Meteorological forcing data for urban outdoor thermal comfort models from a coupled convective boundary layer and surface energy balance scheme

Site-specific meteorological forcing appropriate for applications such as urban outdoor thermal comfort simulations can be obtained using a newly coupled scheme that combines a simple slab convective boundary layer (CBL) model and urban land surface model (ULSM) (here two ULSMs are considered). The former simulates daytime CBL height, air temperature and humidity, and the latter estimates urban surface energy and water balance fluxes accounting for changes in land surface cover. The coupled models are tested at a suburban site and two rural sites, one irrigated and one unirrigated grass, in Sacramento, U.S.A. All the variables modelled compare well to measurements (e.g. coefficient of determination = 0.97 and root mean square error = 1.5 °C for air temperature). The current version is applicable to daytime conditions and needs initial state conditions for the CBL model in the appropriate range to obtain the required performance. The coupled model allows routine observations from distant sites (e.g. rural, airport) to be used to predict air temperature and relative humidity in an urban area of interest. This simple model, which can be rapidly applied, could provide urban data for applications such as air quality forecasting and building energy modelling, in addition to outdoor thermal comfort.

Energy saving potential of semi-transparent photovoltaic elements for building integration

Within the building energy saving strategies, BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic systems) present a promising potential based on the close relationship existing between these multifunctional systems and the overall building energy balance. Building integration of STPV (semi-transparent photovoltaic) elements affects deeply the building energy demand since it influences the heating, cooling and lighting loads as well as the local electricity generation. This work analyses over different window-to-wall ratios the overall energy performance of five STPV elements, each element having a specific degree of transparency, in order to assess the energy saving potential compared to a conventional solar control glass compliant with the local technical standard. The prior optical characterization, focused to measure the spectral properties of the elements, was experimentally undertaken. The obtained data were used to perform simulations based on a reference office building using a package of specific software tools (DesignBuilder, EnergyPlus, PVsyst, and COMFEN) to take proper account of the STPV peculiarities. To evaluate the global energy performance of the STPV elements a new Energy Balance Index was formulated. The results show that for intermediate and large façade openings the energy saving potential provided by the STPV solutions ranges between 18% and 59% compared to the reference glass.

Heat Demand Forecasting Models’ Development: Use of Data Mining Tools in SQL Server Analysis Services

This thesis introduces heat demand forecasting models which are generated by using data mining algorithms. The forecast spans one full day and this forecast can be used in regulating heat consumption of buildings. For training the data mining models, two years of heat consumption data from a case building and weather measurement data from Finnish Meteorological Institute are used. The thesis utilizes Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services data mining tools in generating the data mining models and CRISP-DM process framework to implement the research. Results show that the built models can predict heat demand at best with mean average percentage errors of 3.8% for 24-h profile and 5.9% for full day. A deployment model for integrating the generated data mining models into an existing building energy management system is also discussed.

MapFish. A WebGIS 2.0 Framework: toolkit to build rich client WebGIS

MapFish is an open-source development framework for building webmapping applications. MapFish is based on the OpenLayers API and the Geo extension of Ext library, and extends the Pylons general-purpose web development framework with geo-specific functionnalities. This presentation first describes what the MapFish development framework provides and how it can help developers implement rich web-mapping applications. It then demonstrates through real web-mapping realizations what can be achieved using MapFish : Geo Business Intelligence applications, 2D/3D data visualization, on/off line data edition, advanced vectorial print functionnalities, advanced administration suite to build WebGIS applications from scratch, etc. In particular, the web-mapping application for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and a Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure will be demonstrated

Part load operation coefficient of air-conditioning system of public building

IPLV overall coefficient, presented by Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) of America, shows running/operation status of air-conditioning system host only. For overall operation coefficient, logical solution has not been developed, to reflect the whole air-conditioning system under part load. In this research undertaking, the running time proportions of air-conditioning systems under part load have been obtained through analysis on energy consumption data during practical operation in all public buildings in Chongqing. This was achieved by using analysis methods, based on the statistical energy consumption data distribution of public buildings month-by-month. Comparing with the weight number of IPLV, part load operation coefficient of air-conditioning system, based on this research, does not only show the status of system refrigerating host, but also reflects and calculate energy efficiency of the whole air-conditioning system. The coefficient results from the processing and analyzing of practical running data, shows the practical running status of area and building type (actual and objective) – not clear. The method is different from model analysis which gets IPLV weight number, in the sense that this method of coefficient results in both four equal proportions and also part load operation coefficient of air-conditioning system under any load rate as necessary.

