IEA SHC Task 61 / EBC Annex 77: Integrated Solutions for Daylighting and Electric Lighting - Subtask A: User perspective and requirements. A.3 Personas

The consumption of energy for lighting in buildings depends very much on the way people interact with the build environment. In this study the following building types were studied, office, school, university, commercial and industry buildings. For each building type typical user groups were identified. Then, Personas have been created for each group. As opposed to describing users with numbers and statistics, a single Persona reflects a group and is presented with a narrative. The Persona has a name, a family and living conditions that are representative for the group, also her/his values and interests are not uncommon. The Personas “typical day” includes a time schedule typical for the group. Visual conditions are common for the group, but some specific challenges connected to the visual conditions that may occur in the group are also mentioned. Personas were created using one of the three methods: interview at the working or learning place, workshop at the working place, and internet survey which was used in the time of pandemic lock-down. Those methods are described in the chapter 2 Methodology and evaluated based on the authors experience, chapter 9 Conclusions. Chapters 3-7 presents Personas for the offices, schools, university buildings, commercial buildings, and industry buildings. In the chapter 8 Home office personas, student and professional, are presented. The report ends with the description of energy consumption calculation that applies Lumen method which is based on the use of a Coefficient of Utilization (CU). CU computes the fraction of lamp lumens that directly reach the workplane and the fraction from interreflections. The boundary conditions of use of the respective buildings, based on the results from literature review and interviews with users, are also presented, table 2

Financial Risk Management on a Neutral Atom Quantum Processor

Machine Learning models capable of handling the large datasets collected in the financial world can often become black boxes expensive to run. The quantum computing paradigm suggests new optimization techniques, that combined with classical algorithms, may deliver competitive, faster and more interpretable models. In this work we propose a quantum-enhanced machine learning solution for the prediction of credit rating downgrades, also known as fallen-angels forecasting in the financial risk management field. We implement this solution on a neutral atom Quantum Processing Unit with up to 60 qubits on a real-life dataset. We report competitive performances against the state-of-the-art Random Forest benchmark whilst our model achieves better interpretability and comparable training times. We examine how to improve performance in the near-term validating our ideas with Tensor Networks-based numerical simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, revised versio

Occurrence of Dirofilaria repens in wild carnivores in Poland.

Dirofilaria repens is an expanding vector-borne zoonotic parasite of canines and other carnivores. Sub-clinically infected dogs constitute the most important reservoir of the parasite and the source of infection for its mosquito vectors. However, occurrence of D. repens infection in wild animals may contribute to the transmission of the parasite to humans and may explain the endemicity of filariae in newly invaded regions. The aim of the current study was to determine the occurrence of D. repens in 511 blood and spleen samples from seven species of wild carnivores (wolves, red foxes, Eurasian badgers, raccoons, raccoon dogs, stone martens, and pine martens) from different regions of Poland by means of a PCR protocol targeting the 12S rDNA gene. Dirofilaria repens–positive hosts were identified in seven of fourteen voivodeships in four of the seven regions of Poland: Masovia, Lesser Poland, Pomerania and Warmia-Masuria. The highest prevalence was found in Masovia region (8%), coinciding with the highest previously recorded prevalence in dogs in Central Poland. The DNA of Dirofilaria was detected in 16 samples of three species (total prevalence 3.13%). A low and similar percentage of positive samples (1.9%, 4.2% and 4.8%) was recorded among badgers, red foxes, and wolves, respectively. Dirofilaria repens–positive hosts were identified in seven of fourteen voivodships. Based on detection in different voivodeships, D. repens–positive animals were recorded in four out of the seven regions of Poland: in Masovia, Lesser Poland, Pomerania, and Warmia-Masuria. The highest prevalence of filariae was found in Masovia region (8%), reflecting the highest previously recorded prevalence in dogs (12–50%) in Central Poland. In summary, we conducted the first comprehensive study on the epidemiology of D. repens in seven species of wild hosts in all seven regions of Poland and identified the first case of D. repens infection in Eurasian badgers in Poland and the second in Europe

ZINTEGROWANE PLANOWANIE PRZESTRZENNE I ENERGETYCZNE – ZNACZENIE PROBLEMU DLA WSPÓŁCZESNYCH ARCHITEKTÓW I URBANISTÓW Z UWAGI NA CZYNNIKI ŚRODOWISKOWE

