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

Building Energy Modeling and Studies of Electric Power Distribution Systems with Distributed Energy Resources

There is significant opportunity for savings in energy and investment from improved performance of electric Power Distribution Systems (PDSs) through optimal planning and operation of conventional voltage-controlling devices. Novel multi-step model conversion and optimal capacitor planning (OCP) procedures are proposed for large-scale utility PDSs and are exemplified with an existing utility circuit of approximately 4,000 buses. Simulated optimal control and operation is achieved with a cluster-based approach that utilizes load-forecasting to minimize equipment degradation by intelligently dispersing device setting adjustments over time such that they remain most applicable. Improved performance may also be achieved through smart building technologies and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) control of increasingly more prevalent Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). The established simulation test bed for PDSs incorporates DERs to evaluate VPP implementations and an optimization process for control timing is proposed that minimizes targeted peak power and possible resulting increase in total daily energy. The advanced VPP controls incorporate the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) 2045 standard and EnergyStar performance characterizations to leverage HVAC systems as Generalized Energy Storage (GES) for load manipulation and to support the integration of demand-side generating DERs, such as local solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) systems

Full Proceedings, 2018

Full conference proceedings for the 2018 International Building Physics Association Conference hosted at Syracuse University

Recent Advances in Low-Carbon and Sustainable, Efficient Technology: Strategies and Applications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the supply chains of traditional fossil fuels. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2020, oil-refining activity fell by more than the IEA had anticipated. It was also assumed that the demand in 2021 would likely be 2.6 million bpd below the 2019 levels. However, renewable markets have shown strong resilience during the crisis. It was determined that renewables are on track to meet 80% of the growth in electricity demand over the next 10 years and that sustainable energy will act as the primary source of electricity production instead of coal. On the other hand, the report also emphasized that measures for reducing environmental pollution and CO2 emissions are still insufficient and that significant current investments should be further expanded. The Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference series is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for improving the sustainability of development by decoupling growth from the use of natural resources. The 15th SDEWES conference was held online from 1–5 September 2020; more than 300 reports with 7 special sections were organized on the virtual conference platform. This paper presents the major achievements of the recommended papers in the Special Issue of Energies. Additionally, related studies connected to the above papers published in the SDEWES series are also introduced, including the four main research fields of energy saving and emission reduction, renewable energy applications, the development of district heating systems, and the economic assessment of sustainable energy

Volume 2 – Conference: Wednesday, March 9

10. Internationales Fluidtechnisches Kolloquium:Group 1 | 2: Novel System Structures Group 3 | 5: Pumps Group 4: Thermal Behaviour Group 6: Industrial Hydraulic

Data Center Energy Retrofits

Within the field of computer science, data centers (DCs) are a major consumer of energy. A large part of that energy is used for cooling down the exhaust heat of the servers contained in the DCs. This thesis describes both the aggregate numbers of DCs and key flagship installations in detail. We then introduce the concept of Data Center Energy Retrofits, a set of low cost, easy to install techniques that may be used by the majority of DCs for reducing their energy consumption. The main contributions are a feasibility study of direct free air cooling, two techniques that explore air stream containment, a wired sensor network for temperature measurements, and a prototype greenhouse that harvests and reuses the exhaust heat of the servers for growing edible plants, including chili peppers. We also project the energy savings attainable by implementing the proposed techniques, and show that global savings are possible even when very conservative installation numbers and payback times are modelled. Using the results obtained, we make a lower bound estimate that direct free air cooling could reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 9.4 MtCO2e already by the year 2005 footprint of the DCs. Air stream containment could reduce the GHG emissions by a further 0.7 MtCO2e, and finally heat harvesting can turn the waste heat into additional profits. Much larger savings are already possible, since the DC footprint has increased considerably since 2005.Nykyaikaisten pilvipalvelujen yleistymisen ovat mahdollistaneet jopa tuhansia tietokoneita sisältävät palvelinsalit. Eräs palvelimiin liittyvä ongelma on niiden yhteenlaskettu sähkönkulutus. Palvelimien käyttämä sähkö muuttuu laskennan sivutuotteena lämmöksi, joka taas voi vaarantaa palvelujen jatkuvuuden mikäli riittävää jäähdytystä ei järjestetä. Jäähdytys on perinteisesti toteutettu koneellisena ilmanvaihtona, joka kuluttaa lisää sähköä. Myös muut palvelimien ylläpitoon liittyvät järjestelmät lisäävät sähkönkulutusta. Varsinaisen laskennan lisäksi kulutettu ylimääräinen sähkö vaikuttaa palvelinsalien energiatehokkuuteen. Pilvipalvelut ovat osoittautuneet taloudellisesti niin merkittäviksi, että ylimääräistä sähköä on pidetty siedettävänä haittana palveluiden arvoon verrattuna. Energiatehokkuuden parantamiseen on kuitenkin viime aikoina kiinnitetty huomiota sekä ympäristön kannalta että myös sähkön hinnasta aiheutuvien säästöjen vuoksi. Palvelujen jatkuvuuden kannalta on toisaalta tärkeää, ettei energiatehokkuuden parantaminen aiheuta toiminnalle käyttökatkoja tai käyttäjille ylimääräisiä viipeitä. Tämä väitöskirja esittelee nykyaikaisten palvelinsalien ominaisuuksia sekä yksittäistapausten että globaalien lukumäärien kautta. Esitellyt yksittäistapaukset ovat suurimpien palvelinsalien omistajien lippulaivoja, joilla pyritään vakuuttamaan käyttäjät yritysten sitoutumisesta ekotehokkuuteen. Globaalit lukumäärät luovat katsauksen palvelinsalien eri suuruusluokkien jakaumalle. Käy ilmi, että valtaosa palvelinsaleista on hyvin pieniä ja huomattavasti kehnompia energiatehokkuudeltaan kuin jättikokoiset lippulaivat. Nämä seikat huomioiden väitöskirja esittelee joukon jälkiasennettavia tekniikoita jotka keskittyvät palvelinsalien jäähdytykseen. Tekniikat esitellään väitöskirjan viidessä osajulkaisussa alkaen korvausilman edullisesta tuottamisesta nk. vapaajäähdytyksen avulla ja päättyen kuuman poistoilman hyötykäyttöön kokeellisessa kasvihuoneessa. Väitöskirja sisältää laskelmat tekniikoiden avulla saavutettavien säästöjen alarajoille. Esimerkiksi pelkästään vapaajäähdytystä käyttämällä säästettäisiin 9,4 Mt hiilidioksidia vastaava määrä päästöjä perustuen jo vuoden 2005 sähkönkulutuslaskelmiin. Sähkönkulutus on ollut jatkuvassa kasvussa vuoteen 2013 asti, joten myös saavutettavat säästöt ovat nykyään huomattavasti suuremmat