Visualization of spirography-based objective measures in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To investigate whether advanced visualizations of spirography-based objective measures are useful in differentiating drug-related motor dysfunctions between Off and dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Background: During the course of a 3 year longitudinal clinical study, in total 65 patients (43 males and 22 females with mean age of 65) with advanced PD and 10 healthy elderly (HE) subjects (5 males and 5 females with mean age of 61) were assessed. Both patients and HE subjects performed repeated and time-stamped assessments of their objective health indicators using a test battery implemented on a telemetry touch screen handheld computer, in their home environment settings. Among other tasks, the subjects were asked to trace a pre-drawn Archimedes spiral using the dominant hand and repeat the test three times per test occasion. Methods: A web-based framework was developed to enable a visual exploration of relevant spirography-based kinematic features by clinicians so they can in turn evaluate the motor states of the patients i.e. Off and dyskinesia. The system uses different visualization techniques such as time series plots, animation, and interaction and organizes them into different views to aid clinicians in measuring spatial and time-dependent irregularities that could be associated with the motor states. Along with the animation view, the system displays two time series plots for representing drawing speed (blue line) and displacement from ideal trajectory (orange line). The views are coordinated and linked i.e. user interactions in one of the views will be reflected in other views. For instance, when the user points in one of the pixels in the spiral view, the circle size of the underlying pixel increases and a vertical line appears in the time series views to depict the corresponding position. In addition, in order to enable clinicians to observe erratic movements more clearly and thus improve the detection of irregularities, the system displays a color-map which gives an idea of the longevity of the spirography task. Figure 2 shows single randomly selected spirals drawn by a: A) patient who experienced dyskinesias, B) HE subject, and C) patient in Off state. Results: According to a domain expert (DN), the spirals drawn in the Off and dyskinesia motor states are characterized by different spatial and time features. For instance, the spiral shown in Fig. 2A was drawn by a patient who showed symptoms of dyskinesia; the drawing speed was relatively high (cf. blue-colored time series plot and the short timestamp scale in the x axis) and the spatial displacement was high (cf. orange-colored time series plot) associated with smooth deviations as a result of uncontrollable movements. The patient also exhibited low amount of hesitation which could be reflected both in the animation of the spiral as well as time series plots. In contrast, the patient who was in the Off state exhibited different kinematic features, as shown in Fig. 2C. In the case of spirals drawn by a HE subject, there was a great precision during the drawing process as well as unchanging levels of time-dependent features over the test trial, as seen in Fig. 2B. Conclusions: Visualizing spirography-based objective measures enables identification of trends and patterns of drug-related motor dysfunctions at the patient’s individual level. Dynamic access of visualized motor tests may be useful during the evaluation of drug-related complications such as under- and over-medications, providing decision support to clinicians during evaluation of treatment effects as well as improve the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. In future, we plan to evaluate the proposed approach by assessing within- and between-clinician variability in ratings in order to determine its actual usefulness and then use these ratings as target outcomes in supervised machine learning, similarly as it was previously done in the study performed by Memedi et al. (2013).

EXTRACTION OF PICTORIAL ENERGY INFORMATION FROM CAMPUS UNMETERED BUILDINGS USING IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

In recent years, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has been the main research focus due to the traditional power grid has been restricted to meet development requirements. There has been an ongoing effort to increase the number of AMI devices that provide real-time data readings to improve system observability. Deployed AMI across distribution secondary networks provides load and consumption information for individual households which can improve grid management. Significant upgrade costs associated with retrofitting existing meters with network-capable sensing can be made more economical by using image processing methods to extract usage information from images of the existing meters. This thesis presents a new solution that uses online data exchange of power consumption information to a cloud server without modifying the existing electromechanical analog meters. In this framework, application of a systematic approach to extract energy data from images replaces the manual reading process. One case study illustrates the digital imaging approach is compared to the averages determined by visual readings over a one-month period.

Integrating structured and unstructured data in a business-intelligence-system

The recent liberalization of the German energy market has forced the energy industry to develop and install new information systems to support agents on the energy trading floors in their analytical tasks. Besides classical approaches of building a data warehouse giving insight into the time series to understand market and pricing mechanisms, it is crucial to provide a variety of external data from the web. Weather information as well as political news or market rumors are relevant to give the appropriate interpretation to the variables of a volatile energy market. Starting from a multidimensional data model and a collection of buy and sell transactions a data warehouse is built that gives analytical support to the agents. Following the idea of web farming we harvest the web, match the external information sources after a filtering and evaluation process to the data warehouse objects, and present this qualified information on a user interface where market values are correlated with those external sources over the time axis.