Oprócz przestrzegania podstawowych kwestii związanych ze zrównoważonym rozwojem, w najbliższych latach planiści zobowiązani będą także do spełniania bardziej rygorystycznych norm związanych z efektywnością energetyczną. W Polsce, przełomowym rokiem okaże się 2021, kiedy wchodzi w życie unijna dyrektywa dotycząca efektywności energetycznej budynków. W tej kwestii ogromne znaczenie mają nie tylko charakterystyki pojedynczych obiektów, co całe ich kompleksy i całościowe podejście do planowania – uwzględniające także otoczenie i odwołujące się do skali urbanistycznej. Celem tego artykułu jest przybliżenie głównych przyczyn przemawiających za zwróceniem się do zintegrowanego planowania energetycznego i przestrzennego. Wyjaśniono w nim kontrowersyjne kwestie związane ze spekulowanymi zmianami klimatycznymi oraz ich potencjalnym związkiem z sektorem budownictwa. Oprócz tego, w artykule przedstawiono argumenty odwołujące się do czynników ekologicznych, a także podstawowych kwestii związanych z ewolucją terenów zurbanizowanych i czynników socjoekonomicznych.Along with respecting basic sustainable development goals, planners will also be obliged to meet more stringent provisions related to energy efficiency in the coming years. In Poland, a crucial year will be 2021, when the EU directive on the energy efficiency of buildings comes into force. In this matter, not only the characteristics of individual objects are of great importance, but their whole complexes and the overall approach to planning - considering the surroundings and referring to the urban scale. The purpose of this article is to indicate the main reasons for turning to integrated energy and spatial planning. It also explains the controversial issues related to speculated climate change and their potential relationship with the construction sector. In addition, the article presents arguments referring to ecological factors as well as basic issues related to the evolution of urban areas and socio-economic factors

Exploring DAD and ADD Methods for Dealing with Urban Heat Island Effect

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in the context of climate change and temperature fluctuations is an increasing challenge for contemporary cities. Numerous activities focus on mitigation and adaptation to the UHI effect using both appropriately selected design strategies and technological solutions. However, not all of these technologies support the postulates of ecological and low-carbon cities. Their design, implementation, and operation process sometimes causes conflicts or misunderstandings among designers, industry engineers, and residents. The aim of the research was to examine the relationship between UHI effect mitigation, adaptation, and energy efficiency strategies. A further goal was to build a matrix of synergistic elements and conflicts for respective actors and stakeholders, and an analysis of the elitist DAD (Decide-Announce-Defend) method and participatory ADD (Announce-Discuss-Decide) or EDD (Engage-Deliberate-Decide) in dealing with the UHI effect. The literature review and case study analysis methods were applied. In the study, the strategies of five chosen European capitals (Berlin, London, Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw) experiencing a UHI problem were analyzed. As result, a matrix of the most common goal differences of respective stakeholders in dealing with the UHI effect was developed. One of the main conclusions is the necessity of undergoing synergic collaboration between actors that are not cooperating yet, combined with risk analysis and appropriate education at different levels for a successful and socially equal mitigation and adaptation to the UHI effect

Striving for spatial energy efficiency in dwelling complexes

Głównym celem tego artykułu było wytyczenie kluczowych kierunków projektowych w ekologicznych zespołach zabudowy mieszkaniowej strefy klimatu umiarkowanego, pod względem przestrzennej efektywności energetycznej. Dokonano tego poprzez studia przypadków, analizę porównawczą i zestawienie wyników krytycznych parametrów związanych z przestrzenną efektywnością energetyczną w wybranych reprezentatywnych kompleksach mieszkaniowych. Ze względu na mnogość i złożoność ekologicznych zespołów zabudowy, badane przykłady ograniczały się do określonych wytycznych. Były nimi lokalizacja w strefie klimatu umiarkowanego oraz wdrażanie rozwiązań pro-środowiskowych zgodnie ze znanymi na całym świecie certyfikatami energetycznymi i środowiskowymi. W rezultacie uzyskano zestawienie nurtów projektowych w strefie klimatu umiarkowanego, które opiera się na kluczowych parametrach przestrzennej efektywności energetycznej. Ponadto, sformułowano uwagi i przyszłe ramowe wytyczne dotyczące obszarów i działań potencjalnej poprawy w zakresie przestrzennej efektywności energetycznej.The main aim of this article was to discover the key characteristics in shaping most rewarded eco-district complexes built respectively in temperate climate zone in respect to spatial energy efficiency and resilience principles. It was done through careful case studies, comparative analysis and juxtaposition of critical parameters related to spatial energy efficiency and resilience in chosen representative dwelling complexes. Due to the complexity and multitude instances of ecological dwelling complexes it was decided to set bounds to the defined criteria. The investigated examples were limited to following restrictions as location in moderate climate zone, implementing the pro-environmental solutions in accordance world-known energy and environmental assessment certifications. As a result, a reliable juxtaposition of design trends in temperate climate zone was provided, which was induced by the key spatial energy efficiency parameters. Furthermore, the remarks and future framework guidelines were made, concerning main fields of potential improvements in terms of spatial energy efficiency and resilience