Risk Exposure to Particles – including Legionella pneumophila – emitted during Showering with Water-Saving Showers

The increase in legionellosis incidence in the general population in recent years calls for a better characterization of the sources of infection, such as showering. Water-efficient shower systems that use water atomization technology may emit slightly more inhalable bacteria-sized particles than traditional systems, which may increase the risk of users inhaling contaminants associated with these water droplets. To evaluate the risk, the number and mass of inhalable water droplets emitted by twelve showerheads—eight using water-atomization technology and four using continuous-flow technology— were monitored in a shower stall. The water-atomizing showers tested not only had lower flow rates, but also larger spray angles, less nozzles, and larger nozzle diameters than those of the continuous-flow showerheads. A difference in the behavior of inhalable water droplets between the two technologies was observed, both unobstructed or in the presence of a mannequin. The evaporation of inhalable water droplets emitted by the water-atomization showers favored a homogenous distribution in the shower stall. In the presence of the mannequin, the number and mass of inhalable droplets increased for the continuous-flow showerheads and decreased for the water-atomization showerheads. The water-atomization showerheads emitted less inhalable water mass than the continuous-flow showerheads did per unit of time; however, they generally emitted a slightly higher number of inhalable droplets—only one model performed as well as the continuous-flow showerheads in this regard. To specifically assess the aerosolisation rate of bacteria, in particular of the opportunistic water pathogen Legionella pneumophila, during showering controlled experiments were run with one atomization showerhead and one continuous-flow, first inside a glove box, second inside a shower stall. The bioaerosols were sampled with a Coriolis® air sampler and the total number of viable (cultivable and noncultivable) bacteria was determined by flow cytometry and culture. We found that the rate of viable and cultivable Legionella aerosolized from the water jet was similar between the two showerheads: the viable fraction represents 0.02% of the overall bacteria present in water, while the cultivable fraction corresponds to only 0.0005%. The two showerhead models emitted a similar ratio of airborne Legionella viable and cultivable per volume of water used. Similar results were obtained with naturally contaminated hoses tested in shower stall. Therefore, the risk of exposure to Legionella is not expected to increase significantly with the new generation of water-efficient showerheads

12th EASN International Conference on "Innovation in Aviation & Space for opening New Horizons"

Epoxy resins show a combination of thermal stability, good mechanical performance, and durability, which make these materials suitable for many applications in the Aerospace industry. Different types of curing agents can be utilized for curing epoxy systems. The use of aliphatic amines as curing agent is preferable over the toxic aromatic ones, though their incorporation increases the flammability of the resin. Recently, we have developed different hybrid strategies, where the sol-gel technique has been exploited in combination with two DOPO-based flame retardants and other synergists or the use of humic acid and ammonium polyphosphate to achieve non-dripping V-0 classification in UL 94 vertical flame spread tests, with low phosphorous loadings (e.g., 1-2 wt%). These strategies improved the flame retardancy of the epoxy matrix, without any detrimental impact on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. Finally, the formation of a hybrid silica-epoxy network accounted for the establishment of tailored interphases, due to a better dispersion of more polar additives in the hydrophobic resin