Integration of a data acquisition system based on FlexRIO technology with EPICS

EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) lies in a set of software tools and applications which provide a software infrastructure for building distributed data acquisition and control systems. Currently there is an increase in use of such systems in large Physics experiments like ITER, ESS, and FREIA. In these experiments, advanced data acquisition systems using FPGA-based technology like FlexRIO are more frequently been used. The particular case of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), the instrumentation and control system is supported by CCS (CODAC Core System), based on RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) operating system, and by the plant design specifications in which every CCS element is defined either hardware, firmware or software. In this degree final project the methodology proposed in Implementation of Intelligent Data Acquisition Systems for Fusion Experiments using EPICS and FlexRIO Technology Sanz et al. [1] is used. The final objective is to provide a document describing the fulfilled process and the source code of the data acquisition system accomplished. The use of the proposed methodology leads to have two diferent stages. The first one consists of the hardware modelling with graphic design tools like LabVIEWFPGA which later will be implemented in the FlexRIO device. In the next stage the design cycle is completed creating an EPICS controller that manages the device using a generic device support layer named NDS (Nominal Device Support). This layer integrates the data acquisition system developed into CCS (Control, data access and communication Core System) as an EPICS interface to the system. The use of FlexRIO technology drives the use of LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA respectively. RESUMEN. EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) es un conjunto de herramientas software utilizadas para el desarrollo e implementación de sistemas de adquisición de datos y control distribuidos. Cada vez es más utilizado para entornos de experimentación física a gran escala como ITER, ESS y FREIA entre otros. En estos experimentos se están empezando a utilizar sistemas de adquisición de datos avanzados que usan tecnología basada en FPGA como FlexRIO. En el caso particular de ITER, el sistema de instrumentación y control adoptado se basa en el uso de la herramienta CCS (CODAC Core System) basado en el sistema operativo RHEL (Red Hat) y en las especificaciones del diseño del sistema de planta, en la cual define todos los elementos integrantes del CCS, tanto software como firmware y hardware. En este proyecto utiliza la metodología propuesta para la implementación de sistemas de adquisición de datos inteligente basada en EPICS y FlexRIO. Se desea generar una serie de ejemplos que cubran dicho ciclo de diseño completo y que serían propuestos como casos de uso de dichas tecnologías. Se proporcionará un documento en el que se describa el trabajo realizado así como el código fuente del sistema de adquisición. La metodología adoptada consta de dos etapas diferenciadas. En la primera de ellas se modela el hardware y se sintetiza en el dispositivo FlexRIO utilizando LabVIEW FPGA. Posteriormente se completa el ciclo de diseño creando un controlador EPICS que maneja cada dispositivo creado utilizando una capa software genérica de manejo de dispositivos que se denomina NDS (Nominal Device Support). Esta capa integra la solución en CCS realizando la interfaz con la capa EPICS del sistema. El uso de la tecnología FlexRIO conlleva el uso del lenguaje de programación y descripción hardware LabVIEW y LabVIEW FPGA respectivamente.

ICT Road map for supporting energy systems in smart cities

This paper introduces a road map for ICTs (Information and communication technologies) supporting planning, operation and management of energy systems in smart cities. The road map summarises different elements that form energy systems in cities and proposes research and technical development (RTD) and innovation activities for the development and innovation of ICTs for holistic design, planning and operation of energy systems. In addition, synergies with other ICT systems for smart cities are considered. There are four main target groups for the road map: 1) citizen; 2) building sector; 3) energy sector; and 4) municipality level. As an example for enabling active participation of citizens, the road map proposes how ICT can enable citizens? involvement among others into building design. The building sector roadmap proposes how ICTs can support the planning of buildings and renovations in the future, as well as how to manage building energy systems. The energy sector road map focuses on city?s energy systems and their planning and management, including e.g. demand side management, management of different district level energy systems, energy performance validation and management, energy data models, and smarter use of open energy data. Moreover, the municipality level road map proposes among others ICTs for better integration of city systems and city planning enabling maximised energy efficiency. In addition, one road map section suggests development needs related to open energy data, including among others the use of energy data and the development and harmonisation of energy data models. The road map has been assembled in the READY4SmartCities project (funded by EU 7th Framework Programme), which focuses on the energy system at the city level, consisting of centralised energy systems and connections to the national level energy grids, as well as interconnections to the neighbourhood and building level energy systems.

