Optimization of ventilation system in the open office space

The paper presents the results of study into the air parameters in open space offices. As office workers spend about 1/3 of the day in such spaces, it is important to provide them with the right climate comfort, and that is determined, most importantly, by: the temperature and humidity of the air, quality of the air, and the concentration of CO2. Two objects of study were selected - both of them open space facilities, each with a different intensity of use. In the course of study, measurements were taken on the basis of which the distributions of temperature, humidity, and concentrations of CO2 in the entire volume of the space were determined. Also the empirical coefficients of CO2 emission by the office workers were marked out, dependent on the volume of the working area and the number of people using it. The coefficients were developed at optimal working parameters of fans in the ventilation system; the criterion for optimization being heat loss in the office caused by discharge of the used heated air into the atmosphere. The results of the study have also shown that the use of personal ventilation (PV) with an installed recuperator for heat recovery from the used air discharged from the room significantly improves the energy efficiency of an open space office building

Internal heat gain from different light sources in the building lighting systems

EU directives and the Construction Law have for some time required investors to report the energy consumption of buildings, and this has indeed caused low energy consumption buildings to proliferate. Of particular interest, internal heat gains from installed lighting affect the final energy consumption for heating of both public and residential buildings. This article presents the results of analyses of the electricity consumption and the luminous flux and the heat flux emitted by different types of light sources used in buildings. Incandescent light, halogen, compact fluorescent bulbs, and LED bulbs from various manufacturers were individually placed in a closed and isolated chamber, and the parameters for their functioning under identical conditions were recorded. The heat flux emitted by 1 W nominal power of each light source was determined. Based on the study results, the empirical coefficients of heat emission and energy efficiency ratios for different types of lighting sources (dependent lamp power and the light output) were designated. In the heat balance of the building, the designated rates allow for precise determination of the internal heat gains coming from lighting systems using various light sources and also enable optimization of lighting systems of buildings that are used in different ways

Model research on the influence of green roofs on environmental parameters in urban agglomerations

This study presents features of green roofs in urban areas with a particular emphasis on the filtration of air pollutants, heavy metals removal, reduction of rainwater runoff from roof surfaces and thermal insulation. To carry out field studies on the influence of green roofs on the environment in urban areas, two green roof models on a laboratory scale were used. The observations of the prepared green roof models made during the summer, autumn and winter confirmed the extremely beneficial effect of this type of roof for the elimination of air pollutant, heavy metals, and particulate matter. The observations also confirmed that plants on a green roof growing on a soil layer absorb an average of 74% of rain water and then allow it to evaporate. The selection of plants for green roofs should mainly focus on how effectively they improve urban environmental parameters and remove air pollutants. The results of the study of the two green roof models on a laboratory scale are necessary to work out the parameters of layers of the roof and select the most appropriate plants for the reference research object on the roof of one of buildings of the University of Opole

Optimisation of Heat Loss through Ventilation for Residential Buildings

This study presents the results of research on heat loss from various types of residential buildings through ventilation systems. Experimental research was done to analyse the effectiveness of ventilation systems of different types and determine the parameters of air discharged via the ventilation ducts. A model of heat loss from the discharge of exhaust air outside through air ducts has since been developed. Experiments were conducted on three experimental systems of building ventilation: gravitational, mechanical, and supply-exhaust ventilation systems with heat recovery. The proposed model dependencies were used to chart the daily fluctuations of the optimum multiplicity of air exchange for precise control of the parameters of mechanical ventilation systems in residential buildings. This study proves that natural ventilation in residential buildings fulfils its function only by increasing the air flow into the building, and that this incurs significant heat loss from buildings during the heating season

The consequences of the inappropriate use of ventilation systems operating in indoor swimming pool conditions - analysis

Increasingly more leisure facilities, such as water parks or indoor swimming pools are being built in Poland nowadays. In order to ensure the air quality required by standards for such leisure facilities it is necessary to fit them with effectively functioning ventilation. For the removal of excess humidity, as well as chlorine ions occurring as a result of the disinfection of water as well as the carbon dioxide emitted by people using the facility, the ventilation system needs to be appropriately designed and efficient. For this reason, studies into the air quality in such facilities were undertaken. The paper presents the causes and consequences of the inappropriate operation and maintenance of ventilation systems in swimming pools. The study found that the causes of deterioration in the technical condition of the system which was operated in an environment with chlorine ions were: an inappropriate manufacture of its components and the wrong choice of construction materials for the given environment of operation. Furthermore, failure to follow the manufacturer's guidelines for the operation and maintenance of the components of the ventilation system greatly precipitated its degradation and the occurrence of sick building syndrome in the swimming pool. Solutions were found and proposed in order to improve the efficiency of the ventilation system in the given swimming-pool facility

The Impact of Green Roofs on the Parameters of the Environment in Urban Areas—Review

