Actual Energy Consumption in Dwellings:

Residential buildings have continuously improved in energy efficiency, partly as a consequence of the introduction of energy regulations in many countries. Although better thermal properties and systems efficiency have lowered energy consumption for space heating in recent decades, substantial differences in energy consumption in similar dwellings are still being observed. These differences in consumption are thought to be caused by differences in occupancy patterns, by quality of construction and by rebound effects. This research addresses the effect of energy performance regulations and occupant behavior on energy consumption for space and water heating in dwellings built after the introduction of the energy performance regulations in the Netherlands. The results of this research show that improving the energy efficiency of buildings alone is not enough to decrease that energy consumption. The large differences found in the use of dwellings indicate that, especially in energy efficient houses, occupant behavior provides an opportunity for further reductions in the energy consumption for space heating which could boost the efforts to conserve energy worldwide

Environmental Indicators for Building Design:

The ultimate goal of building and construction – in relation to environmental issues – is to construct in an environmentally neutral way; or, as the Brundtland Report states, to consume in such a way that our children have the same choices that we have. Construction will always be needed, and will always consume resources. But in accordance with the conditions of the Brundtland Report, we should move construction into a direction that does not deplete resources, and does not worsen living circumstances through harmful indoor or outdoor environmental effects. Improving our efficiency in resource consumption is the only way in which we will be able to continue our current way of life. It has been calculated that in order to (only) maintain the world average lifestyle a factor 4 of improvement in efficiency of resource consumption is necessary, based on global resource availability, effects on climate change, and coping with growing welfare for developing countries. Measuring a factor x improvement heavily relates to the chosen benchmark. Building activities will always require some environmental load: the mere fact of living already implies use of earthbound resources, so it is generally not very efficient to calculate emissions and other effects in an absolute way. The ultimate target is not to avoid resource use at all, but to use only “reproductive resources” (“regrowable, renewable and replaceable”) to create a balanced situation. When this is achieved, we will still use resources, but usage will be sustainable: it can be maintained well into the future. In developing an approach for assessing sustainable building, the Three Step Strategy (in the Netherlands named Trias Ecologica) has proven to be useful. This publication takes a detailed look at this Strategy

Bioecologia do bichado-da-fruta, Cydia pomonella L. e estudo de modelos de desenvolvimento para previsão do risco

Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a UTFPR, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do ParanáConsiderada praga-chave da macieira, Cydia pomonella L., popularmente conhecida como bichado-da-fruta, causa danos ao perfurar frutos e torná-los impróprios para comercialização. A abordagem convencional para o controlo desta praga envolve o uso de pesticidas químicos. No entanto, devido às desvantagens associadas a essa prática, como o desenvolvimento de resistência e impactos negativos sobre insetos não-alvo, métodos de monitorização e estratégias alternativas, como a confusão sexual, têm sido adotados para reduzir de forma assertiva e sustentável a população da praga. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a eficácia de duas estratégias de proteção no combate à C. pomonella, a proteção integrada (PI) e a confusão sexual (CS) através da avaliação de ataque aos frutos, em pomares localizados em Carrazeda Ansiães e Armamar em 2020 e 2021. Monitorizou-se a dinâmica populacional dos adultos de C. pomonella com recurso a armadilhas e a partir desta, ajustaram-se modelos de desenvolvimento com as temperaturas locais registadas. Paralelamente comparou-se o efeito das duas estratégias de proteção fitossanitária na abundância e diversidade funcional de artrópodes associados à macieira. Em Carrazeda de Ansiães, os resultados das capturas em armadilhas mostraram níveis populacionais superiores nos pomares em CS em relação aos pomares em PI. As taxas de desorientação masculina variaram de 67% a 100%, enquanto o número de gerações ao longo do período de monitorização variou de uma a duas. Já em Armamar, os pomares em PI registraram maior número médio total de capturas por armadilha comparado aos pomares em CS. Ambos os anos apresentaram duas gerações, com taxas de desorientação masculina variando de 14% a 100%. A estratégia CS reduziu os estragos em frutos provocados pela praga, entretanto, ambas as estratégias superaram o nível econômico de ataque de 1%, exceto na parcela em CS em Armamar, que não registrou danos em 2021. O modelo de desenvolvimento não apresentou consistência na previsão dos estágios de vida do bichado-da-fruta em várias datas. O pomar em PI apresentou uma abundância significativamente maior de artrópodes (2490 indivíduos) em comparação com o pomar em CS (1333 indivíduos), enquanto não houve diferença significativa na riqueza e no índice de Simpson entre os tratamentos. Os grupos mais abundantes em ambos os tratamentos foram Diptera, Afídeo, Aranea e Parasitoides (Hymenoptera). A interação significativa entre o tratamento e a data revelou a influência conjunta desses fatores nas populações de herbívoros, parasitoides, polinizadores e predadores em ambas as estratégias de proteção fitossanitária. Os resultados obtidos, demonstraram que o controlo da praga depende do conhecimento do seu comportamento em relação ao ambiente. Além disso, a fauna auxiliar pode desempenhar um papel importante na limitação natural do bichado-da-fruta, sendo necessário aprofundar o conhecimento para clarificar o papel de cada grupo na limitação natural de pragas da macieira.Considered a key pest of apple trees, Cydia pomonella L., popularly known as the Codling moth, causes damage by penetrating into fruits, making them unsuitable for sale. The conventional approach in order to control this pest involves the use of chemical pesticides. Nevertheless, due to disadvantages associated with this practice, such as the development of resistance and negative impacts on non-target insects, monitoring methods and alternative strategies, such as mating disruption, have been adopted to reduce the pest population accurately and sustainably (to assertively and sustainably reduce the pest population). In this context, the aim of this work was to study the effectiveness of two protection strategies in combating C. pomonella, integrated protection (PI) and sexual confusion (CS), by evaluating fruit damage (through the evaluation of attacks upon fruits) in orchards located in Carrazeda de Ansiães and Armamar in 2020 and 2021. The population dynamics of C. pomonella adults were monitored using traps, and based on this data, development models were adjusted with the recorded local temperatures (the local temperatures recorded). Additionally, the impact of the two phytosanitary protection strategies on the abundance and functional diversity of arthropods associated with apple trees was compared. In Carrazeda de Ansiães trap capture results have shown higher population levels in CS orchards compared to PI orchards. Male disruption rates ranged from 67% to 100%, while the number of generations over the monitoring period varied from one to two. In Armamar, PI orchards recorded a higher average total trap capture compared to CS orchards. Both years have demonstrated two generations with male disruption rates ranging from 14% to 100%. The CS strategy reduced fruit damage caused by the pest; however, both strategies exceeded the economic damage threshold of 1%, except for the CS plot in Armamar, which showed no damage in 2021. The development model lacked consistency in predicting the life stages of the fruit borer on various dates. The PI orchard has shown significantly higher arthropod abundance (2490 individuals) compared to the CS orchard (1333 individuals), with no significant difference in richness and Simpson's index between treatments. The most abundant groups in both treatments were Diptera, aphid, Aranea, and parasitoids (Hymenoptera). The significant interaction between treatment and date have shown the combined influence of these factors on the populations of herbivore, parasitoids, pollinators, and predators in both phytosanitary protection strategies. The results obtained have demonstrated that pest control depends on the understanding of its behavior in relation to the environment. Furthermore, beneficial fauna can play a crucial role in the natural limitation of the Codling moth, necessitating further research to clarify the role of each group in the natural limitation of apple tree pests

Supporting dementia care by monitoring indoor environmental quality in a nursing home

The indoor environment quality in care facilities impacts residents’ daily lives. Sensor technology has been proven useful in evaluating the indoor environment of buildings, but the process of using this information to improve residents’ comfort, specifically in the context of nursing homes, is still underdeveloped. Thus, this study focuses on monitoring indoor environmental quality in a nursing home in the Netherlands, supported by professional caregivers’ insights. A campaign was conducted for one year to monitor eight rooms, and a mixed-method approach was used to collect and analyse the data on local weather, building facility operation and proxies’ responses to residents’ comfort. Seventeen care professionals and twenty-two guardians (visitors) answered questions based on their opinions and observation. The results show that the low indoor humidity during heating seasons and high CO2 concentration at night were the main factors leading to environment-related symptoms of residents and care professionals, such as dry eyes. Furthermore, we found that data outliers can help to reveal residents’ occupancy, ventilation habits and activity time, thus showing the application value of environmental sensors in dementia care. We also recommend using non-intrusive sensors for nursing home residents and taking into account room layouts and occupants’ conditions before installing sensors

Dotación de diseño de agua potable mediante análisis de registro de consumos, en los distritos de Sullana y Bellavista - Piura

Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar la dotación de diseño de agua potable mediante un análisis de registro de consumos en los distritos de Sullana y Bellavista. Para ello, se planteó una investigación de tipo Aplicada, de diseño No Experimental, Descriptivo y Transversal. Se trabajó con una población de estudio de 41,434 usuarios del servicio de agua potable, y una muestra de 275 unidades. Se utilizó la técnica de la observación y una ficha de recolección de datos que registró la información de recibos mensuales de agua potable. Los resultados fueron una dotación real de 175.46 L/hab/día para Sullana y Bellavista (20.25% menor a lo normado). El análisis por Sector mostró que el Sector 1-2 tiene la mayor dotación que fue 193.26 L/hab/día (12.15% menor a lo normado). En cuanto a habilitaciones urbanas la mayor dotación la tuvo el Cercado Urbano Sullana que fue 237.37 L/hab/día (7.9% mayor a lo normado). Se concluyó que la dotación de agua potable en las ciudades de Sullana y Bellavista está por debajo de lo normado