Integral energy behaviour of photovoltaic semi-transparent glazing elements for building integration

La hipótesis general que esta tesis quiere demostrar es que la integración arquitectónica de sistemas fotovoltaicos semitransparentes (STPV) puede contribuir a mejorar la eficiencia energética de los edificios. Por lo tanto, la investigación se centra en el desarrollo de una metodología capaz de cuantificar la reducción de la demanda energética del edificio proporcionada por estas novedosas soluciones constructivas. Al mismo tiempo, los parámetros de diseño de las soluciones STPV se han analizado para establecer cuales presentan el mayor impacto sobre el balance energético global del edificio y por lo tanto tienen que ser cuidadosamente definidos a la hora de optimizar el comportamiento energético del mismo. A la luz de estos objetivos, la metodología de estudio se ha centrado en tres puntos principales:  Caracterizar el comportamiento energético global de sistemas STPV en condiciones de operación realistas, similares a las que se darían en un sistema real;  Caracterizar el comportamiento energético global de sistemas STPV en condiciones controladas, con el objetivo de estudiar la variación del comportamiento del los elementos en función de parámetro de diseño y operación;  Evaluar el potencial de ahorro energético global de los sistemas STPV en comparación con soluciones acristaladas convencionales al variar de las condiciones de contorno constituidas por los parámetros de diseño (como el grado de transparencia), las características arquitectónicas (como el ratio entre superficie acristalada y superficie opaca en la fachada del edificio) y las condiciones climáticas (cubriendo en particular la climatología europea). En síntesis, este trabajo intenta contribuir a comprender la interacción que existe entre los sistemas STPV y el edificio, proporcionando tanto a los fabricantes de los componentes como a los profesionales de la construcción información valiosa sobre el potencial de ahorro energético asociado a estos nuevos sistemas constructivos. Asimismo el estudio define los parámetros de diseño adecuados para lograr soluciones eficientes tanto en proyectos nuevos como de rehabilitación. ABSTRACT The general hypothesis this work seeks to demonstrate is that the architectural integration of Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic (STPV) systems can contribute to improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Accordingly, the research has focused on developing a methodology able to quantify the building energy demand reduction provided by these novel constructive solutions. At the same time, the design parameters of the STPV solution have been analysed to establish which of them have the greatest impact on the global energy balance of the building, and therefore which have to be carefully defined in order to optimize the building operation. In the light of these goals, the study methodology has focused on three main points:  To characterise the global energy behaviour of STPV systems in realistic operating conditions, similar to those in which a real system will operate;  To characterise the global energy behaviour of STPV systems in controlled conditions in order to study how the performance varies depending on the design and operating parameters;  To assess the global energy saving potential of STPV systems in comparison with conventional glazing solutions by varying the boundary conditions, including design parameters (such as the degree of transparency), architectural characteristics (such as the Window to Wall Ratio) and climatic conditions (covering the European climatic conditions). In summary, this work has sought to contribute to the understanding of the interaction between STPV systems and the building, providing both components manufacturers and construction technicians, valuable information on the energy savings potential of these new construction systems and defining the appropriate design parameters to achieve efficient solutions in both new and retrofitting projects.

Método experimental para la caracterización de las diferentes tecnologías de integración arquitectónica de la energía fotovoltaica en condiciones de funcionamiento real = Experimental method for characterization of several building integrated photovoltaic technologies under real working conditions

