Low carbon buildings: Sensitivity of thermal properties of opaque envelope construction and glazing

Buildings are responsible for half of UK’s energy use and carbon emissions, the reduction of which is key to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Most of the energy used in UK buildings is for heating and lighting, the need for which is determined, to a large extent, by building form and envelope, and the thermal properties of construction. Glazed surfaces in building envelopes enable daylighting but affect overall energy consumption due to heat loss during winter and unwanted solar heat gain during summer. Careful design of the envelope considering both thermal properties of construction and glazing characteristics is thus the first step in reducing energy demand from buildings. This research investigated the sensitivity of building envelope construction comprising multi-layered wall construction (36 types) and varying sizes of glazing (10-90%) on energy demand in a typical commercial building through dynamic thermal simulation. Brick and lightweight aggregate concrete block wall with 100 mm blown wool fiber insulation in-between layers and a plastered internal finish produced the optimum result with glazing levels of 30%, 20% and 10% on the south, north and corridor zones respectively. Optimum window sizes change with construction type and building orientation indicating the need for the integrated performance-based design of building envelopes, as opposed to the conventional rule of thumb approach. The role of optimization and computer assisted design exploration is discussed, as well as the feasibility of optimum solutions from environmental, social and economic perspectives

Although feasible, falling renewables costs might not benefit Bangladesh\u27s energy sector\u27s decarbonisation: Is this another ‘debt-fossil fuel production trap’?

Cost of decarbonisation, Energy generation sector, Privatisation, Carbon pricing, Energy investment},abstract = {As Bangladesh strives to transition from a least developed to a developed nation by 2041, a growing population and rising disposable income have spurred a growing middle class, escalating the demand for accessible energy. The government and the private sector have heavily invested in a fossil fuel-centric energy mix to meet this anticipated surge in demand. However, our research challenged this prevailing approach by developing a country-scale scenario-based input-output long-horizon energy planning model for demonstrating the economic viability of decarbonising Bangladesh\u27s electricity generation sector by 2050, with a preference for renewables over fossil fuels, particularly in a low-emissions scenario. This study was among the first to evaluate which was the most recent Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) with a long-horizon energy planning model and suggested that implementing strategic socio-economic development measures, such as privatisation, deregulation, transparency, energy demand reduction, equitable subsidy removal, and carbon pricing, could yield a 24 % cost reduction for developing a near-zero emissions electricity generation sector by 2050. Despite these potential benefits, current and future policies, entirely influenced by master plans developed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, continue to rely heavily on imported coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, ammonia, and nuclear energy, which raised concerns about the country being entangled in a ‘debt-fossil fuel production trap.’ We recommended a critical re-evaluation of existing energy policies. This caution was grounded in the suggestion that the nation should instead harness in-country resources and explore renewable-rich alternatives within its regional neighbouring countries, steering away from potential geopolitical, economic, and environmental pitfalls.Kumar Biswajit Debnath and Monjur Mourshe

Cost and energy implication of leakage in Water Supply Schemes in Ireland

Leakage in Water Supply Schemes (WSS) is a growing problem worldwide as well as in Ireland. Cost and energy associated with leakage is becoming more important as progressively poorer quality raw water is treated to increasingly higher standards. Although researches have addressed the growing leakage problem in large water supply schemes around the world, small & medium size schemes as commonly found in Ireland have received little consideration. This research aims to develop an innovative method to determine cost and energy associated with leakage in WSS. The method is illustrated using collated data for year 2009 from three WSS in Ireland. The results show that significant energy and cost savings were possible if leakage was reduced to an acceptable level. The potential for carbon reduction led to the conclusion that the water sector could contribute in achieving Ireland’s carbon emission target to below the Kyoto agreement level

Cost and energy implication of leakage in water supply schemes in Ireland

Leakage in Water Supply Schemes (WSS) is a growing problem worldwide as well as in Ireland. Cost and energy associated with leakage is becoming more important as progressively poorer quality raw water is treated to increasingly higher standards. Although researches have addressed the growing leakage problem in large water supply schemes around the world, small & medium size schemes as commonly found in Ireland have received little consideration. This research aims to develop an innovative method to determine cost and energy associated with leakage in WSS. The method is illustrated using collated data for year 2009 from three WSS in Ireland. The results show that significant energy and cost savings were possible if leakage was reduced to an acceptable level. The potential for carbon reduction led to the conclusion that the water sector could contribute in achieving Ireland’s carbon emission target to below the Kyoto agreement level

The Effect of surface topographical changes of two different surface treatments rotary instrument

