Do smart grids offer a new incentive for SME carbon reduction?

Collectively small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are significant energy users although many are unregulated by existing policies due to their low carbon emissions. Carbon reduction is often not a priority but smart grids may create a new opportunity. A smart grid will give electricity suppliers a picture of real-time energy flows and the opportunity for consumers to receive financial incentives for engaging in demand side management. As well as creating incentives for local carbon reduction, engaging SMEs with smart grids has potential for contributing to wider grid decarbonisation. Modelling of buildings, business activities and technology solutions is needed to identify opportunities for carbon reduction. The diversity of the SME sector complicates strategy development. SMEs are active in almost every business area and occupy the full range of property types. This paper reviews previous modelling work, exposing valuable data on floor space and energy consumption associated with different business activities. Limitations are seen with the age of this data and an inability to distinguish SME energy use. By modelling SME energy use, electrical loads are identified which could be shifted on demand, in a smart network. Initial analysis of consumption, not constrained by existing policies, identifies heating and cooling in retail and commercial offices as having potential for demand response. Hot water in hotel and catering and retail sectors may also be significant because of the energy storage potential. Areas to consider for energy efficiency schemes are also indicated.

Service oriented approach to facility management using extended building information modelling

Facility management (FM), from a service oriented approach, addresses the functions and requirements of different services such as energy management, space planning and security service. Different service requires different information to meet the needs arising from the service. Object-based Building Information Modelling (BIM) is limited to support FM services; though this technology is able to generate 3D models that semantically represent facility’s information dynamically over the lifecycle of a building. This paper presents a semiotics-inspired framework to extend BIM from a service-oriented perspective. The extended BIM, which specifies FM services and required information, will be able to express building service information in the right format for the right purposes. The service oriented approach concerns pragmatic aspect of building’s information beyond semantic level. The pragmatics defines and provides context for utilisation of building’s information. Semiotics theory adopted in this paper is to address pragmatic issues of utilisation of BIM for FM services.

Fractal geometry and architecture design: case study review

The idea of buildings in harmony with nature can be traced back to ancient times. The increasing concerns on sustainability oriented buildings have added new challenges in building architectural design and called for new design responses. Sustainable design integrates and balances the human geometries and the natural ones. As the language of nature, it is, therefore, natural to assume that fractal geometry could play a role in developing new forms of aesthetics and sustainable architectural design. This paper gives a brief description of fractal geometry theory and presents its current status and recent developments through illustrative review of some fractal case studies in architecture design, which provides a bridge between fractal geometry and architecture design.

Which factors drive rental depreciation rates for office and industrial properties?

As new buildings are constructed in response to changes in technology or user requirements, the value of the existing stock will decline in relative terms. This is termed economic depreciation and it may be influenced by the age and quality of buildings, amount and timing of expenditure, and wider market and economic conditions. This study tests why individual assets experience different depreciation rates, applying panel regression techniques to 375 UK office and industrial assets. Results suggest that rental value depreciation rates reduce as buildings get older, while a composite measure of age and quality provides more explanation of depreciation than age alone. Furthermore, economic and local real estate market conditions are significant in explaining how depreciation rates change over time.

Energy Efficiency through Thermal Energy Storage : Possibilities for the Swedish Building Stock