Definiendo patrones de ocupación mediante la monitorización de edificios existentes

Simulation programs are used to calculate the energy performance of buildings. However, numerous studies have shown a gap between calculated and actual thermal performance of buildings. One of the factors that have been identified as a source of uncertainty in building simulations is the occupancy of the building and occupants’ behaviour. These parameters are usually defined based on standards or assumed conditions. Thus, this research focuses on the occupants’ presence and behaviour in residential buildings. This paper presents an investigation on energy demand via dynamic building simulations and monitoring campaigns. The values obtained from the monitoring campaign were used as input data into the thermal simulation program and a comparison between normative and actual occupancy patterns was performed based on an occupied dwelling in Madrid, Spain.Para determinar el comportamiento energético de los edificios los programas de simulación dinámica son utilizados como métodos de cálculo. Sin embargo, numerosos estudios han mostrado que existen diferencias notables entre el comportamiento esperado y real de los edificios. Uno de los factores identificados como fuente de incertidumbre en la simulación de edificios es la ocupación y el comportamiento de los usuarios. Estos parámetros son definidos habitualmente con estándares que no reflejan la realidad de los ocupantes. En este artículo, se presenta una investigación sobre la influencia del comportamiento y la presencia de los usuarios de edificios residenciales en la demanda de energía. Para ello se generan modelos de simulación energética cuyos valores de entrada están ajustados con datos monitorizados de edificios reales. El estudio se realiza en dos casos de estudio ubicados en Madrid, España

Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: lessons for user-centric design

The paper presents the results of monitoring a Passivhaus care home regarding the effect of design intentions, occupancy practices and user preferences, on building energy and indoor environmental quality performance through a mixed methods approach. The results of the thermal comfort assessment showed that the staff is uncomfortable, while the residents are comfortable. Warm temperatures are preferred by the residents. The staff understands the needs of the residents and acknowledge the fact that their discomfort assures the comfort of the residents. Energy usage is higher than expected. None of the daily routines required in a care home were considered in the energy calculations. The calculations were made by a team of designers, who did not know well the activities carried out in the care home. As a result, the expected performance of the building was unrealistic in terms of energy use. The results point at the importance of taking into account the user during the design process: even though the actual needs and preferences of the occupants were not considered in the energy calculations, they were considered in the design of the building’s installations. This allowed the staff to air the rooms daily without compromising the comfort of the residents

Post occupancy evaluation of social housing designed and built to Code for Sustainable Homes Levels 3, 4 and 5

In the housing sector, carbon emissions arise primarily through the consumption of energy to heat, light and ventilate our homes. Significant improvements in UK housing energy performance have been driven both by changes in legislation, and by the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes in 2007. Compliance with certain levels of this Code has been adopted as policy by Local and Regional Authorities, and social housing providers. The evaluation of the performance of low carbon housing requires the assessment of increasingly complex building services technology, and occupant behaviour. This added services complexity, and the expectation that tenants understand how to use it, has led to a number of unintended consequences which have resulted in a higher risk of performance failure. This study comprises the detailed evaluation of seven new social housing dwellings, designed and built to Code levels 3, 4 and 5, including comprehensive environmental monitoring, measurements of the consumption and generation of resources, and social surveys of the occupants. The results show that as the Code levels increase there is a reducing energy and water consumption rate, and an increasing energy generation rate, but only at the expense of a significantly increased risk of services system failure

The monitored performance of four social houses certified to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5

This paper presents the energy and water use of 4 social houses certified to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 in Gainsborough, UK. The houses were monitored over 2 years, from July 2012 to September 2014. As the houses have the same construction and energy efficiency characteristics, the study offered a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of occupant behaviour on the dwellings performance. Electricity, gas and water consumptions were measured through data logging and meter readings. Surveys and interviews were conducted throughout to gain insights into tenants understanding and interactions with low energy features in their homes. Significant differences were observed in the amount of energy and water used. The annual space heating consumptions differentiated by a factor of 2.2 per square metre of floor area. Hot water heating demands varied by a factor of 3.5 per square metre of floor area or by 2.5 per person per year. Mains water consumptions varied by a factor of 2.2 litres per person per day in 2013