Benchmarking small power energy consumption in UK office buildings: a review of data published in CIBSE guide F

CIBSE’s Guide F is a widely recognised guidance document on energy efficiency in buildings, which includes energy consumption benchmarks for small power equipment in offices. In its recently published 3rd edition, existing power demand benchmarks for office equipment were revised to better represent appliances found in contemporary office buildings. Other key sources of data such as typical operating hours for equipment, however, have been omitted. This paper compares the benchmarks published in both the 2nd and 3rd editions of Guide F against a set of measurements of small power loads in a real UK office building. Load profiles for the monitored equipment are also presented to supplement the information included in the new Guide F. Practical application: With the increasing demand for more realistic predictions of operational energy use in buildings, small power should not be disregarded since it typically accounts for more than 20% of total energy used in offices. Furthermore, small power loads can have a significant impact on the cooling loads of a building. This paper reviews existing benchmarks, focusing on the new update to CIBSE Guide F, comparing available benchmarks against newly gathered monitored data. Detailed load profiles for individual office equipment are also provided, which can be used by designers to inform better predictions of small power consumption in office buildings

Predicted vs. actual energy performance of non-domestic buildings: using post-occupancy evaluation data to reduce the performance gap

With the increasing demand for more energy efficient buildings, the construction industry is faced with the challenge to ensure that the energy performance predicted during the design stage is achieved once a building is in use. There is, however, significant evidence to suggest that buildings are not performing as well as expected and initiatives such as PROBE and CarbonBuzz aim to illustrate the extent of this so called ‘performance gap’. This paper discusses the underlying causes of discrepancies between energy modelling predictions and in-use performance of occupied buildings (after the twelve month liability period). Many of the causal factors relate to the use of unrealistic input parameters regarding occupancy behaviour and facilities management in building energy models. In turn, this is associated with the lack of feedback to designers once a building has been constructed and occupied. The paper aims to demonstrate how knowledge acquired from Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) can be used to produce more accurate energy performance models. A case study focused specifically on lighting, small power and catering equipment in a high density office building is analysed and presented. Results show that by combining monitoring data with predictive energy modelling, it was possible to increase the accuracy of the model to within 3% of actual electricity consumption values. Future work will seek to use detailed POE data to develop a set of evidence based benchmarks for energy consumption in office buildings. It is envisioned that these benchmarks will inform designers on the impact of occupancy and management on the actual energy consumption of buildings. Moreover, it should enable the use of more realistic input parameters in energy models, bringing the predicted figures closer to reality

Analysis of electricity consumption for lighting and small power in office buildings

There is significant evidence to suggest that buildings do not perform as well as expected, and this is commonly referred to as the "performance gap". Energy compliance calculations for Building Regulations in England and Wales do not include sources of energy consumption in buildings such as small power, catering, external lighting and vertical transportation (i.e. lifts and escalators). These so called "unregulated" loads are therefore rarely included in building energy models, and the lack of feedback regarding the in-use performance of buildings makes it harder for designers to quantify their impact on the overall energy consumption of a building. Aiming to address these issues, this paper provides an analysis of monitored electricity consumption in two multi-tenanted office buildings, with one tenant in common in both buildings. This paper focuses on tenant electricity consumption, including lighting and small power. Detailed analysis of the monitored data demonstrates significant variation between the electricity consumption of different tenants occupying the same building whilst performing similar activities. Elements such as lighting controls, hours of occupancy and management decisions are observed to have a significant impact on such variations. Further analysis of half-hourly energy consumption data is also provided, in addition to a detailed breakdown of small power energy consumption due to individual office equipment. Future work will build on this study and aim to develop evidence based benchmarks for energy consumption in office buildings. It will include a "tailoring" component allowing the benchmarks to be adjusted according to profiles of occupancy and management behaviour, as well as workstation density and the specification of energy consuming equipment. It is expected that such benchmarks will inform designers about the impact of each of these parameters on the measured energy consumption of buildings

