Performance assessment of tariff-based air source heat pump load shifting in a UK detached dwelling featuring phase change-enhanced buffering

Using a detailed building simulation model, the amount of thermal buffering, with and without phase change material (PCM), needed to time-shift an air source heat pump's operation to off-peak periods, as defined by the UK 'Economy 10' tariff, was investigated for a typical UK detached dwelling. The performance of the buffered system was compared to the case with no load shifting and with no thermal buffering. Additionally, the load shifting of a population of buffered heat pumps to off-peak periods was simulated and the resulting change in the peak demand on the electricity network was assessed. The results from this study indicate that 1000 L of hot water buffering or 500 L of PCM-enhanced hot water buffering was required to move the operation of the heat pump fully to off-peak periods, without adversely affecting the provision of space heating and hot water for the end user. The work also highlights that buffering and load shifting increased the heat pump's electrical demand by over 60% leading to increased cost to the end user and increased CO2 emissions (depending on the electricity tariff applied and time varying CO2 intensity of the electricity generation mix, respectively). The study also highlights that the load-shifting of populations of buffered heat pumps wholly to off-peak periods using crude instruments such as tariffs increased the peak loading on the electrical network by over 50% rather than reducing it and that careful consideration is needed as to how the load shifting of a group of heat pumps is orchestrated

A daily representation of Great Britain's energy vectors : Natural gas, electricity and transport fuels

In much of Europe there is a strong push to decarbonise energy demands, including the largest single end-use demand – heat. Moving heat demands over to the electrical network poses significant challenges and the use of hybrid energy vector and storage systems (heat and electrical storage) will be a critical component in managing this transition. As an example of these challenges (facing many developed countries), the scale of recently available daily energy flows through the UK’s electrical, gas and transport systems are presented. When this data is expressed graphically it illustrates important differences in the demand characteristics of these different vectors; these include the quantity of energy delivered through the networks on a daily basis, and the scale of variability in the gas demand over multiple timescales (seasonal, weekly and daily). As the UK proceeds to migrate heating demands to the electrical network in its drive to cut carbon emissions, electrical demand will significantly increase. Additionally, the greater variability and uncertainty shown in the gas demand will also migrate to the electrical demand posing significant difficulties for the maintenance of a secure and reliable electrical system in the coming decades. The paper concludes an analysis of the different means of accommodating increasingly volatile electricity demands in future energy networks

Energetic, environmental and economic modelling of a solar-assisted residential micro-trigeneration system in a Mediterranean climate

Reducing energy consumption in buildings has become a priority for most countries. However, designing energy-efficient buildings is not a straightforward task - the increasing demand for high comfort standards, provided by conventional 'energy-hungry' cooling and heating devices conflicts with the need for demand reduction. Trigeneration, the simultaneous production of electricity, cooling and heating is often viewed as a means of improving energy-efficiency in large and medium sized buildings whilst still delivering thermal comfort. For hot climates, the benefit of utilising the waste heat emitted from an engine unit to power a thermally driven cooling device provides scope to utilise an otherwise wasted energy stream. However, in smaller sized residential buildings, the relatively low and intermittent energy demand coupled with high capital costs, has stifled the uptake of the technology - although the potential for substantial energy savings exists. Moreover, it is very common for home owners in hot climates to opt for other energy-saving devices such as solar water heaters (SWH), which would tend to reduce further the possible demand for space and water heating, possibly making the simultaneous use of both micro-trigeneration and SWH unfeasible. This paper compares the performance of a residential micro-trigeneration system to a hybrid micro-trigeneration/SWH system. The performance of both systems was simulated using a whole building simulation tool run at a high time resolution. The results obtained were then used to quantify the energetic and environmental performance of both systems; and also to assess their financial viability against the effect of varying fuel prices, electricity tariffs and a varying Feed-in Tariff (FIT). Results show that whereas the solar aided micro-trigeneration system obtains an overall higher (though marginal) energetic and environmental performance, the financial performance for the same fiscal parameters (fuel prices and electricity tariffs) deteriorates. Moreover FIT, plays an important role in the financial feasibility of the system