Hoy en día, el proceso de un proyecto sostenible persigue realizar edificios de elevadas prestaciones que son, energéticamente eficientes, saludables y económicamente viables utilizando sabiamente recursos renovables para minimizar el impacto sobre el medio ambiente reduciendo, en lo posible, la demanda de energía, lo que se ha convertido, en la última década, en una prioridad. La Directiva 2002/91/CE "Eficiencia Energética de los Edificios" (y actualizaciones posteriores) ha establecido el marco regulatorio general para el cálculo de los requerimientos energéticos mínimos. Desde esa fecha, el objetivo de cumplir con las nuevas directivas y protocolos ha conducido las políticas energéticas de los distintos países en la misma dirección, centrándose en la necesidad de aumentar la eficiencia energética en los edificios, la adopción de medidas para reducir el consumo, y el fomento de la generación de energía a través de fuentes renovables. Los edificios de energía nula o casi nula (ZEB, Zero Energy Buildings ó NZEB, Net Zero Energy Buildings) deberán convertirse en un estándar de la construcción en Europa y con el fin de equilibrar el consumo de energía, además de reducirlo al mínimo, los edificios necesariamente deberán ser autoproductores de energía. Por esta razón, la envolvente del edifico y en particular las fachadas son importantes para el logro de estos objetivos y la tecnología fotovoltaica puede tener un papel preponderante en este reto. Para promover el uso de la tecnología fotovoltaica, diferentes programas de investigación internacionales fomentan y apoyan soluciones para favorecer la integración completa de éstos sistemas como elementos arquitectónicos y constructivos, los sistemas BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic), sobre todo considerando el próximo futuro hacia edificios NZEB. Se ha constatado en este estudio que todavía hay una falta de información útil disponible sobre los sistemas BIPV, a pesar de que el mercado ofrece una interesante gama de soluciones, en algunos aspectos comparables a los sistemas tradicionales de construcción. Pero por el momento, la falta estandarización y de una regulación armonizada, además de la falta de información en las hojas de datos técnicos (todavía no comparables con las mismas que están disponibles para los materiales de construcción), hacen difícil evaluar adecuadamente la conveniencia y factibilidad de utilizar los componentes BIPV como parte integrante de la envolvente del edificio. Organizaciones internacionales están trabajando para establecer las normas adecuadas y procedimientos de prueba y ensayo para comprobar la seguridad, viabilidad y fiabilidad estos sistemas. Sin embargo, hoy en día, no hay reglas específicas para la evaluación y caracterización completa de un componente fotovoltaico de integración arquitectónica de acuerdo con el Reglamento Europeo de Productos de la Construcción, CPR 305/2011. Los productos BIPV, como elementos de construcción, deben cumplir con diferentes aspectos prácticos como resistencia mecánica y la estabilidad; integridad estructural; seguridad de utilización; protección contra el clima (lluvia, nieve, viento, granizo), el fuego y el ruido, aspectos que se han convertido en requisitos esenciales, en la perspectiva de obtener productos ambientalmente sostenibles, saludables, eficientes energéticamente y económicamente asequibles. Por lo tanto, el módulo / sistema BIPV se convierte en una parte multifuncional del edificio no sólo para ser física y técnicamente "integrado", además de ser una oportunidad innovadora del diseño. Las normas IEC, de uso común en Europa para certificar módulos fotovoltaicos -IEC 61215 e IEC 61646 cualificación de diseño y homologación del tipo para módulos fotovoltaicos de uso terrestre, respectivamente para módulos fotovoltaicos de silicio cristalino y de lámina delgada- atestan únicamente la potencia del módulo fotovoltaico y dan fe de su fiabilidad por un período de tiempo definido, certificando una disminución de potencia dentro de unos límites. Existe también un estándar, en parte en desarrollo, el IEC 61853 (“Ensayos de rendimiento de módulos fotovoltaicos y evaluación energética") cuyo objetivo es la búsqueda de procedimientos y metodologías de prueba apropiados para calcular el rendimiento energético de los módulos fotovoltaicos en diferentes condiciones climáticas. Sin embargo, no existen ensayos normalizados en las condiciones específicas de la instalación (p. ej. sistemas BIPV de fachada). Eso significa que es imposible conocer las efectivas prestaciones de estos sistemas y las condiciones ambientales que se generan en el interior del edificio. La potencia nominal de pico Wp, de un módulo fotovoltaico identifica la máxima potencia eléctrica que éste puede generar bajo condiciones estándares de medida (STC: irradición 1000 W/m2, 25 °C de temperatura del módulo y distribución espectral, AM 1,5) caracterizando eléctricamente el módulo PV en condiciones específicas con el fin de poder comparar los diferentes módulos y tecnologías. El vatio pico (Wp por su abreviatura en inglés) es la medida de la potencia nominal del módulo PV y no es suficiente para evaluar el comportamiento y producción del panel en términos de vatios hora en las diferentes condiciones de operación, y tampoco permite predecir con convicción la eficiencia y el comportamiento energético de un determinado módulo en condiciones ambientales y de instalación reales. Un adecuado elemento de integración arquitectónica de fachada, por ejemplo, debería tener en cuenta propiedades térmicas y de aislamiento, factores como la transparencia para permitir ganancias solares o un buen control solar si es necesario, aspectos vinculados y