Solar Assisted Ground Source Heat Pump in Cold Climates

Abstract The geothermal heat pump (or ground source heat pump) uses the ground as heat source or sink for heating and cooling respectively. The design of the borehole field is the key element of these systems since the wrong evaluation of the boreholes' length affects the initial costs and/or the energy performance of the heat pump. The geothermal heat pumps are considered as renewable energy technologies, consequently can help the community to reduce the primary energy uses and also the CO 2 emissions. However the sustainability and efficiency are ensured in the long period only when the heat balance through the ground is guaranteed. This work evaluates the thermal behavior of ground source heat pumps in cold climates, where the thermal load profile of buildings is not balanced between heating and cooling, especially in residential sector characterized by low internal loads. In these contexts, the heat pump mainly works in heating mode, extracting continuously heat from the ground. As a result, the ground temperature decreases gradually during the years affecting the energy performance of the heat pump. A possible solution to this problem is to use solar thermal collectors to stabilize or gradually increase the mean ground temperature (these systems are called Solar Assisted Ground Source Heat Pump – SAGSHP). In this work a multi floors residential building with 12 flats (88 m 2 each) is analyzed in three climate zones, making use of the simulation tool TRNSYS. Different configurations of the plant system have been investigated and the case without the solar thermal collectors has been considered as reference

Use of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill as Heat Source of Heat Pump

Abstract The heat pump systems are considered today an environmentally friendly technology and, together with other energy production systems from renewable sources, are fundamental for reducing energy consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions due to air conditioning of buildings. The ground source heat pumps use the ground as a heat source able to provide the better energy performance if compared with more common systems which using air as source. The increase of the temperatures inside the controlled landfills of municipal solid waste (MSW), due to the decomposition of waste materials can make the volume of waste a viable alternative in this context, to be used as a heat source for the production of heat. The present work has the objective of analyzing the potential of use of a MSW landfill for space heating through a heat pump. The first part of the work analyzes the main features of a landfill of municipal solid waste starting from system design through to biological degradation processes of organic matter. Subsequently the possible configurations of heat exchangers to be inserted within or covering the landfill is discussed. Based on the findings found in the literature, a dynamic model has been created for a real case study of a MSW landfill located in the north-east of Italy. Boundary conditions (i.e. annual temperature cycles for the soil, heat exchange by convection with the ambient air and radiation, a heat generation function distributed on the rejection of mass) have been imposed to the model in order to carry out annual simulations by means of finite element method, thanks to which the values of temperature reached by the mass of waste have been obtained. By means of the creation of a thermal load profile of a group of users it has been possible to determine the total energy extracted from the landfill and the electricity needed for the operation of the heat pump. The potential energy saving achievable with this type of plant was obtained by comparison with a ground source heat pump using horizontal pipes

Comfort and perceived air quality in refurbished social houses with mechanical ventialtion system: The impact of occupants behaviour

Abstract The ever-growing demand for a better indoor air quality in residential buildings is increasing the number of whole-house ventilation system installations in new constructions and renovation. In Italy, for residential sector, the national code does not prescribe the use of mechanical ventilation (MV) systems, so their installation is left to the choice of house owners. Two three-storey social housing apartment blocks in Northern Italy were studied. To reduce energy consumption, building envelopes as well as heating systems were refurbished. The thermal insulation was increased and the existing gas heater units were replaced with more efficient radiant ceiling systems. The refurbishment measures were the same for both constructions beside the MV system, which was installed in only one building. Indoor temperature and relative humidity were monitored for several apartments during the heating season. The occupants were surveyed to investigate their thermal comfort and perceived air quality. The occupants were interviewed to better understand their responses, and to know how they operate the heating system and the mechanical ventilation system (when present). Survey results show that there are no differences in terms of thermal comfort and perceived air quality between the occupants of the buildings with and without MV systems. The findings may be related to occupants' behaviour