Financial consequences of competitive set choice

This study examines the financial consequences of competitive set choice using a sample of 312 hotels in a major metropolitan area in the United States. We document existence of asymmetric competitor monitoring, finding just 55% of monitoring is reciprocal; that is, about half of managers “agree,” by virtue of monitoring one another, on being direct competitors. Monitoring reciprocity is positively associated with performance through average daily rates. With total revenue unchanged, profits are higher through lower occupancy and lower total costs. We examine alternative competitive sets formed using strategic groups- and customer-based approaches, comparing these to actual compsets. We found that performance declines when managers deviate from these alternative sets. Post-hoc analyses provide insight on how overlapping compsets impact rates, occupancy and revenue. Our study is of value to academics and practitioners, providing evidence on the financial impact of competitive monitoring, and insights for managers who choose competitive sets

Energetic, environmental and economic modeling of a solar-assisted residential micro-trigeneration system in a Mediterranean climate

Reducing energy consumption in buildings has become a priority for most countries. However, designing energy-efficient buildings is not a straightforward task - the increasing demand for high comfort standards, provided by conventional ‘energy-hungry’ cooling and heating devices conflicts with the need for demand reduction. Trigeneration, the simultaneous production of electricity, cooling and heating is often viewed as a means of improving energy-efficiency in large and medium sized buildings whilst still delivering thermal comfort. For hot climates, the benefit of utilising the waste heat emitted from an engine unit to power a thermally driven cooling device provides scope to utilise an otherwise wasted energy stream. However, in smaller sized residential buildings, the relatively low and intermittent energy demand coupled with high capital costs, has stifled the uptake of the technology - although the potential for substantial energy savings exists. Moreover, it is very common for home owners in hot climates to opt for other energy-saving devices such as solar water heaters (SWH), which would tend to reduce further the possible demand for space and water heating, possibly making the simultaneous use of both micro-trigeneration and SWH unfeasible. This paper compares the performance of a residential micro-trigeneration system to a hybrid micro-trigeneration/SWH system. The performance of both systems was simulated using a whole building simulation tool run at a high time resolution. The results obtained were then used to quanti fy the energetic and environmental performance of both systems; and also to assess their financial viability against the effect of varying fuel prices, electricity tariffs and a varying Feed-in Tariff (FIT). Results show that whereas the solar aided micro-trigeneration system obtains an overall higher (though marginal) energetic and environmental performance, the financial performance for the same fiscal parameters (fuel prices and electricity tariffs) deteriorates. Moreover FIT, plays an important role in the financial feasibility of the system.peer-reviewe

Modelling and simulating the effects of the use of insulated building fabric in a multi-storey Maltese residential building

Although some literature on the benefits of improving the thermal characteristics of Maltese buildings already exists, further research is required in order to quantify the full extent of these benefits. This is particularly relevant when considering that many new buildings are multi-storey complexes whose thermal characteristics differ from floor to floor on a seasonal basis. The research presented in this paper aims to improve the understanding of using insulated compared to non-insulated construction materials in a multi-storey residential building. A building simulation tool was used to simulate the thermal performance of a three-storey building assuming different building fabric scenarios. The scenarios investigated varied between two extremes; a low efficiency and a high efficiency scenario. The various measures which differentiate the two scenarios were individually simulated to assess their specific effect on space heating and cooling energy demand and internal temperatures. Results show that compared to the use of non-insulated building fabric, when using the insulated fabric the total building energy demand was reduced by 36% in summer and 32% in winter. These savings are however not uniform across the building and individual improvements tend to effect the building differently based on floor location, season and time of the day.Bajada New Energy Ltd., CD Power Saving Co. Ltd., Energy Investment Co. Ltd., Solar Engineering Ltd. & Solar Solutions Ltd.peer-reviewe

PARP-1 regulates DNA repair factor availability.

