special Issue features two review papers, covering two of the hottest research topics in the area of energy harvesting: 3D-printed energy harvesting and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). These papers provide a comprehensive survey of their respective research area, highlight the advantages of the technologies and point out challenges in future development. They are must-read papers for those who are active in these areas. This Special Issue also includes ten research papers covering a wide range of energy-harvesting techniques, including electromagnetic and piezoelectric wideband vibration, wind, current-carrying conductors, thermoelectric and solar energy harvesting, etc. Not only are the foundations of these novel energy-harvesting techniques investigated, but the numerical models, power-conditioning circuitry and real-world applications of these novel energy harvesting techniques are also presented

Informing an integrated and sustainable urbanism through rapid, defragmented analysis and design

Urban design has splintered into increasingly narrow specialist disciplines since the mid Twentieth Century. Traffic engineers, statutory planners, civil engineers, landscape architects and architects each make specific but isolated contributions to urban design frameworks. Each consultant documents their position predominantly through text and two dimensional representations, occasionally with specious perspective images produced by a hand rendering specialist. This fragmented and sequential design approach inadequately addresses contemporary urban agendas, practice constraints or the potential of digital design techniques, particularly in light of increasing fears of an imminent environmental crisis and peak oil, and concerns for health, amenity and accommodating an increasingly urbanised population. The aim of my thesis is to identify and address disparities between contemporary urban design practice and society's prevailing urban agendas for integrated and sustainable cities. The hypothesis tested by my thesis is that the gulf between prevailing urban agendas of society and urban design can be reduced by developing a 'defragmented' design approach that uses rapid, parametric, four-dimensional, digital analysis and design techniques, which build upon software commonly available within the industry. This hypothesis has been tested in four ways: firstly through the analysis of urban agendas, design techniques and urban design paradigms, in both historic and contemporary contexts; secondly by identifying currently available technologies with the potential for adaptation and customisation; thirdly by development of new digital techniques; and finally by testing this defragmented approach on both simplified models and various case studies within an urban design practice as part of the embedded research program. Techniques I have developed and tested as part of the approach fit into four categories: firstly pedestrian connectivity - walkability and accessibility; secondly daylight amenity assessment; thirdly visual impact analysis assessing urban form visualisation, generation and composition; and finally feasibility modelling, including linked data yield analysis. I have evaluated the success of the approach in these studies with regard to practice constraints (time and budget) and contemporary society's pr evailing urban agendas. My rapid, defragmented design approach has resulted in new techniques shown to be used quickly and concurrently 'in-house' contributing to the urban design process, whilst meeting fee budgets and project deadlines. I have demonstrated that issues that are currently difficult to solve using the constraints of conventional planning techniques can be addressed more effectively than they are currently, whilst avoiding the considerable expense of specialised hardware/software or the appointment of additional consultants. My thesis concludes that the rapid, defragmented approach can demonstrably yield more synergistic urban design responses. The inherently flexible approach can be tailored for a myriad of different urban design scenarios, as well as potentially other disciplines. The defragmented approach can expand the realm of urban designers and increase their contribution in the generation and advocacy of sustainable planning policy and reduce the disparities between contemporary urban design practice and society's need for integrated and sustainable cities

Library buildings around the world

"Library Buildings around the World" is a survey based on researches of several years. The objective was to gather library buildings on an international level starting with 1990

Journal of Applied Hydrography

Grenzen im Mee

Solar Decathlon 2014: Techstyle Haus Project Manual

Solar Decathlon 2014 Techstyle Haus Project Manual. The Solar Decathlon competition challenges twenty collegiate teams to design and build sustainable homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy and incorporate sustainable architecture and design. Techstyle Haus is an international Brown University, RISD and University of Applied Sciences Erfurt,Germany collaboration designing a solar passivehaus out of high performance textiles

A conceptual framework for integrating the home into patient-centered healthcare processes: Analysis, solution strategies and realization using health enabling technologies

