SMART LIGHTING CONTROLS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND VISUAL COMFORT

Daylight-linked control systems (DLCSs) are automated control systems aiming at optimizing the integration between daylight and electric light. They are based on the use of photosensors detecting available light. Photosensor signals are received by controllers, that in turn regulate the luminous flux emitted by luminaires. Despite the benefits in terms of both energy savings (the use of daylight allows to reduce both the luminaires emitted flux and the number of lighting systems operating hours) and comfort improvement (the use of daylight affects both visual and non-visual comfort), such systems are not so spread as expected for different reasons: their functioning is affected by a big amounts of factors (daylight availability, lighting systems components -above all photosensors-, commissioning), but it is not completely clear what is the specific incidence of each one of them on DLCSs global functioning; calculation models implemented in the available software useful to model and simulate DLCSs functioning are not reliable, so it is difficult for designers to estimate the actual benefits connected to DLCSs installation and estimate both achievable energy savings and economic advantage; finally, currently shared parameters useful to evaluate DLCSs do not exist and these systems are evaluated exclusively considering energy savings they allow to achieve. Given these premises the goal of the thesis is to propose a research methodology useful to analyse DLCSs and evaluate their performances both during preliminary design stages and during commissioning. At this purpose the research is organized in the following phases: state-of-the-art analysis aiming at understanding what are the parameters mostly influencing DLCSs performances; proposal of new performance parameters able to evaluate the capability of DLCSs in integrating daylight (Daylight Integration Adequacy -DIA-, Percentage Intrinsic Light Excess -ILE%-, Percentage Light Waste -LW%-, Percentage Light Deficit LD%); development of a simulation tool (called DET- Daylight-linked control systems Evaluation Tool) useful to simulate DLCSs functioning, overcoming the limits of the available software, and to calculate the above-mentioned parameters; setting up of an experimental test-room, where daylight measurements were performed; use of the measured data to simulate the functioning of different control systems by using DET and to evaluate how they would operate, once installed in the test-room and what would be the parameters influencing their performances

Joint analysis of TeV blazar light curves with FACT and HAWC

Probing the high energy emission processes of blazars through their variability relies crucially on long-term monitoring. We present unprecedented light curves from unbiased observations of very high energy fluxes from the blazars Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 based on a joint analysis of data from the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) and the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. Thanks to an offset of 5.3 hours of the geographic locations, a complementary coverage of up to 12 hours of observation per day allows us to track variability on time scales of hours to days in more detail than with single-instrument analyses. Complementary features, such as better sensitivity thanks to a lower energy threshold with FACT and more regular coverage throughout the year with HAWC, provide valuable cross checks and extensions to the individual analyses. Daily flux comparisons for both Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 show largely correlated variations with a few significant exceptions. These deviations between measurements can be explained through fast variability within a few hours and will be discussed in detail.Comment: Presented at the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017), Bexco, Busan, Korea. See arXiv:1708.02572 for all HAWC contribution

Literature review - Energy saving potential of user-centered integrated lighting solutions

Measures for the reduction of electric energy loads for lighting have predominantly focussed on increasing the efficiency of lighting systems. This efficiency has now reached levels unthinkable a few decades ago. However, a focus on mere efficiency is physically limiting, and does not necessarily ensure that the anticipated energy savings actually materialize. There are technical and non-technical reasons because of which effective integration of lighting solutions and their controls, and thus a reduction in energy use, does not happen. This literature review aims to assess the energy saving potential of integrated daylight and electric lighting design and controls, especially with respect to user preferences and behaviour. It does so by collecting available scientific knowledge and experience on daylighting, electric lighting, and related control systems, as well as on effective strategies for their integration. Based on this knowledge, the review suggests design processes, innovative design strategies and design solutions which – if implemented appropriately – could improve user comfort, health, well-being and productivity, while saving energy as well as the operation and maintenance of lighting systems. The review highlights also regulatory, technical, and design challenges hindering energy savings. Potential energy savings are reported from the retrieved studies. However, these savings derived from separate studies are dependent on their specific contexts, which lowers the ecological validity of the findings. Studies on strategies based on behavioural interventions, like information, feedback, and social norms, did not report energy saving performance. This is an interesting conclusion, since the papers indicate high potentials that deserve further exploration. Quantifying potential savings is fundamental to fostering large scale adoption of user-driven strategies, since this would allow at least a rough estimation of returns for the investors. However, such quantification requires that studies are designed with an inter-disciplinary approach. The literature also shows that strategies, where there is more communication between façade and lighting designers, are more successful in integrated design, which calls for more communication between stakeholders in future building processes

Impact of adjustment strategies on building design process in different climates oriented by multiple performance

Adjustment strategies including window ventilation and shading have important improvements in energy consumption, thermal and light environments, furthermore, the upper limit for improvement is affected by design parameters. However, studies incorporating adjustment strategies in the building design process are very limited. To address this research gap, we explore the effects of window ventilation and shading on building design performance from uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis, and multi-objective optimization. Furthermore, China's typical climate zones are compared given climate effects. Results indicate that (1) the uncertainty of total energy demand in the severe cold climate is most affected with the uncertainty increase rate being 32.0%, the uncertainty of thermal comfort ratio in the hot summer and cold winter climate and the hot summer and warm winter climate is most affected with the uncertainty increase rate being 16.3% and 14.0%, respectively. (2) the sensitivity analysis of the thermal comfort ratio is more sensitive to adjustment strategies than to total energy demand. The severe cold climate is more vulnerable than in other climates. (3) when multi-objective optimization is performed with maximum thermal comfort and minimum total energy demand when considering adjustment strategies, the severe cold climate has the greatest energy-saving potential (38.1%) and the hot summer and cold winter climate has the largest potential to improve thermal comfort (17.6%). More importantly, the light environment is within the comfort range from the daylight glare index, the illuminance, and illuminance uniformity ratios

Implementation of SELEX technique on Lab-on-Chip systems

The thesis presents the design and the experimental development of a compact and high sensitive Lab-on-Chip (LoC) system suitable for the implementation of SELEX technique. SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) is a combinatorial technique used in molecular biology to produce copies of the same nucleotide and to select a strand of DNA (aptamer) specific for a target molecule. The proposed Lab-On-Chip system includes the following functional units: an amplification module based on the PCR technique; a separation module able to obtain a single strand DNA from a double strand DNA and a selection module for the specific selection of the aptamer. These functionalities are implemented combining microfluidic components (micro-channels and micro-valves), electronic devices (amorphous silicon photosensors, thin film heaters, temperature sensors) and bioanalytical procedure