Use of municipal solid waste landfill as heat source of heat pump

The heat pump systems are considered today an environmentally friendly technology and, together with other energy production systems from renewable sources, are fundamental for reducing energy consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions due to air conditioning of buildings. The ground source heat pumps use the ground as a heat source able to provide the better energy performance if compared with more common systems which using air as source. The increase of the temperatures inside the controlled landfills of municipal solid waste (MSW), due to the decomposition of waste materials can make the volume of waste a viable alternative in this context, to be used as a heat source for the production of heat. The present work has the objective of analyzing the potential of use of a MSW landfill for space heating through a heat pump. The first part of the work analyzes the main features of a landfill of municipal solid waste starting from system design through to biological degradation processes of organic matter. Subsequently the possible configurations of heat exchangers to be inserted within or covering the landfill is discussed. Based on the findings found in the literature, a dynamic model has been created for a real case study of a MSW landfill located in the north-east of Italy. Boundary conditions (i.e. annual temperature cycles for the soil, heat exchange by convection with the ambient air and radiation, a heat generation function distributed on the rejection of mass) have been imposed to the model in order to carry out annual simulations by means of finite element method, thanks to which the values of temperature reached by the mass of waste have been obtained. By means of the creation of a thermal load profile of a group of users it has been possible to determine the total energy extracted from the landfill and the electricity needed for the operation of the heat pump. The potential energy saving achievable with this type of plant was obtained by comparison with a ground source heat pump using horizontal pipes

Comfort and perceived air quality in refurbished social houses with mechanical ventilation system: The impact of occupants behaviour

The ever-growing demand for a better indoor air quality in residential buildings is increasing the number of whole-house ventilation system installations in new constructions and renovation. In Italy, for residential sector, the national code does not prescribe the use of mechanical ventilation (MV) systems, so their installation is left to the choice of house owners. Two three-storey social housing apartment blocks in Northern Italy were studied. To reduce energy consumption, building envelopes as well as heating systems were refurbished. The thermal insulation was increased and the existing gas heater units were replaced with more efficient radiant ceiling systems. The refurbishment measures were the same for both constructions beside the MV system, which was installed in only one building. Indoor temperature and relative humidity were monitored for several apartments during the heating season. The occupants were surveyed to investigate their thermal comfort and perceived air quality. The occupants were interviewed to better understand their responses, and to know how they operate the heating system and the mechanical ventilation system (when present). Survey results show that there are no differences in terms of thermal comfort and perceived air quality between the occupants of the buildings with and without MV systems. The findings may be related to occupants' behaviour. © 2015 The Authors

Solar assisted ground source heat pump in cold climates

The geothermal heat pump(or ground source heat pump) uses the ground as heat source or sink for heating and cooling respectively. The design of the borehole field is the key element of these systems since the wrong evaluation of the boreholes’ length affects the initial costs and/or the energy performance of the heat pump. The geothermal heat pumps are considered as renewable energy technologies, consequently can help the community to reduce the primary energy uses and also the CO2 emissions. However the sustainability and efficiency are ensured in the long period only when the heat balance through the ground is guaranteed. This work evaluates the thermal behavior of ground source heat pumps in cold climates, where the thermal load profile of buildings is not balanced between heating and cooling, especially in residential sector characterized by low internal loads. In these contexts, the heat pump mainly works in heating mode, extracting continuously heat from the ground. As a result, the ground temperature decreases gradually during the years affecting the energy performance of the heat pump. A possible solution to this problem is to use solar thermal collectors to stabilize or gradually increase the mean ground temperature(these systems are called Solar Assisted Ground Source Heat Pump – SAGSHP). In this work a multi floors residential building with 12 flats (88 m2 each)is analyzed in three climate zones, making use of the simulation tool TRNSYS. Different configurations of the plant system have been investigated and the case without the solar thermal collectors has been considered as reference

How much do needlestick injuries cost? a systematic review of the economic evaluations of needlestick and sharps injuries among healthcare personnel