Assistierende Gesundheitstechnologien (AGT) und technische Assistenzsysteme, auch ohne Medizinbezug, können das altersunabhängige Bedürfnis nach komfortablem und sicherem Wohnen in Wohlbefinden gewinnbringend adressieren. Die Einbindung der Wohnung in dieser gesamtheitlichen Perspektive ist nicht beschrieben und die Akteure der entsprechenden Professionen können, aufgrund fehlenden Wissens über sozio-technische Potentiale der Wohnung, im Aufbau von Versorgungsszenarien nicht auf ihre Fähigkeiten zurückgreifen. Ziel der Dissertation ist es, einen Rahmen aus Methoden, Lösungsstrategien und einem exemplarischen Integrationsszenario zur Einbindung der Wohnung in medizinische Versorgungsprozesse zu geben und dabei insbesondere ihre Funktion als neuartigen Gesundheitsstandort zu betrachten. Auf Basis eines sozi-technischen Rollenmetamodells wurden insgesamt elf Rollen herausgearbeitet. Die Wohnung als Messinstrument, Datenspeicher, Informationsquelle, Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem, Diagnostisches Instrument, Therapeut und Aktor, Sozialer Integrator, Präventionsinstrument, Pflegesystem, Gesundheitsmanager und Forschungssystem. Die Rollenhandlungen lassen sich aus den sechs Realisierungsprojekten in die Wirkungsfelder Komfort & Sicherheit, umfassende Pflege und erweiterte medizinische Versorgung mit den Methoden Infrastruktur, Dienstleistung und Netzwerk einteilen, eingefasst von den Prinzipien Öffentlichkeit, Nachhaltigkeit und Wissenschaft. Diese drei Dimensionen bilden das Rahmenkonzept für die "Modellstadtinitiative Braunschweig: Vision Wohnen 2031" als exemplarisches Integrationsszenario und Strategiedokument. Die Instanziierung zeigt, die Wohnung gibt Raum, handelt und verbindet. Sie schafft Beziehungen zwischen ärztlichen, pflegerischen und sozialen Akteuren inter- und multidisziplinärer Versorgungsprozesse mit dem Ziel eines mehrdimensionalen, ganzheitlichen Wohlbefindens. Sie ist transprofessionaler Akteur und Handlungsraum über die medizinische Domäne hinaus zur synergetischen Erfüllung von Zielen anderer Gewerke, wie der Energieoptimierung oder dem Gebäudeschutz.Health-enabling Technologies (HET) and assistive devices, even without medical purpose, can profitably address age-independent well-being in terms of comfortable, safe and healthy living. The integration of homes in this holistic perspective is not described and the actors of the corresponding professions cannot utilize the homes' abilities in the development of care scenarios due to a lack of knowledge about socio-technical potentials of homes. Objective of this dissertation is to provide a framework of methods, strategies and an exemplary integration scenario for integration of the home into healthcare processes and, in particular, to consider its function as a novel healthcare location. Based on a socio-technical role metamodel, a total of eleven roles were identified from six healthcare process models. The home as measuring instrument, data store, information source, decision support system, diagnostic instrument, therapist and actuator, social integrator, prevention system, nursing system, carepath manager and research system. The role actvities can be divided from the six implementation projects into the three application domains comfort & safety, comprehensive care and extended medical care, using the methods infrastructure, service and network, framed by three principles openness, sustainability and science. These three dimensions form the conceptual framework for the "Modellstadtinitiative Braunschweig: Vision Wohnen 2031" as exemplary integration scenario and strategy document. The instantiation shows, that the home gives space, takes action and connects. It creates relationships between medical, nursing and social actors in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary care processes with the aim of multidimensional, holistic well-being. It is a transprofessional actor and room for action beyond the healthcare domain to synergistically fulfill goals of other domains, such as energy optimization or building protection

Österreichischer Sachstandsbericht Klimawandel 2014

The AAR14 is the first Assessment Report on climate Change in Austria assessing the Impact of climate change and the Needs and possibilities of mitigation and Adaptation. This three-volume Report, developed through a multiple peer-Review process including stakeholder participation, presents a coherent assessment of scientific knowledge about climate and makes it accessible for both decision-makers and the General public. Approximately 240 scientists from 50 institutions have participated in this national Assessment ReportDer AAR14 ist der erste Sachstandsbericht zum Klimawandel in Österreich, zu dessen Auswirkungen, und den Erfordernissen und Möglichkeiten der Minderung und Anpassung. Der drei-bändige Bericht, der einen mehrstufigen Peer-Review-Prozess inklusive Stakeholder-Partizipation durchlaufen hat, legt den wissenschaftlich gesicherten Kenntnisstand für Österreich kohärent dar und macht ihn Entscheidungstragenden und der interessierten Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. An dem nationalen Sachstandbericht haben rund 240 WissenschafterInnen aus 50 Institutionen mitgewirkt.Der Österreichische Sachstandsbericht Klimawandel 2014 (AAR14) stellt einen Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-ähnlichen Bericht dar. Er besteht aus drei Bänden, in denen das bestehende Wissen zum Klimawandel in Österreich, zu dessen Auswirkungen, und den Erfordernissen und Möglichkeiten der Minderung und Anpassung zusammengefasst wird. Der Bericht verfolgt das Ziel, den wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand für Österreich kohärent und vollständig darzulegen und diesen auch in Form von politikrelevanten Analysen an die Österreichische Bundesregierung und politische Entscheidungsgremien auf allen Ebenen zu übermitteln, bzw. um dadurch Entscheidungsgrundlagen auch für den privaten Sektor und einen Wissensfundus für akademische Institutionen bereitzustellen. Ähnlich den IPCC-Sachstandsberichten liegt dem AAR14 das Prinzip zugrunde, entscheidungsrelevant zu sein, aber keinen empfehlenden Charakter zu haben