Cap a assentaments neutrals en carboni. La importància de les optimitzacions urbanes i energètiques en etapes primerenques

L’objectiu d’aquesta recerca va ser verificar l’essència de les optimitzacions energètiques interdisciplinàries al procés de disseny urbà en etapa inicial. Un altre objectiu era trobar la variant de disseny i l’escenari més òptims en termes d’eficiència energètica urbana per al futur desenvolupament a Nowy Port, ubicat a Gdansk, Polònia, un lloc que requereix una revitalització complexa. La investigació va combinar enfocaments qualitatius i quantitatius; una capa de disseny urbà (anàlisi arquitectònica de sistemes espacials i planificació) i una capa d’energia (simulacions). Per a les simulacions energètiques i ambientals, es va utilitzar la calculadora ELAS de forma innovadora, que va permetre comparar els resultats de diversos projectes en termes de demanda d’energia, cicle de vida d’emissions de diòxid de carboni i l’empremta ecològica per a diferents dissenys urbans. El mètode innovador, que inclou l’aplicació de l’eina ELAS a la fase de disseny inicial, va demostrar ser rellevant i va permetre una avaluació prèvia adequada i una comparació dels paràmetres d’eficiència energètica urbana i una anàlisi del cicle de vida en una fase inicial del projecte. Una de les conclusions clau és que la variant de disseny amb la més alta densitat de construcció no va ser la més avantatjosa en termes de baix impacte ambiental i demanda d’energia. A més, la investigació va demostrar que el comportament individual dels residents, els patrons de mobilitat i els sistemes energètics són més importants que les millores centrades únicament en el rendiment energètic de l'edifici.The aim of the research was to verify the essence of interdisciplinary energy optimizations in early-stage urban design process. A further aim was to the find most optimal design variant and scenario in terms of urban energy efficiency for the future. The research combined qualitative and quantitative approaches; an urban design layer (architectural analysis of spatial systems and planning) and an energy layer (simulations). For energy and environmental simulations, the ELAS calculator was used in an innovative way, that enabled comparison of results of several projects in terms of energy demand, carbon dioxide lifecycle emissions and ecological footprint for different urban layouts. The innovative method of working with ELAS tool proposed by the authors proved to be relevant and allowed for an appropriate pre-assessment and comparison of urban energy efficiency parameters and life cycle analysis at an early stage of the project. One of the key conclusions is that the design variant with the highest building density was not the most advantageous in terms of low environmental impact and energy demand. In addition, the research demonstrated that the individual behavior of residents, their mobility patterns and the energy systems are more important than the improvements focused only on building energy performance.El objetivo de la investigación fue verificar la esencia de las optimizaciones energéticas interdisciplinarias en el proceso de diseño urbano en etapa inicial. Otro objetivo era encontrar la variante de diseño y el escenario más óptimos en términos de eficiencia energética urbana para el futuro desarrollo en Nowy Port, ubicado en Gdansk, Polonia, un lugar que requiere una revitalización compleja. La investigación combinó enfoques cualitativos y cuantitativos; una capa de diseño urbano (análisis arquitectónico de sistemas espaciales y planificación) y una capa de energía (simulaciones). Para las simulaciones energéticas y ambientales, se utilizó la calculadora ELAS de forma innovadora, que permitió comparar los resultados de varios proyectos en términos de demanda de energía, ciclo de vida de emisiones de dióxido de carbono y huella ecológica para diferentes diseños urbanos. El método innovador, que incluye la aplicación de la herramienta ELAS en la fase de diseño inicial, demostró ser relevante y permitió una evaluación previa adecuada y una comparación de los parámetros de eficiencia energética urbana y un análisis del ciclo de vida en una fase inicial del proyecto. Una de las conclusiones clave es que la variante de diseño con la densidad de construcción más alta no fue la más ventajosa en términos de bajo impacto ambiental y demanda de energía. Además, la investigación demostró que el comportamiento individual de los residentes, sus patrones de movilidad y los sistemas energéticos son más importantes que las mejoras centradas únicamente en el rendimiento energético del edificio.We would like to express special thanks of gratitude to assoc. Prof. Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen – mansucript reviewer, Technical University of Denmark; Prof. Dr. Michael Koch – originator and substantive leader of the cooperation project of HafenCity University Hamburg and Gdansk University Technology; Dr Gabriela Rembarz – originator and substantive leader of the cooperation project of Gdansk University of Technology and HafenCity University Hamburg; Prof. Piotr Lorens, Ph.D., D.Sc. Eng. Arch. – cooperation promoter; Dipl.-Eng. M.A. Florentine-Amelie Rost – cooperation assistant, project management and for Dipl.-Eng. Architect Alexandra Schmitz – cooperation assistant, project management.Peer Reviewe