PARP-1 holds major functions on chromatin, DNA damage repair and transcriptional regulation, both of which are relevant in the context of cancer. Here, unbiased transcriptional profiling revealed the downstream transcriptional profile of PARP-1 enzymatic activity. Further investigation of the PARP-1-regulated transcriptome and secondary strategies for assessing PARP-1 activity in patient tissues revealed that PARP-1 activity was unexpectedly enriched as a function of disease progression and was associated with poor outcome independent of DNA double-strand breaks, suggesting that enhanced PARP-1 activity may promote aggressive phenotypes. Mechanistic investigation revealed that active PARP-1 served to enhance E2F1 transcription factor activity, and specifically promoted E2F1-mediated induction of DNA repair factors involved in homologous recombination (HR). Conversely, PARP-1 inhibition reduced HR factor availability and thus acted to induce or enhance BRCA-ness . These observations bring new understanding of PARP-1 function in cancer and have significant ramifications on predicting PARP-1 inhibitor function in the clinical setting

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Welfare of Animals in Australia

We report on the various responses in Australia during 2020 to minimize negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of animals. Most organizations and individuals with animals under their care had emergency preparedness plans in place for various scenarios; however, the restrictions on human movement to contain the spread of COVID-19, coupled with the economic impact and the health effects of COVID-19 on the skilled workforce, constituted a new threat to animal welfare for which there was no blueprint. The spontaneous formation of a national, multisectoral response group on animal welfare, consisting of more than 34 organizations with animals under their care, facilitated information flow during the crisis, which helped to mitigate some of the shocks to different organizations and to ensure continuity of care for animals during the pandemic. We conclude that animal welfare is a shared responsibility, and accordingly, a multisectoral approach to animal welfare during a crisis is required. Our experience demonstrates that to safeguard animal welfare during crises, nations should consider the following: a national risk assessment, clear communication channels, contingency plans for animal welfare, a crisis response group, and support systems for animal care providers. Our findings and recommendations from the Australian context may inform other countries to ensure that animal welfare is not compromised during the course of unpredictable events

Rational design of HIV vaccines and microbicides: report of the EUROPRISE network annual conference 2010

Novel, exciting intervention strategies to prevent infection with HIV have been tested in the past year, and the field is rapidly evolving. EUROPRISE is a network of excellence sponsored by the European Commission and concerned with a wide range of activities including integrated developmental research on HIV vaccines and microbicides from discovery to early clinical trials. A central and timely theme of the network is the development of the unique concept of co-usage of vaccines and microbicides. This review, prepared by the PhD students of the network captures much of the research ongoing between the partners. The network is in its 5th year and involves over 50 institutions from 13 European countries together with 3 industrial partners; GSK, Novartis and Sanofi-Pasteur. EUROPRISE is involved in 31 separate world-wide trials of Vaccines and Microbicides including 6 in African countries (Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda), and is directly supporting clinical trials including MABGEL, a gp140-hsp70 conjugate trial and HIVIS, vaccine trials in Europe and Africa

Hybrid GaN LED with capillary-bonded II–VI MQW color-converting membrane for visible light communications

The rapid emergence of gallium-nitride (GaN) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for solid-state lighting has created a timely opportunity for optical communications using visible light. One important challenge to address this opportunity is to extend the wavelength coverage of GaN LEDs without compromising their modulation properties. Here, a hybrid source for emission at 540 nm consisting of a 450 nm GaN micro-sized LED (micro-LED) with a micron-thick ZnCdSe/ZnCdMgSe multi-quantum-well color-converting membrane is reported. The membrane is liquid-capillary-bonded directly onto the sapphire window of the micro-LED for full hybridization. At an injection current of 100 mA, the color-converted power was found to be 37 μW. At this same current, the −3 dB optical modulation bandwidth of the bare GaN and hybrid micro-LEDs were 79 and 51 MHz, respectively. The intrinsic bandwidth of the color-converting membrane was found to be power-density independent over the range of the micro-LED operation at 145 MHz, which corresponds to a mean carrier lifetime of 1.9 ns