The need for heating and cooling in buildings constitutes a considerable part of the total energy use in a country and reducing this need is of outmost importance in order to reach national and international goals for reducing energy use and emissions. One important way of reaching these goals is to increase the proportion of renewable energy used for heating and cooling of buildings. Perhaps the largest obstacle with this is the often occurring mismatch between the availability of renewable energy and the need for heating or cooling, hindering this energy to be used directly. This is one of the problems that can be solved by using thermal energy storage (TES) in order to save the heat or cold from when it is available to when it is needed. This thesis is focusing on the combination of TES techniques and buildings to achieve increased energy efficiency for heating and cooling. Various techniques used for TES as well as the combination of TES in buildings have been investigated and summarized through an extensive literature review. A survey of the Swedish building stock was also performed in order to define building types common in Sweden. Within the scope of this thesis, the survey resulted in the selection of three building types, two single family houses and one office building, out of which the two residential buildings were used in a simulation case study of passive TES with increased thermal mass (both sensible and latent). The second case study presented in the thesis is an evaluation of an existing seasonal borehole storage of solar heat for a residential community. In this case, real measurement data was used in the evaluation and in comparisons with earlier evaluations. The literature reviews showed that using TES opens up potential for reduced energy demand and reduced peak heating and cooling loads as well as possibilities for an increased share of renewable energy to cover the energy demand. By using passive storage through increased thermal mass of a building it is also possible to reduce variations in the indoor temperature and especially reduce excess temperatures during warm periods, which could result in avoiding active cooling in a building that would otherwise need it. The analysis of the combination of TES and building types confirmed that TES has a significant potential for increased energy efficiency in buildings but also highlighted the fact that there is still much research required before some of the technologies can become commercially available. In the simulation case study it was concluded that only a small reduction in heating demand is possible with increased thermal mass, but that the time with indoor temperatures above 24 °C can be reduced by up to 20%. The case study of the borehole storage system showed that although the storage system worked as planned, heat losses in the rest of the system as well as some problems with the system operation resulted in a lower solar fraction than projected. The work presented within this thesis has shown that TES is already used successfully for many building applications (e.g. domestic hot water stores and water tanks for storing solar heat) but that there still is much potential in further use of TES. There are, however, barriers such as a need for more research for some storage technologies as well as storage materials, especially phase change material storage and thermochemical storage.

Thermal energy storage in Swedish single family houses : a case study

In a Nordic climate, space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) used in buildings constitute a considerable part of the total energy use in the country. For 2010, energy used for SH and DHW amounted to almost 90 TWh in Sweden which corresponds to 60 % of the energy used in the residential and service sector, or almost 24 % of the total final energy use for the country. Storing heat and cold with the use of thermal energy storage (TES) can be one way of increasing the energy efficiency of a building by opening up possibilities for alternative sources of heat or cold through a reduced mismatch between supply and demand. Thermal energy storage without the use of specific control systems are said to be passive and different applications using passive TES have been shown to increase energy efficiency and/or reduce power peaks of systems supplying the heating and cooling needs of buildings, as well as having an effect on the indoor climate. Results are however not consistent between studies and focus tend to be on the reduction of cooling energy or cooling power peaks. In this paper, passive TES introduced through an increased thermal mass in the building envelope to two single family houses with different insulation standard is investigated with building energy simulations. A Nordic climate is used and the focus of this study is both on the reduction of space heating demand and space heating power, as well as on reduction of excess temperatures in residential single family houses without active cooling systems. Care is taken to keep the building envelope characteristics other than the thermal mass equal for all cases so that any observations made can be derived to the change in thermal mass. Results show that increasing the sensible thermal mass in a single family house can reduce the heating demand only slightly (1-4 %) and reduce excess temperatures (temperatures above 24 degrees C) by up to 20 %. Adding a layer of PCM (phase change materials) to the light building construction can give similar reduction in heating demand and excess temperatures, however the phase change temperature is important for the results.

Jämförelsestudie avseende stomsystem : Ramverk eller fackverk/balk/pelar-system

Projektet omfattade en jämförelsestudie avseende stomsystem. Studien undersökte ramverk och fackverk/balk/pelar-system och genomfördes självständigt med stöttning av Ramböll AB´s kontor i Falun. Syftet var främst att undersöka vilka skillnader det finns mellan tvåledsramar och fackverk/balk/pelar-system för lätta hallbyggnader och försöka få klarhet i varför fackverk/balk/pelar-system är det dominerande systemet i Sverige eftersom övriga Europa har tagit en annan utveckling och domineras av tvåledsramar. Studien undersöker skillnaderna mellan systemen i en hallbyggnad med förutbestämda mått i stål.Inledningsvis gjordes en litteraturstudie för att få en bredare bakgrund av systemen och en bättre förståelse om förutsättningarna för varje system. Efter litteraturstudien kunde sedan ett typhus och beräkningsunderlag för jämförelsestudien tas fram. Även en enkätstudie gjordes med syftet att skapa en tydlig bild av vilket stomsystem konstruktörer i Sverige oftast väljer och varför. Resultatet av studien visade att tvåledsramar ger en ökad kostnad jämfört med fackverk/balk/pelar-system i materialåtgång och framställning samt att beräkningarna blir mer komplicerade. Skulle fortsatta studier göras med dessa system i byggnader med andra mått skulle det kanske gå att få fram speciella mått på byggnader där kostnaden för tvåledsramar blir densamma som för fackverk/balk/pelar-system och därför är ett likvärdigt alternativ som stomsystem.En viktig slutsats från projektet är att tvåledsramar används mycket mer sällan än fackverk/balk/pelar-system som stomsystem i lätta hallbyggnader i Sverige på grund av att kostnaderna blir mycket högre med tvåledsramar och att det är ett mer komplicerat system i beräkningsarbetet. De viktigaste slutsatserna från jämförelsestudien går att sammafatta som följande: Tvåledsramar är dyrare att använda. Tvåledsramar är ett mer komplicerat system beräkningsmässigt. Traditionen av att använda tvåledsramar finns inte och därför används inte systemet.