Review of benchmarks for small power consumption in office buildings

There is significant evidence to suggest that buildings consume more energy than initially predicted during the design phase of building procurement. With increasing efforts to reduce the energy consumption associated with the operation of buildings, it is vital that these predictions be improved to represent the operation of buildings more realistically. One approach to bridge this gap would be to include energy consumption due to small power equipment in the energy models. Typically ignored, these end-uses usually represent between 13% and 44% of the total electricity consumption in an office building, according to Energy Consumption Guide 19. Currently there is little data available related to the electricity consumption of small power equipment in the context of office buildings. Existing data published in CIBSE Guide F is over a decade old and the use of office equipment and its associated technologies has changed significantly over this period. This lack of up-to-date benchmarks makes it increasingly difficult for designers to include small power consumption accurately within in their energy models. Following a detailed review of existing benchmarks for small power in office buildings, this paper presents a set of monitored data for a range of equipment commonly found in contemporary office buildings. Key metrics include details of power consumption and hours-in-use for both ICT equipment and kitchen appliances. In addition, a comparison of different laptops of varying specifications is provided and their subsequent impact on productivity is also discussed

Assessing the impact of occupant behaviour on electricity consumption for lighting and small power in office buildings

Lighting and small power will typically account for more than half of the total electricity consumption in an office building. Significant variations in electricity used by different tenants suggest that occupants can have a significant impact on the electricity demand for these end-uses. Yet current modelling techniques fail to represent the interaction between occupant and the building environment in a realistic manner. Understanding the impact of such behaviours is crucial to improve the methodology behind current energy modelling techniques, aiming to minimise the significant gap between predicted and in-use performance of buildings. A better understanding of the impact of occupant behaviour on electricity consumption can also inform appropriate energy saving strategies focused on behavioural change. This paper reports on a study aiming to assess the intent of occupants to switch off lighting and appliances when not in use in office buildings. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the assessment takes the form of a questionnaire and investigates three predictors to behaviour individually: 1) behavioural attitude; 2) subjective norms; 3) perceived behavioural control. The paper details the development of the assessment procedure and discusses preliminary findings from the study. The questionnaire results are compared against electricity consumption data for individual zones within a multi-tenanted office building. Initial results demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between perceived behavioural control and energy consumption for lighting and small power

Uncovering the genomic heterogeneity of multifocal breast cancer.

Multifocal breast cancer (MFBC), defined as multiple synchronous unilateral lesions of invasive breast cancer, is relatively frequent and has been associated with more aggressive features than unifocal cancer. Here, we aimed to investigate the genomic heterogeneity between MFBC lesions sharing similar histopathological parameters. Characterization of different lesions from 36 patients with ductal MFBC involved the identification of non-silent coding mutations in 360 protein-coding genes (171 tumour and 36 matched normal samples). We selected only patients with lesions presenting the same grade, ER, and HER2 status. Mutations were classified as 'oncogenic' in the case of recurrent substitutions reported in COSMIC or truncating mutations affecting tumour suppressor genes. All mutations identified in a given patient were further interrogated in all samples from that patient through deep resequencing using an orthogonal platform. Whole-genome rearrangement screen was further conducted in 8/36 patients. Twenty-four patients (67%) had substitutions/indels shared by all their lesions, of which 11 carried the same mutations in all lesions, and 13 had lesions with both common and private mutations. Three-quarters of those 24 patients shared oncogenic variants. The remaining 12 patients (33%) did not share any substitution/indels, with inter-lesion heterogeneity observed for oncogenic mutation(s) in genes such as PIK3CA, TP53, GATA3, and PTEN. Genomically heterogeneous lesions tended to be further apart in the mammary gland than homogeneous lesions. Genome-wide analyses of a limited number of patients identified a common somatic background in all studied MFBCs, including those with no mutation in common between the lesions. To conclude, as the number of molecular targeted therapies increases and trials driven by genomic screening are ongoing, our findings highlight the presence of genomic inter-lesion heterogeneity in one-third, despite similar pathological features. This implies that deeper molecular characterization of all MFBC lesions is warranted for the adequate management of those cancers

Role of blood cells dynamism on hemostatic complications in low-risk patients with essential thrombocythemia

Patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) aged less than 60 years, who have not suffered a previous vascular event (low-risk patients), may develop thrombotic or hemorrhagic events. So far, it has not been possible to identify useful markers capable of predicting which of these patients are more likely to develop an event and therefore who needs to be treated. In the present study, we analysed the relationship between vascular complications and longitudinal blood counts of 136 low-risk ET patients taken over a sustained period of time (blood cells dynamism). After a median follow-up of 60 months, 45 out of 136 patients (33%) suffered 40 major thrombotic and 5 severe hemorrhagic complications. A total number of 5,781 blood counts were collected longitudinally. Thrombotic and hemorrhagic events were studied together (primary endpoint) but also separately (thrombotic alone = secondary endpoint; hemorrhagic alone = tertiary endpoint). The primary endpoint showed no significant association between platelet and WBC count at diagnosis and risk of any event (platelet, p = 0.797; WBC, p = 0.178), while Hb at baseline did show an association (p = 0.024). In the dynamic analysis with Cox regression model, where the blood count values were studied by time of follow-up, we observed that the risk for Hb was 1.49 (95% CI 1.13-1.97) for every increase of 1 g/dL, and that this risk then marginally decreased during follow-up. WBC was associated with an increased risk at baseline for every increase of 1 7 10(9)/L (hazard ratio (HR) 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.13, p = 0.034), the risk was stable during follow-up (HR 0.95, p = 0.187 at 60 months). Also, for each increment at baseline of 100 7 10(9) platelets/L, HR was increased by 1.08 (95% CI 0.97-1.22, p = 0.159) and decreases during follow-up. In conclusion, this study is the first to evaluate in ET low-risk patients, the risk of developing a thrombotic/hemorrhagic event considering blood counts over time. Overall our study shows that the risk changes over time. For example, the risk associated with WCC is not linear as previously reported. An interesting new finding is that PLT and even Hb contribute to the risk of developing vascular events. Future treatments should take into consideration these findings and aim to control all parameters over time. We believe this early study may help develop a dynamic analysis model to predict thrombosis in the single patient. Further studies are now warranted to further validate our findings

Basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor serum levels in breast cancer patients and healthy women: useful as diagnostic tools?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in breast cancer cells and the corresponding serum levels in individual patients. The study also evaluated the potential of serum levels of the two growth factors as diagnostic markers in a case–control study. METHODS: VEGF expression and bFGF expression were determined in 62 and 63 tumor samples, respectively. Serum VEGF and bFGF levels were determined in 54 and 65 healthy women and in 69 and 73 breast cancer patients, respectively, using a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. RESULTS: A direct correlation was observed between VEGF expression and bFGF expression in individual tumors (P = 0.001) and between serum levels (P = 0.038) in individual patients, but not between tumor cell expression and the corresponding serum level for either growth factor. Median values of serum levels in healthy women and breast cancer patients were not different for VEGF (P = 0.055), but were significantly different for bFGF (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve identified a serum bFGF concentration of 1.0 pg/ml, with 84.9% sensitivity and 63.1% specificity, as the best cut-off value to discriminate between healthy women and breast cancer patients. An age-based subgroup analysis showed that serum values of patients older than 70 years of age mainly contributed to the high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data repropose bFGF as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for breast cancer

"Galileo Galilei" (GG) a small satellite to test the equivalence principle of Galileo, Newton and Einstein

"Galileo Galilei" (GG) is a small satellite designed to fly in low Earth orbit with the goal of testing the Equivalence Principle-which is at the basis of the General Theory of Relativity-to 1 part in 1017. If successful, it would improve current laboratory results by 4 orders of magnitude. A confirmation would strongly constrain theories; proof of violation is believed to lead to a scientific revolution. The experiment design allows it to be carried out at ambient temperature inside a small 1-axis stabilized satellite (250 kg total mass). GG is under investigation at Phase A-2 level by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) at Thales Alenia Space in Torino, while a laboratory prototype (known as GGG) is operational at INFN laboratories in Pisa, supported by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di fisica Nucleare) and ASI. A final study report will be published in 2009