This study presents the results of a review of publications conducted by researchers in a variety of climates on the implementation of ‘green roofs’ and their impact on the urban environment. Features of green roofs in urban areas have been characterized by a particular emphasis on: Filtration of air pollutants and oxygen production, reduction of rainwater volume discharged from roof surfaces, reduction of so-called ‘urban heat islands’, as well as improvements to roof surface insulation (including noise reduction properties). The review of the publications confirmed the necessity to conduct research to determine the coefficients of the impact of green roofs on the environment in the city centers of Central and Eastern Europe. The results presented by different authors (most often based on a single case study) differ significantly from each other, which does not allow us to choose universal coefficients for all the parameters of the green roof’s impact on the environment. The work also includes analysis of structural recommendations for the future model green roof study, which will enable pilot research into the influence of green roofs on the environment in urban agglomerations and proposes different kinds of plants for different kinds of roofs, respectively

The consequences of the inappropriate use of ventilation systems operating in indoor swimming pool conditions - analysis

Increasingly more leisure facilities, such as water parks or indoor swimming pools are being built in Poland nowadays. In order to ensure the air quality required by standards for such leisure facilities it is necessary to fit them with effectively functioning ventilation. For the removal of excess humidity, as well as chlorine ions occurring as a result of the disinfection of water as well as the carbon dioxide emitted by people using the facility, the ventilation system needs to be appropriately designed and efficient. For this reason, studies into the air quality in such facilities were undertaken. The paper presents the causes and consequences of the inappropriate operation and maintenance of ventilation systems in swimming pools. The study found that the causes of deterioration in the technical condition of the system which was operated in an environment with chlorine ions were: an inappropriate manufacture of its components and the wrong choice of construction materials for the given environment of operation. Furthermore, failure to follow the manufacturer's guidelines for the operation and maintenance of the components of the ventilation system greatly precipitated its degradation and the occurrence of sick building syndrome in the swimming pool. Solutions were found and proposed in order to improve the efficiency of the ventilation system in the given swimming-pool facility

Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic and Crop Cultivation: A Comparative Analysis

Human civilization depends on energy sources, mainly fossil fuels. An increase in the prices of fossil fuels and their exhaustibility limit economic growth. Carbon dioxide emission causes global environmental problems. Global crises (including COVID-19) have sharpened food and energy supply problems. The decentralized energy supply systems as well as the expedition of the application of renewable energy may solve these challenges. The economic shift to renewable power generation intensifies the competition between food crop production and green energy for land. This paper applied an open-source spatial-based model to quantify the solar power generation (the ground-mounted photovoltaic panels) for the southern regions of Poland (the Opole region) and Ukraine (the Mykolaiv region). The model used technical, economic, and legal constraints. This study compared economic indicators of the solar power generation and the crop production projects for rain-fed land. The net present value (NPV) and the profitability index (PI) were used for the economic evaluation. Additionally, the coefficients of variation were determined to assess investment risks. The use of r.green.solar model to find the spatial distribution of the reduction of carbon dioxide emission was the novelty of this study. The analysis revealed that the PV projects have higher NPV, but lower PI compared to the crop production. The PV projects have lower coefficients of variation. This fact testifies that these projects are less risky

Modelling the Interaction between Air Pollutant Emissions and Their Key Sources in Poland

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between key sources of air pollutant emissions (sources of energy production, factories which are particularly harmful to the environment, the fleets of cars, environmental protection expenditure) and the main environmental air pollution (SO2, NOx, CO and PM) in Poland. Models based on MLP neural networks were used as predictive models. Global sensitivity analysis was used to demonstrate the significant impact of individual network input variables on the output variable. To verify the effectiveness of the models created, the actual data were compared with the data obtained through modelling. Projected courses of changes in the variables under study correspond with the real data, which confirms that the proposed models generalize acquired knowledge well. The high MLP network quality parameters of 0.99–0.85 indicate that the network generalizes the acquired knowledge accurately. The sensitivity analysis for NOx, CO and PM pollutants indicates the significance of all input variables. For SO2, it showed significance for four of the six variables analysed. The predictions made by the neural models are not very different from the experimental values

Characteristic of Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens Isolated from Weeds of Wheat Field

The aim of this study was the identification of the causative agent of the basal glume rot of wheat Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens from the affected weeds in wheat crops, and determination of its virulent properties. Isolation of P. syringae pv. atrofaciens from weeds of wheat crops was carried out by classical microbiological methods. To identify isolated bacteria, their morphological, cultural, biochemical, and serological properties as well as fatty acids and Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) profiles with the OPA-13 primer were studied. Pathogenic properties were investigated by artificial inoculation of wheat plants and weed plants, from which bacteria were isolated. For the first time, bacteria that are virulent both for weeds and wheat were isolated from weeds growing in wheat crops. It was shown that the fatty acids profiles of the bacteria isolated from the weeds contained typical for P. syringae pv. atrofaciens fatty acids, in particular, hydroxy acids: 3-hydroxydecanoic, 2-hydroxydodecanoic, and 3-hydroxydodecanoic. RAPD-PCR profiles of the newly isolated strains were identical to those of the collection strains P. syringae pv. atrofaciens UCM B-1011 and P. syringae pv. atrofaciens UCM B-1014 and contained a dominant fragment of 700 bp. The isolated strains, according to their phenotypic and genotypic properties, were identified as P. syringae pv. atrofaciens. It was established that the causative agent of basal glume rot of wheat P. syringae pv. atrofaciens is polyphagous and capable of infecting a wide range of plants. The main control measure for cereals diseases caused by P. syringae pv. Atrofaciens—crop rotations with nonhost species, should be revised, and alternative control methods must be proposed