Age-related efficiency loss of household refrigeration appliances: Development of an approach to measure the degradation of insulation properties

Despite the omnipresence of household refrigeration appliances, there is still a lack of knowledge about their age-related efficiency loss over time. Past studies provide basic evidence for increasing electricity consumption of cooling appliances with ageing but fail to investigate the associated technical wear. Concentrating on the degradation of the thermal insulation, we first determined the ageing process of sealed samples of polyurethane rigid foam by investigating changes in cell gas composition and thermal conductivity over time. Simultaneously, the main challenge was to develop an approach that investigates the age-related efficiency loss of the insulation without its destruction. This testing procedure is referred to as the Bonn method. The non-destructive Bonn method was applied to varying refrigerator models in a series of successive experiments to evaluate the insulation degradation over time. Subsequently, the physical relationship between the test value of the Bonn method and the heat transfer through the multi-layered compartment walls of domestic refrigeration appliances was established, ultimately characterising the degrading insulation in terms of increasing heat transfer. Our results give substantiated evidence that the efficiency loss of cooling appliances is greatly influenced by insulation degradation over time. The ageing of sealed samples of polyurethane rigid foam indicates a large initial increase of thermal conductivity by 15% within the first year, corresponding to a change in cell gas composition. These results are in line with those of the Bonn method, emphasising an increasing heat flow through the multi-layered compartment walls of domestic refrigerators with ageing. Therewith, the present study is of significance to a wide range of stakeholders and forms the basis for future research.BMWi, 03ET1544, ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräte

Determining the heat flow through the cabinet walls of household refrigerating appliances

The increase of the thermal conductivity of PUR foam in the insulation of the cabinet is an important cause for aging processes of household refrigerating appliances. To determine the influence of the PUR foam aging on energy consumption, the development of a new measurement method is necessary because current methods influence the aging behavior of household refrigerators and are therefore not applicable in general. Based on a latent heat sink, constructed as an ice water bucket, a new measurement method is developed to determine the k · A value over time. With this method, the k · A value of four household refrigerating appliances was determined over an interval of 14 months. The k · A value increased between 3.6 % and 11.5 % during this period.BMWi, 03ET1544A, Verbundvorhaben ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräte

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Cost of treating hepatitis C in Germany: a retrospective multicenter analysis

Background Viral hepatitis is major a public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Estimates assume 400 000-500 000 people chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Germany. Long-term consequences are the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of the study was to assess the costs for treating patients with chronic HCV in Germany. Methods We conducted a retrospective multicenter observational study. The design was approved by an ethics committee, and patients were asked for their informed consent. Patients were grouped in four different health states. Healthcare utilization data were extracted from doctor files of six medical centers in Germany. Results Data of 315 patients with chronic HCV were analyzed. The mean age was 49.4 years, 57.5% were male and 67.9% had a genotype 1 infection. The most common routes of transmission were injection drug use (39.0%) and infection through blood products (15.9%). The average total cost was (sic)19 147 including ambulatory care and diagnostics ((sic)1686), pharmaceuticals ((sic)14 875), inpatient care ((sic)1293), and sick leave ((sic)1293). For patients in stable health states (mild and moderate HCV, compensated cirrhosis), costs did not differ significantly and were mainly influenced by antiviral treatment. For patients with decompensated cirrhosis, inpatient care accounted for the largest part of the costs. Conclusion Treatment of HCV patients involves high costs, mainly associated with the length of antiviral therapy. Viral eradication can prevent severe disease stages, which are associated with high costs. It is necessary to follow current guidelines and monitor patients closely to avoid unnecessary costs. (C) 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Investigating the real life energy consumption of refrigeration appliances in Germany: Are present policies sufficient?

Domestic refrigeration appliances are standard household commodities. Although policies, such as the energy labelling, prompted technical improvements and decreased appliance energy consumption throughout recent decades, important parameters were disregarded. These refer to the efficiency loss over time and the consumer behaviour. The objective of this contribution was to develop a dynamic energy model to determine the power consumption of refrigeration appliances considering degradation factors and behaviour. These were included by model parameters for direct consumer interactions, such as the storage behaviour, door openings and temperature setting, as well as indirect actions, e.g. exposing an appliance to specific temperature conditions at an installation site. For this, an online-survey was conducted to evaluate the consumer behaviour. A total of 706 consumers participated in the national questionnaire, serving as input for the dynamic energy model. It was found that the efficiency loss increases the power consumption by at least 1% annually, leading to an excess of 10% after 10 years of usage. Another important finding was that 32.5% of appliance's power consumption results from consumer behaviour, whereas the promotion of behavioural changes leads to a significant decrease of the consumer-induced consumption. Consequently, this study provides a tool to evaluate the impact of policies targeting refrigeration appliances, stressing that efficiency loss and behaviour should be integrated into future policy approaches.BMWi, 03ET1544A, Verbundvorhaben ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräten - Teilprojekt: Bestimmung des Degenerationsverhaltens und Konstruktion der Gerät

Kuluttajabarometri maakunnittain 2000, 2. neljännes

Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT

Use of failure-to-rescue to identify international variation in postoperative care in low-, middle- and high-income countries: a 7-day cohort study of elective surgery

This was an investigator-initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by R.P. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London