Solcellsdrivet FTX-system för miljonprogramshus : Tjärna Ängar, Borlänge

Projektet omfattade undersökning och framtagande av ett solcellssystem med förmåga att försörja ett FTX-system i ett flerbostadshus från miljonprogrammet med el. För att kunna bedöma storlek och utformning av komponenter har information tagits genom: Informationssökning via databaser, kurslitteratur och intervjuer Simuleringar av solceller i datorprogrammet PVSYST Modulering av ventilationskanaler i datorprogrammet MagiCAD Syftet var främst att undersöka om det gick att få fram ett teoretiskt fungerande system med avseende på både solceller och ventilation. Beroende på vad resultatet blev skulle även ekonomin i projektet undersökas. Undersökningen visade att det teoretiskt ska gå att installera solceller för elframställning som klarar av att täcka FTX-systemets elbehov på årsbasis. Solcellerna bedöms även producera tillräckligt med el för viss övrig elkrävande utrustning under stora delar av året. Det visade sig även att det skulle gå att få solcellerna ekonomiskt lönsamma om en kalkyltid på 14 år används. Metoden som använts för dessa resultat är noga beskriven och är med små förändringar tillämpbar för ett stort antal byggnader i det svenska byggnadsbeståndet. En viktig slutsats är att om fastighetsägarna kan se 15 år fram i tiden för en investering i solenergi, skulle det innebära inte bara miljömässiga utan även ekonomiska vinster. Det finns redan idag kunnande, teknik och produkter för att utvinna en stor del av fastigheternas elbehov genom solens energi.

Linguagem orientada e estrutura de dados para projeto automatico de edificios

Uma linguagem orientada ao problema de projeto estrutural de edifícios e a correspondente estrutura de armazenamento de dados são apresentados, como núcleo principal do sistema PROADE. Objetiva-se assim permitir ao engenheiro estrutural descrever o problema em termos correntes de Engenharia, organizandose os dados recebidos para posterior análise e dimensionamento da estrutura. São discutidos o problema PROADE e os dados correspondentes, seguidos pela descrição das estruturas de armazenamento de dados do sistema. A seguir, define-se a linguagem PROADE e finalmente apresenta-se a organização do sistema PROADE.

A linguagem de Oscar Niemeyer

Este trabalho tem como objetivo a descrição dos elementos que caracterizam a singularidade da linguagem arquitetônica de Oscar Niemeyer. Argumenta que a identificação de tais elementos passa pelo escrutínio de aspectos não visíveis da obra do arquiteto. A identificação foi possível a partir da análise de edifícios caracterizados pelo perfil curvilíneo e da construção de um modelo que associa os elementos compositivos utilizados por Niemeyer a uma Gramática de Formas. A utilização do modelo possibilitou revelar os princípios generativos - conjunto de regras, vocabulário e relações geométricas – que caracterizam o estilo – ou linguagem arquitetônica de Niemeyer. Ajudou ainda a demonstrar como a linguagem de Niemeyer associa de forma original, operações de transformação como rotação, reflexão, e translação a um vocabulário de curvas. A associação é parametrizada segundo um traçado regulador baseado na seção áurea. Em suas conclusões o trabalho sugere possibilidades de desenvolvimento desta gramática para todas as figuras utilizadas por Niemeyer e a aplicação de princípios generativos no ensino de arquitetura.

