The optimization potential of floor-plan typologies in early design energy modeling

Based on a consensus in the field that energy modeling should be applied as early as possible in the design process to maximize its impact on important design decisions, multi-zone thermal simulations are now used with increasing frequency in the earliest design stages. In the massing model phase, when the interior subdivision of a building is yet unknown, zoning standards such as ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G assist modelers by prescribing a subdivision scheme with core and consistently deep perimeter regions along the facade. This scheme, however, hardly ever resembles actual interior space subdivisions and thus raises the question of accuracy and usefulness of such simulations. This manuscript hence analyzes the significance of interior subdivisions on simulation results by thoroughly comparing the energy use intensity [EUI] levels for a representative set of floorplans against the ASHRAE-prescribed zoning scheme. A sample set of 1200 simulations reveal a RMSE of 15% for total EUI but also RMSE of 175% and 105% for predicted heating and cooling loads are reported. This suggests that the ASHRAE zoning scheme has only limited applicability for early design energy optimization

Diagnostic value and prognostic implications of serum procalcitonin after cardiac surgery: a systematic review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome is common after surgery, and it can be difficult to discriminate between infection and inflammation. We performed a review of the literature with the aims of describing the evolution of serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels after uncomplicated cardiac surgery, characterising the role of PCT as a tool in discriminating infection, identifying the relation between PCT, organ failure, and severity of sepsis syndromes, and assessing the possible role of PCT in detection of postoperative complications and mortality. METHODS: We performed a search on MEDLINE using the keyword 'procalcitonin' crossed with 'cardiac surgery,' 'heart,' 'postoperative,' and 'transplantation.' Our search was limited to human studies published between January 1990 and June 2006. RESULTS: Uncomplicated cardiac surgery induces a postoperative increase in serum PCT levels. Peak PCT levels are reached within 24 hours postoperatively and return to normal levels within the first week. This increase seems to be dependent on the surgical procedure and on intraoperative events. Although PCT values reported in infected patients are generally higher than in non-infected patients after cardiac surgery, the cutoff point for discriminating infection ranges from 1 to 5 ng/ml, and the dynamics of PCT levels over time may be more important than absolute values. PCT is superior to C-reactive protein in discriminating infections in this setting. PCT levels are higher with increased severity of sepsis and the presence of organ dysfunction/failure and in patients with a poor outcome or in those who develop postoperative complications. PCT levels typically remain unchanged after acute rejection but increase markedly after bacterial and fungal infections. Systemic infections are associated with greater PCT elevation than is local infection. Viral infections are difficult to identify based on PCT measurements. CONCLUSION: The dynamics of PCT levels, rather than absolute values, could be important in identifying patients with infectious complications after cardiac surgery. PCT is useful in differentiating acute graft rejection after heart and/or lung transplantation from bacterial and fungal infections. Further studies are needed to define cutoff points and to incorporate PCT levels in useful prediction models

A Multidimensional Continuous Contextual Lighting Control System Using Google Glass

An increasing number of internet-connected LED lighting fixtures and bulbs have recently become available. This development, in combination with emerging hardware and software solutions for activity recognition, establish an infrastructure for context-aware lighting. Automated lighting control could potentially provide a better user experience, increased comfort, higher productivity, and energy savings compared to static uniform illumination. The first question that comes to mind when thinking about context-aware lighting is how to determine the relevant activities and contexts. Do we need different lighting for reading a magazine and reading a book, or maybe just different lighting for reading versus talking on the phone? How do we identify the relevant situations, and what are the preferred lighting settings? In this paper we present three steps we took to answer these questions and demonstrate them via an adaptive five-channel solid-state lighting system with continuous contextual control. We implemented a multidimensional user interface for manual control as well as an autonomous solution using wearable sensors. We enable a simple set of sensors to manipulate complicated lighting scenarios by indirectly simplifying and reducing the complexity of the sensor-lighting control space using human-derived criteria. In a preliminary user study, we estimated significant energy savings of up to 52% and showed multiple future research directions, including behavioral feedback

Development of a Web Based Monitoring System for a Distributed and Modern Production

AbstractWeb technologies have experienced a rapid development in recent years. In particular web browsers enhanced their abilities because of the improvement of JavaScript, CSS3 and HTML5. Hence, richer web-based software solutions with an increasing range of functions are available. By using responsive web design (RWD), a technology to display content without resizing on different screens, developers are able to support a diverse range of devices with small effort.In order to enable a monitoring of the current status of a production system, signals of many different sensors, machine and production data are required. Combining microcontrollers with sensors to embedded sensors enables an efficient way to communicate with web services. Due to the strong decline of prices for semiconductor technologies, companies are able to set up production machines with these technologies at low costs.This paper presents a way to set up a distributed manufacturing control system by using common web technologies like RWD and embedded systems. We discuss advantages and drawbacks of web-based software solutions and show a methodical approach for the use in a modern production system. Finally, the functionality of the method is proven within an application example

A tangible interface for collaborative urban design for energy efficiency, daylighting, and walkability

An increasingly urbanizing human population presents new challenges for urban planners and designers. While the applicability of urban design tools for simulation experts is constantly improving, urban development scenarios require the input of multiple stakeholders, each with different outlooks, expertise, requirements, and preconceptions, and good urban design requires communication and compromise as much as it requires effective use of tools. The best tools will facilitate this communication while remaining evidence-based, allowing diverse planning teams to develop high quality, healthy, sustainable urban proposals. Presented in this paper is a new such tool, implemented as a tangible user interface, that allows varied stakeholders to quickly collaborate on creation and exploration of new urban design solutions. The tool provides performance feedback for a neighborhood’s operational energy costs, daylight availability, and walkability. Fast interaction is attained through a novel precalculation method that is also presented and validated. Details of the tool’s deployment as part of a case study that was conducted with members of the planning commission of Riyadh, SA, in March 2015 are given

Integrated Environmental Design and Robotic Fabrication Workflow for Ceramic Shading Systems

The current design practice for high performance, custom facade systems disconnects the initial façade design from the fabrication phase. The early design phases typically involve a series of iterative tests during which the environmental performance of different design variants is verified through simulations or physical measurements. After completing the environmental design, construction and fabrication constraints are incorporated. Time, budget constraints, and workflow incompatibilities are common obstacles that prevent design teams from verifying, through environmental analysis, that the final design still ‘works’. This paper presents an integrated environmental design and digital fabrication workflow for a custom ceramic shading system. Using the CAD environment Rhinoceros as a shared platform the process allows the design team to rapidly migrate between the environmental and the fabrication models. The recently developed DIVA plug-in for Rhinoceros allows for a seamless performance assessment of the facade in terms of daylight. Glare and annual energy use are addressed through connections to Radiance, Daysim and EnergyPlus simulations. A custom Grasshopper component and additional Rhino scripts were developed to link the environmentally optimized CAD file via Rapid code to a novel ceramic production process based on a 6-axis industrial robot. The resulting environmental design-to- manufacturing process was tested during the generation of a prototypical high performance ceramic shading system