Techno-economic analysis of residential thermal flexibility for demand side management

The continuing rise in solar and wind production leads to an increasing demand of flexibility to stabilize the electricity grid. Furthermore, we can assume a gradual but intensive rise in the use of electrical heatpumps for household spatial heating, for different reasons. Therefore, this paper investigates the feasibility and viability of entering the flexibility market by aggregating residential thermal loads. For this research, a dataset of 200 dwellings in the Netherlands, equipped with a heatpump and smart metering infrastructure, is analysed. By means of a greybox modeling approach, a thermal model and control framework have been set up for every house, in order to identify the load shift potential and the accompanying cost of providing flexibility for the houses. We find that thermal flexibility is asymmetric: downwards flexibility is, apart from much more dependent on outdoor temperature than upwards flexibility, strictly lower than upwards flexibility. The cost for downwards flexibility is strictly negative in terms of the prosumer. Concerning upwards flexibility, the cost is most of the time positive. Moreover, it can be concluded that there is a potentially viable business case for the flexibility aggregator

Some insights in regulation and potential profitability of passive fiber infrastructure in Europe

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Consequences of Population Density and Size

The classical theory about effects of high residential density is "negative," stating that high density produces negative social attitudes and undesirable behaviors. Yet empirical re search usually finds density only weakly related to individuals' attitudes and behavior. A survey was conducted in Baltimore for three purposes: to test "negative" hypotheses for new dependent variables; to determine if negative density effects appear only when certain "buffers" are weak; and to test hypotheses about "positive" effects of density. Results show that large population size and feelings that an area is overpopulated produce frustrations about the environment. Objective density has some negative and positive effects, but it is less important than population size, subjective appraisal of population, and population composition. Compared to prior research, the special contributions of the Baltimore study are examination of (1) population size, (2) "positive" consequences of high density and large size, and (3) effects in three distinct residential areas.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68954/2/10.1177_107808748001600202.pd

Profile of arthritis disability: II

Objective Arthritis is the most common chronic condition and the most common cause of disability among older US adults. We studied social participation, disabilities in many life domains, accommodations used (buffers), and accommodations needed (barriers) for US adults with arthritis disability compared with adults with disability from other conditions. Methods The data source is the National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement Phase Two. Arthritis-disabled individuals named arthritis as the main cause of ≥1 disabilities. Other-disabled individuals named only other conditions as causes of their disabilities. We compared outcomes for the groups, taking sample weights and complex variances into account. Results Arthritis-disabled individuals get out and about less often than other-disabled individuals, but they manage to maintain active social ties. They have more disabilities of all types (personal care, household management, physical tasks, transportation, home, work), and the disabilities often cause fatigue, long task time, and pain. Despite this, arthritis-disabled individuals use less personal assistance than other-disabled individuals; they do use more equipment assistance. Arthritis-disabled individuals report more barriers in getting around outside their home and at their workplace. Conclusion The distinctive profile of arthritis disability includes extensive and uncomfortable disabilities, yet there are active management strategies to handle these disabilities. Problems away from home and at work should inspire engineers and planners to improve public access and equipment for persons with this high-prevalence disability.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49515/1/21694_ftp.pd

RECODIS : Resilient communication services protecting end-user applications from disaster-based failures

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Sex and gender in health and medicine

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22738/1/0000293.pd