dependientes en gran medida de las condiciones climáticas y del nivel de confort requerido en el edificio, lo que implica una necesidad de adaptación a cada contexto específico para obtener el mejor resultado. Sin embargo, la influencia en condiciones reales de operación de las diferentes soluciones fotovoltaicas de integración, en el consumo de energía del edificio no es fácil de evaluar. Los aspectos térmicos del interior del ambiente o de iluminación, al utilizar módulos BIPV semitransparentes por ejemplo, son aún desconocidos. Como se dijo antes, la utilización de componentes de integración arquitectónica fotovoltaicos y el uso de energía renovable ya es un hecho para producir energía limpia, pero también sería importante conocer su posible contribución para mejorar el confort y la salud de los ocupantes del edificio. Aspectos como el confort, la protección o transmisión de luz natural, el aislamiento térmico, el consumo energético o la generación de energía son aspectos que suelen considerarse independientemente, mientras que todos juntos contribuyen, sin embargo, al balance energético global del edificio. Además, la necesidad de dar prioridad a una orientación determinada del edificio, para alcanzar el mayor beneficio de la producción de energía eléctrica o térmica, en el caso de sistemas activos y pasivos, respectivamente, podría hacer estos últimos incompatibles, pero no necesariamente. Se necesita un enfoque holístico que permita arquitectos e ingenieros implementar sistemas tecnológicos que trabajen en sinergia. Se ha planteado por ello un nuevo concepto: "C-BIPV, elemento fotovoltaico consciente integrado", esto significa necesariamente conocer los efectos positivos o negativos (en términos de confort y de energía) en condiciones reales de funcionamiento e instalación. Propósito de la tesis, método y resultados Los sistemas fotovoltaicos integrados en fachada son a menudo soluciones de vidrio fácilmente integrables, ya que por lo general están hechos a medida. Estos componentes BIPV semitransparentes, integrados en el cerramiento proporcionan iluminación natural y también sombra, lo que evita el sobrecalentamiento en los momentos de excesivo calor, aunque como componente estático, asimismo evitan las posibles contribuciones pasivas de ganancias solares en los meses fríos. Además, la temperatura del módulo varía considerablemente en ciertas circunstancias influenciada por la tecnología fotovoltaica instalada, la radiación solar, el sistema de montaje, la tipología de instalación, falta de ventilación, etc. Este factor, puede suponer un aumento adicional de la carga térmica en el edificio, altamente variable y difícil de cuantificar. Se necesitan, en relación con esto, más conocimientos sobre el confort ambiental interior en los edificios que utilizan tecnologías fotovoltaicas integradas, para abrir de ese modo, una nueva perspectiva de la investigación. Con este fin, se ha diseñado, proyectado y construido una instalación de pruebas al aire libre, el BIPV Env-lab "BIPV Test Laboratory", para la caracterización integral de los diferentes módulos semitransparentes BIPV. Se han definido también el método y el protocolo de ensayos de caracterización en el contexto de un edificio y en condiciones climáticas y de funcionamiento reales. Esto ha sido posible una vez evaluado el estado de la técnica y la investigación, los aspectos que influyen en la integración arquitectónica y los diferentes tipos de integración, después de haber examinado los métodos de ensayo para los componentes de construcción y fotovoltaicos, en condiciones de operación utilizadas hasta ahora. El laboratorio de pruebas experimentales, que consiste en dos habitaciones idénticas a escala real, 1:1, ha sido equipado con sensores y todos los sistemas de monitorización gracias a los cuales es posible obtener datos fiables para evaluar las prestaciones térmicas, de iluminación y el rendimiento eléctrico de los módulos fotovoltaicos. Este laboratorio permite el estudio de tres diferentes aspectos que influencian el confort y consumo de energía del edificio: el confort térmico, lumínico, y el rendimiento energético global (demanda/producción de energía) de los módulos BIPV. Conociendo el balance de energía para cada tecnología solar fotovoltaica experimentada, es posible determinar cuál funciona mejor en cada caso específico. Se ha propuesto una metodología teórica para la evaluación de estos parámetros, definidos en esta tesis como índices o indicadores que consideran cuestiones relacionados con el bienestar, la energía y el rendimiento energético global de los componentes BIPV. Esta metodología considera y tiene en cuenta las normas reglamentarias y estándares existentes para cada aspecto, relacionándolos entre sí. Diferentes módulos BIPV de doble vidrio aislante, semitransparentes, representativos de diferentes tecnologías fotovoltaicas (tecnología de silicio monocristalino, m-Si; de capa fina en silicio amorfo unión simple, a-Si y de capa fina en diseleniuro de cobre e indio, CIS) fueron seleccionados para llevar a cabo una serie de pruebas experimentales al objeto de demostrar la validez del método de caracterización propuesto. Como resultado final, se ha desarrollado y generado el Diagrama Caracterización Integral DCI, un sistema gráfico y visual para representar los resultados y gestionar la información, una herramienta operativa útil para la toma de decisiones con respecto a las instalaciones fotovoltaicas. Este diagrama muestra todos los conceptos y parámetros estudiados en relación con los demás y ofrece visualmente toda la información cualitativa y cuantitativa sobre la eficiencia energética de los componentes BIPV, por caracterizarlos de manera integral. ABSTRACT