257 research outputs found

    CIB W115 Green Design Conference:Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 27 - 30 September 2012

    Get PDF

    HEMS 集合住宅における適応的温熱快適性と環境調整行動に関する研究

    Get PDF
    東京都市大学2018年度(平成30年度

    Techno-economic assessment of building energy efficiency systems using behavioral change: A case study of an edge-based micro-moments solution

    Get PDF
    Energy efficiency based on behavioral change has attracted increasing interest in recent years, although, solutions in this area lack much needed techno-economic analysis. That is due to the absence of both prospective studies and consumer awareness. To close such gap, this paper proposes the first techno-economic assessment of a behavioral change-based building energy efficiency solution, to the best of the authors' knowledge. From the one hand, the technical assessment is conducted through (i) introducing a novel edge-based energy efficiency solution; (ii) analyzing energy data using machine learning tools and micro-moments, and producing intelligent, personalized, and explainable action recommendations; and (iii) proceeding with a technical evaluation of four application scenarios, i.e., data collection, data analysis and anomaly detection, recommendation generation, and data visualization. On the other hand, economic assessment is performed by examining the marketability potential of the proposed solution via a market and research analysis of behavioral change-based systems for energy efficiency applications. Also, various factors impacting the commercialization of the final product are investigated before providing recommended actions to ensure its potential marketability via conducting a Go/No-Go evaluation. In conclusion, the proposed solution is designed at a low cost and can save up to 28%-68% of the consumed energy, which results in a Go decision to commercialize the technology. 2021 Elsevier LtdThis paper was made possible by National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) grant No. 10-0130-170288 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

    Econundrum:Visualizing the Climate Impact of Dietary Choice through a Shared Data Sculpture

    Get PDF
    While there is a strong relationship between climate change and human food consumption, it is challenging to understand the implications and impact from an individual perspective. The lack of a shared frame of reference, that allows people to compare their impact to others, limits awareness on this complex topic. To support group reflections and social comparison of the impact of people’s food consumption on climate change, we designed Econundrum, a shared physical data sculpture that visualizes carbon emissions resulting from dietary choices of a small community. Our three-week field study demonstrates how Econundrum helped people (i) understand the climate impact of various food types, (ii) reflect on the environmental impact of their food choices; and (iii) discuss the relation between climate impact and food consumption with others. Our study shows how a shared physical data sculpture mediates a complex topic to a community by facilitating the social dynamics in context

    Human-Centred Smart Buildings: Reframing Smartness Through the Lens of Human-Building Interaction

    Get PDF
    PhD ThesisSmart buildings backed by data and algorithms promise reduced energy use and increased value for businesses and occupants. Yet, this has typically been considered from an engineering and systems perspective. Given increasing integration of sensing and ubiquitous computing technologies in modern built environments, a growing HumanComputer Interaction (HCI) and Human-Building Interaction (HBI) community has begun to advocate for the human-centred design of building technologies. This dissertation argues that there is a need for an inclusive, socially just and sustainable HBI agenda, to enable smarter buildings and facilities management. Deconstructing ‘smart’ rhetoric within HCI/HBI discourse and highlighting the values and ethics underpinning it, I argue that existing approaches to ‘smartness’ privilege automation and efficiency over the needs of human occupants. I undertake a qualitative inquiry into the roles of data and digital technologies in human-centred smart buildings through three case studies: i) How retrofitted environment sensors facilitate smarter energy auditing practices. I contribute a methodology for using sensor toolkits in auditing, technical design of the BuildAX sensing platform, and insights into sensoraugmented audits and how future standards might support these. ii) How data and digital technologies foster collective experiences of thermal comfort for office workers. I contribute a data elicitation interview method, design of the ThermoKiosk experience survey system, and considerations for integrating office tensions into workplace comfort management. iii) How HBI can support agency and participation in the everyday management and adaptation of a contemporary smart building. I contribute a ‘building walks’ method to elicit conversations on the future of building technologies, new understandings of how student occupants conceptualise and evaluate spaces, and how buildings of the future might better enable occupant agency. Through these, I contribute a re-framing of smartness to be more human-centred, including concerns for collaboration, inclusion, and human decision-making which does not consider occupants a ‘problem’ to be solved. The results of the case studies are synthesised into a set of six principles for the design of technology within human-centred smart buildings, re-grounding the field of HBI in the philosophy of environmental and social justice

    A survey of recommender systems for energy efficiency in buildings: Principles, challenges and prospects