One of the major innovations in endodontics has been the introduction of nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy. This study evaluated the surface topographical changes of two different surface treatments rotary instrument after instrumentation and sterilization. 240 Extracted teeth were included in this study. 90 new AlphaKite and Revo-S NiTi rotary instruments were selected and divided into two groups (Group A 45 AlphaKite and group B 45 Revo-S). Each group were divided into three subgroups: (A1, B1) n=5 files were used as a control, (A2,B2) n=20 files were used to prepare three root canals using endodontic rotary motor then sterilized by autoclave for one cycle under 121°C at 15 psi for 30 minutes and (A3,B3) n=20 files were used to prepare nine root canals using the same rotary system then sterilized by autoclave for three cycles under 121°C at 15 psi for 30 minutes. Files were examined under scanning electron microscopy. On examining the AlphaKite, A1 revealed gross machining grooves on their surface with no pits, A2 showed disruption of cutting and A3 showed microcracks and deepening of the machining grooves. B1 showed a smoother surface with few machining grooves, B2 showed dulling and blunting of the cutting edges was predominant and B3 files showed plastic deformation in the form of unwinding of the flutes. The defects were less distributed along the electropolished Revo-S files than the physical vapor deposition AlphaKite

Deep highway networks and tree-based ensemble for predicting short-term building energy consumption

Predictive analytics play a significant role in ensuring optimal and secure operation of power systems, reducing energy consumption, detecting fault and diagnosis, and improving grid resilience. However, due to system nonlinearities, delay, and complexity of the problem because of many influencing factors (e.g., climate, occupants’ behaviour, occupancy pattern, building type), it is a challenging task to get accurate energy consumption prediction. This paper investigates the accuracy and generalisation capabilities of deep highway networks (DHN) and extremely randomized trees (ET) for predicting hourly heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy consumption of a hotel building. Their performance was compared with support vector regression (SVR), a most widely used supervised machine learning algorithm. Results showed that both ET and DHN models marginally outperform the SVR algorithm. The paper also details the impact of increasing the deep highway network’s complexity on its performance. The paper concludes that all developed models are equally applicable for predicting hourly HVAC energy consumption. Possible reasons for the minimum impact of DHN complexity and future research work are also highlighted in the paper

Understanding continuing professional development:The need for theory to impact on policy and practice

This article reflects on my 2005 article in this journal, entitled ‘Models of Continuing Professional Development: a framework for analysis’. Having been invited to reflect on the original article as part of Professional Development in Education’s 40th anniversary celebrations, I have taken the opportunity not only to reflect on the structure and content of the original framework, but also to position it within the current state of literature in the area of teacher professional learning. In so doing, this article proposes an updated framework for analysis, focusing more explicitly on the purpose of particular models than the categorisations of the models themselves. It then goes on to expand on this by considering how various aspects of continuing professional development policies might be analysed according to what they reveal about underlying perspectives on professionalism. The article concludes with some thoughts on how theory about teacher professional learning might better help us to understand policy and impact positively on practice

Propuesta guía para una planeación y ejecución en proyectos de vivienda unifamiliar con enfoque Lean Construction

Trabajo de investigaciónEste trabajo contempla el desarrollo de una matriz enfocada en la metodología Lean Construction para la planeación y ejecución en proyectos de vivienda unifamiliar. Así mismo se evidencia un análisis de manera cuantitativa y cualitativamente en la adopción de la filosofía Lean Construction en procesos de la gestión de la planeación y ejecución de proyectos, que permite establecer un orden de actividades y sub actividades que componen las fases de un proyecto de vivienda unifamiliar en la relación del alcance exitoso en productividad y rendimiento.INTRODUCCIÓN 1. GENERALIDADES 2. METODOLOGÍAS EN EL MARCO DE LA PLANEACIÓN Y EJECUCIÓN DE PROYECTOS 3. LEAN CONSTRUCTION EN ACTIVIDADES DE CONSTRUCCIÓN 4. IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE LA MATRIZ EN CASO DE ESTUDIO 5. CONCLUSIONES 6. RECOMENDACIONES BIBLIOGRAFÍA ANEXOSPregradoIngeniero Civi

Implementing a new mathematics curriculum in England: district Research Lesson Study as a driver for student learning, teacher learning and professional dialogue.

Against a backdrop of a transformation in teacher professional development and learning and state school organisation in England this century, this chapter describes a project which harnessed six cycles of Research Lesson Study at school and district level over two years to tailor the implementation of a new statutory curriculum in England to address the professional development needs of teachers and classroom learning needs of London students. It also reports the findings of research carried out during the project into how these teachers learned and developed this new curricular expertise and practice- knowledge through lesson study dialogues that supported student learning. It concludes by proposing future directions for teacher professional learning research and practice