A sustainable design process today is intended to produce high-performance buildings that are energy-efficient, healthy and economically feasible, by wisely using renewable resources to minimize the impact on the environment and to reduce, as much as possible, the energy demand. In the last decade, the reduction of energy needs in buildings has become a top priority. The Directive 2002/91/EC “Energy Performance of Buildings” (and its subsequent updates) established a general regulatory framework’s methodology for calculation of minimum energy requirements. Since then, the aim of fulfilling new directives and protocols has led the energy policies in several countries in a similar direction that is, focusing on the need of increasing energy efficiency in buildings, taking measures to reduce energy consumption, and fostering the use of renewable sources. Zero Energy Buildings or Net Zero Energy Buildings will become a standard in the European building industry and in order to balance energy consumption, buildings, in addition to reduce the end-use consumption should necessarily become selfenergy producers. For this reason, the façade system plays an important role for achieving these energy and environmental goals and Photovoltaic can play a leading role in this challenge. To promote the use of photovoltaic technology in buildings, international research programs encourage and support solutions, which favors the complete integration of photovoltaic devices as an architectural element, the so-called BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic), furthermore facing to next future towards net-zero energy buildings. Therefore, the BIPV module/system becomes a multifunctional building layer, not only physically and functionally “integrated” in the building, but also used as an innovative chance for the building envelope design. It has been found in this study that there is still a lack of useful information about BIPV for architects and designers even though the market is providing more and more interesting solutions, sometimes comparable to the existing traditional building systems. However at the moment, the lack of an harmonized regulation and standardization besides to the non-accuracy in the technical BIPV datasheets (not yet comparable with the same ones available for building materials), makes difficult for a designer to properly evaluate the fesibility of this BIPV components when used as a technological system of the building skin. International organizations are working to establish the most suitable standards and test procedures to check the safety, feasibility and reliability of BIPV systems. Anyway, nowadays, there are no specific rules for a complete characterization and evaluation of a BIPV component according to the European Construction Product Regulation, CPR 305/2011. BIPV products, as building components, must comply with different practical aspects such as mechanical resistance and stability; structural integrity; safety in use; protection against weather (rain, snow, wind, hail); fire and noise: aspects that have become essential requirements in the perspective of more and more environmentally sustainable, healthy, energy efficient and economically affordable products. IEC standards, commonly used in Europe to certify PV modules (IEC 61215 and IEC 61646 respectively crystalline and thin-film ‘Terrestrial PV Modules-Design Qualification and Type Approval’), attest the feasibility and reliability of PV modules for a defined period of time with a limited power decrease. There is also a standard (IEC 61853, ‘Performance Testing and Energy Rating of Terrestrial PV Modules’) still under preparation, whose aim is finding appropriate test procedures and methodologies to calculate the energy yield of PV modules under different climate conditions. Furthermore, the lack of tests in specific conditions of installation (e.g. façade BIPV devices) means that it is difficult knowing the exact effective performance of these systems and the environmental conditions in which the building will operate. The nominal PV power at Standard Test Conditions, STC (1.000 W/m2, 25 °C temperature and AM 1.5) is usually measured in indoor laboratories, and it characterizes the PV module at specific conditions in order to be able to compare different modules and technologies on a first step. The “Watt-peak” is not enough to evaluate the panel performance in terms of Watt-hours of various modules under different operating conditions, and it gives no assurance of being able to predict the energy performance of a certain module at given environmental conditions. A proper BIPV element for façade should take into account thermal and insulation properties, factors as transparency to allow solar gains if possible or a good solar control if necessary, aspects that are linked and high dependent on climate conditions and on the level of comfort to be reached. However, the influence of different façade integrated photovoltaic solutions on the building energy consumption is not easy to assess under real operating conditions. Thermal aspects, indoor temperatures or luminance level that can be expected using building integrated PV (BIPV) modules are not well known. As said before, integrated photovoltaic BIPV components and the use of renewable energy is already a standard for green energy production, but would also be important to know the possible contribution to improve the comfort and health of building occupants. Comfort, light transmission or protection, thermal insulation or thermal/electricity power production are aspects that are usually considered alone, while all together contribute to the building global energy balance. Besides, the