    Full text link
    Recommender systems have significantly developed in recent years in parallel with the witnessed advancements in both internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Accordingly, as a consequence of IoT and AI, multiple forms of data are incorporated in these systems, e.g. social, implicit, local and personal information, which can help in improving recommender systems' performance and widen their applicability to traverse different disciplines. On the other side, energy efficiency in the building sector is becoming a hot research topic, in which recommender systems play a major role by promoting energy saving behavior and reducing carbon emissions. However, the deployment of the recommendation frameworks in buildings still needs more investigations to identify the current challenges and issues, where their solutions are the keys to enable the pervasiveness of research findings, and therefore, ensure a large-scale adoption of this technology. Accordingly, this paper presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first timely and comprehensive reference for energy-efficiency recommendation systems through (i) surveying existing recommender systems for energy saving in buildings; (ii) discussing their evolution; (iii) providing an original taxonomy of these systems based on specified criteria, including the nature of the recommender engine, its objective, computing platforms, evaluation metrics and incentive measures; and (iv) conducting an in-depth, critical analysis to identify their limitations and unsolved issues. The derived challenges and areas of future implementation could effectively guide the energy research community to improve the energy-efficiency in buildings and reduce the cost of developed recommender systems-based solutions.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

    The Ledger and Times, June 24, 1969

    Get PDF

    New Vision 2050: A Platinum Society

    Get PDF
    This book presents the "New Vision 2050," which adds the concept of the “platinum society” to the “Vision 2050”. The 20th century was a century in which energy led the development of material civilization, resulting in deletion of resources, global warming and climate change. What form should sustainable material and energy take to protect the Earth? The "Vision 2050" was established 20 years ago as a model that we should pursue for the next half century. Fortunately, the world is on course for the Vision 2050. The 21st century will be a century in which we seek qualitative richness, with the Vision 2050 as the material basis. That is, a “platinum society” that has resource self-sufficiency and resource symbiosis, and where people remain active throughout their lives and have a wide range of choices and opportunities for free participation. Since the author presented the concept of "Vision 2050" in 1999, the idea has been introduced in two books entitled Vision 2050: Roadmap for a Sustainable Earth (2008) and Beyond the Limits to Growth: New Ideas for Sustainability from Japan (2014). The latter includes a chapter that sheds light on the concept of a “platinum society”. In this publication, the author presents the "New Vision 2050" in more detail

    New Vision 2050: A Platinum Society

    Get PDF
    Sustainability; Climate change; Saturation; Leading country in resolving societal problems; Resource self-sufficiency; Urban mines; Renewable energy; Human-nature symbiosis; Aging society; Longevity; Lifelong learning; Sustainable cities; Low carbon society; Zero emission; Quality of lif

    Energy efficiency and using less – a social sciences and humanities annotated bibliography

    Get PDF
    The challenge: * Technological progress and changes in energy supply are not sufficient for a transition to a low-carbon energy system; demand also needs to be considered. Energy efficiency and reducing total consumption - the topics of this bibliography - are typical elements of a demand side approach. * The uptake of energy efficient technologies, and understanding how we might use less energy, represent big challenges for researchers, policymakers, practitioners and end-users themselves. The aim: * European energy policy has so far mainly relied on research from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) have been significantly underrepresented. This bibliography aims to discuss different disciplinary perspectives on energy efficiency and using less and to demonstrate their relevance for energy policy. Coverage: * A major focus of this bibliography is on behaviour and behavioural change. The bibliography highlights the diversity of end-users and their needs, the impacts they experience, abilities, as well as the range of sites where energy is consumed. * It also looks at how SSH research addresses more structural elements of demand - such as markets, institutions, and policy - and how these interact. Key findings: * There is no such thing as a one size fits all approach; different disciplines frame the problems of energy efficiency and using less differently, and do not always agree. Economics is very highly represented in research about energy efficiency, closely followed by Sociology. Other disciplines such as Urban Studies and Industrial Design are slowly becoming part of the work. * Most disciplines focus mainly on mainstream types of users and use. Fewer studies focus on the exceptions - deviants, others, non-users or energy poor, excessive users - or low-energy practices such as sleep, music making or sports. * Electricity is the main focus of most social science research on energy use and efficiency, possibly due to a focus on monitoring savings which is more difficult for gas and energy for hot water use. * There is an overrepresentation of work on feedback devices and smart meters, in contrast to more everyday technologies such as water heaters or washing machines. Several studies urge for more study of this everyday material culture because it strongly shapes how users can engage in using less or using more efficiently; some technologies are simply built to have high energy use. * Less research is done on the responsibility of stakeholders (other than the end-user) for the energy transition, especially the market. It is argued that markets are not neutral or depoliticised, but bear responsibility for the energy transition too. * Dominant areas of research include: a focus on the gap between awareness and actual energy behaviour action; and rebound effects, which may arise when increased energy efficiency leads to lower costs for energy which in turn may lead to increased energy consumption. * New areas of research include new demand side initiatives, services/business models and markets such as peer-to-peer, DIY, and community approaches to engagement. * Most demand side approaches in the policy domain focus on cost reduction, education and communication. Insights from Social Sciences such as Sociology, Anthropology, Urban studies, Ethics, and Science and Technology Studies see less uptake in the policy domain
    corecore