Guia informativo dos cursos e oficinas culturais da Lapa - Rio de Janeiro

O objetivo dessa dissertação é apresentar um projeto para produção de um guia informativo dos cursos e oficinas artísticas e culturais da Lapa, Rio de Janeiro. Em termos metodológicos, além da recuperação histórica acerca da memória do lugar, dos planos de intervenção e transformação urbana, do levantamento dos artistas, grupos e instituições culturais e suas diversas atividades diurnas, foram realizadas entrevistas com aplicação de questionários com a finalidade de coletar dados para subsidiar a elaboração dos textos para o guia. Desde o final do século XX vem sendo empreendido um processo de revitalização do bairro através de transformação das formas-conteúdos das edificações. A dinâmica do processo de gentrificação mescla da recuperação dos casarios e sua utilização por artistas, grupos e instituições culturais, a políticas públicas e projetos implementados mais recentemente direcionados a interesses privados vinculados ao turismo, ao capital imobiliário e a empreendimentos comerciais. É possível verificar atualmente uma forte atuação empresarial através do marketing urbano da Lapa noturna como lugar de boemia. Em detrimento das dezenas de atividades artísticas e culturais diurnas que muito contribuíram no processo de revitalização da Lapa.

Proposta de método para avaliação do desempenho térmico de residências unifamiliares em clima quente e úmido

Nowadays, evaluation methods to measure thermal performance of buildings have been developed in order to improve thermal comfort in buildings and reduce the use of energy with active cooling and heating systems. However, in developed countries, the criteria used in rating systems to asses the thermal and energy performance of buildings have demonstrated some limitations when applied to naturally ventilated building in tropical climates. The present research has as its main objective to propose a method to evaluate the thermal performance of low-rise residential buildings in warm humid climates, through computational simulation. The method was developed in order to conceive a suitable rating system for the athermal performance assessment of such buildings using as criteria the indoor air temperature and a thermal comfort adaptive model. The research made use of the software VisualDOE 4.1 in two simulations runs of a base case modeled for two basic types of occupancies: living room and bedroom. In the first simulation run, sensitive analyses were made to identify the variables with the higher impact over the cases´ thermal performance. Besides that, the results also allowed the formulation of design recommendations to warm humid climates toward an improvement on the thermal performance of residential building in similar situations. The results of the second simulation run was used to identify the named Thermal Performance Spectrum (TPS) of both occupancies types, which reflect the variations on the thermal performance considering the local climate, building typology, chosen construction material and studied occupancies. This analysis generates an index named IDTR Thermal Performance Resultant Index, which was configured as a thermal performance rating system. It correlates the thermal performance with the number of hours that the indoor air temperature was on each of the six thermal comfort bands pre-defined that received weights to measure the discomfort intensity. The use of this rating system showed to be appropriated when used in one of the simulated cases, presenting advantages in relation to other evaluation methods and becoming a tool for the understanding of building thermal behavior

Ventilação e prescrições urbanísticas: uma aplicação simulada para a Orla da Praia do Meio em Natal/RN

This work analyses a study on natural ventilation and its relation to the urban legislation versus the building types in an urban fraction of coastal area of Praia do Meio in the city of Natal/RN, approaching the type or types of land use most appropriate to this limited urban fraction. The objective of this study is to analyse the effects of the present legislation as well as the types of buildings in this area on the natural ventilation. This urban fraction was selected because it is one of the sites from where the wind flows into the city of Natal. This research is based on the hypothesis stating that the reduction on the porosity of the urban soil (decrease in the set back/boundary clearance), and an increase in the form (height of the buildings) rise the level of the ventilation gradient, consequently causing a reduction on the wind speed at the lowest part of the buildings. Three-dimensional computational models were used to produce the modes of occupation allowed in the urban fraction within the area under study. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software was also used to analyse the modes of land occupation. Following simulation, a statistical assessment was carried out for validation of the hypothesis. It was concluded that the reduction in the soil porosity as a consequence of the rates that defined the minimum boundary clearance between the building and the boundary of the plot (and consequently the set back), as well as the increase in the building form (height of the buildings) caused a reduction in the wind speed, thus creating heat islands