objective. To provide an overview of the economic aspects of needlestick and sharps injury (NSI) management among healthcare personnel (HCP) within a Health Technology Assessment project to evaluate the impact of safety-engineered devices on health care methods. A systematic review of economic analyses related to NSIs was performed in accordance with the PRISMA statement and by searching PubMed and Scopus databases (January 1997–February 2015). Mean costs were stratified by study approach (modeling or data driven) and type of cost (direct or indirect). Costs were evaluated using the CDC operative definition and converted to 2015 International US dollars (Int$). results. A total of 14 studies were retrieved: 8 data-driven studies and 6 modeling studies. Among them, 11 studies provided direct and indirect costs and 3 studies provided only direct costs. The median of the means for aggregate (direct + indirect) costs was Int$747 (range, Int$199–Int$1,691). The medians of the means for disaggregated costs were Int$425 (range, Int$48–Int$1,516) for direct costs (9 studies) and Int$322 (range, Int$152–Int$413) for indirect costs (6 studies). When compared with data-driven studies, modeling studies had higher disaggregated and aggregated costs, but data-driven studies showed greater variability. Indirect costs were consistent between studies, mostly referring to lost productivity, while direct costs varied widely within and between studies according to source infectivity, HCP susceptibility, and post-exposure diagnostic and prophylactic protocols. Costs of treating infections were not included, and intangible costs could equal those associated with NSI medical evaluations. conclusions. NSIs generate significant direct, indirect, potential, and intangible costs, possibly increasing over time. Economic efforts directed at preventing occupational exposures and infections, including provision of safety-engineered devices, may be offset by the savings from a lower incidence of NSIs

Analysis of a double source heat pump system in a historical building

This work presents the case study of the retrofitting of a historical building of the University of Padua, equipped with a hybrid heat pump system, which uses as heat source/sink the ground and ambient air. The building is located in Padua (Italy) and it is a historical complex of the late 1800, previously used as a geriatric hospital, in which a retrofit process is occurring in order to build the new humanistic campus of the Padua University reaching the highest energy efficiency. The refurbishment is in progress and regards both the building envelope and the plant-system. The building is equipped with two types of heat pumps: the first one is coupled to the ground with borehole heat exchangers and the second is a common air-to-water heat pump. The entire building plant system has been investigated through integrated computer simulations making use of EnergyPlus Software. A new control strategy in order to manage the two types of the heat pumps has been developed in order to increase the energy efficiency. The results outline the potential of the computer simulations in order to control the hybrid heat pump system. In fact, a suitable switch temperature was found in order to move from ground to air source/sink for the heat pumps. In addition, this strategy allows the control of the thermal drift of the ground temperature throughout the years

In-Vivo Quantification of Knee Deep-Flexion in Physiological Loading Condition trough Dynamic MRI

The in-vivo quantification of knee motion in physiological loading conditions is paramount for the understanding of the joint’s natural behavior and the comprehension of articular disorders. Dynamic MRI (DMRI) represents an emerging technology that makes it possible to investigate the functional interaction among all the joint tissues without risks for the patient. However, traditional MRI scanners normally offer a reduced space of motion, and complex apparatus are needed to load the articulation, due to the horizontal orientation of the scanning bed. In this study, we present an experimental and computational procedure that combines an open, weight-bearing MRI scanner with an original registration algorithm to reconstruct the three-dimensional kinematics of the knee from DMRI, thus allowing the investigation of knee deep-flexion under physiological loads in space. To improve the accuracy of the procedure, an MR-compatible rig has been developed to guide the knee flexion of the patient. We tested the procedure on three volunteers. The overall rotational and positional accuracy achieved are 1.8◦ ± 1.4 and 1.2 mm ± 0.8, respectively, and they are sufficient for the characterization of the joint behavior under load

Circadian sleep propensity and alcohol interaction at the wheel

Study Objectives: The study was aimed at estimating the effect of alcohol consumption, time of day, and their interaction on traffic crashes in a real regional context. Methods: Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) data were collected from drivers involved in traffic accidents during one year in an Italian region and in a control group of drivers over the same road network. Mean circadian sleep propensity was estimated from a previous study as function of time of day. Accident risk was analyzed by logistic regression as function of BAC and circadian sleep propensity. Results: BAC values greater than zero were found in 72.0% of the drivers involved in crashes and in 40.4% of the controls. Among the former 23.6% of the drivers exceeded the BAC legal threshold of 0.05 g/dL, while illegal values were found in 10.4% of the controls. The relative risk showed a significant increase with both BAC and circadian sleep propensity (as estimated from time of day) and their interaction was significant. Conclusions: Due to the significant interaction, even low BAC levels strongly increased accident risk when associated with high sleep propensity