need to prioritize a particular building envelope orientation to harvest the most benefit from the electrical or thermal energy production, in the case of active and passive systems respectively might be not compatible, but also not necessary. A holistic approach is needed to enable architects and engineers implementing technological systems working in synergy. A new concept have been suggested: “C-BIPV, conscious integrated BIPV”. BIPV systems have to be “consciously integrated” which means that it is essential to know the positive and negative effects in terms of comfort and energy under real operating conditions. Purpose of the work, method and results The façade-integrated photovoltaic systems are often glass solutions easily integrable, as they usually are custommade. These BIPV semi-transparent components integrated as a window element provides natural lighting and shade that prevents overheating at times of excessive heat, but as static component, likewise avoid the possible solar gains contributions in the cold months. In addition, the temperature of the module varies considerably in certain circumstances influenced by the PV technology installed, solar radiation, mounting system, lack of ventilation, etc. This factor may result in additional heat input in the building highly variable and difficult to quantify. In addition, further insights into the indoor environmental comfort in buildings using integrated photovoltaic technologies are needed to open up thereby, a new research perspective. This research aims to study their behaviour through a series of experiments in order to define the real influence on comfort aspects and on global energy building consumption, as well as, electrical and thermal characteristics of these devices. The final objective was to analyze a whole set of issues that influence the global energy consumption/production in a building using BIPV modules by quantifying the global energy balance and the BIPV system real performances. Other qualitative issues to be studied were comfort aspect (thermal and lighting aspects) and the electrical behaviour of different BIPV technologies for vertical integration, aspects that influence both energy consumption and electricity production. Thus, it will be possible to obtain a comprehensive global characterization of BIPV systems. A specific design of an outdoor test facility, the BIPV Env-lab “BIPV Test Laboratory”, for the integral characterization of different BIPV semi-transparent modules was developed and built. The method and test protocol for the BIPV characterization was also defined in a real building context and weather conditions. This has been possible once assessed the state of the art and research, the aspects that influence the architectural integration and the different possibilities and types of integration for PV and after having examined the test methods for building and photovoltaic components, under operation conditions heretofore used. The test laboratory that consists in two equivalent test rooms (1:1) has a monitoring system in which reliable data of thermal, daylighting and electrical performances can be obtained for the evaluation of PV modules. The experimental set-up facility (testing room) allows studying three different aspects that affect building energy consumption and comfort issues: the thermal indoor comfort, the lighting comfort and the energy performance of BIPV modules tested under real environmental conditions. Knowing the energy balance for each experimented solar technology, it is possible to determine which one performs best. A theoretical methodology has been proposed for evaluating these parameters, as defined in this thesis as indices or indicators, which regard comfort issues, energy and the overall performance of BIPV components. This methodology considers the existing regulatory standards for each aspect, relating them to one another. A set of insulated glass BIPV modules see-through and light-through, representative of different PV technologies (mono-crystalline silicon technology, mc-Si, amorphous silicon thin film single junction, a-Si and copper indium selenide thin film technology CIS) were selected for a series of experimental tests in order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed characterization method. As result, it has been developed and generated the ICD Integral Characterization Diagram, a graphic and visual system to represent the results and manage information, a useful operational tool for decision-making regarding to photovoltaic installations. This diagram shows all concepts and parameters studied in relation to each other and visually provides access to all the results obtained during the experimental phase to make available all the qualitative and quantitative information on the energy performance of the BIPV components by characterizing them in a comprehensive way.

Distributed Visualization Systems in Remote Sensing Data Processing Grid

Implementation of GEOSS/GMES initiative requires creation and integration of service providers, most of which provide geospatial data output from Grid system to interactive user. In this paper approaches of DOS- centers (service providers) integration used in Ukrainian segment of GEOSS/GMES will be considered and template solutions for geospatial data visualization subsystems will be suggested. Developed patterns are implemented in DOS center of Space Research Institute of National Academy of Science of Ukraine and National Space Agency of Ukraine (NASU-NSAU).

Developing an enhanced model for combined heat and air infiltration energy simulation

The need for efficient, sustainable, and planned utilization of resources is ever more critical. In the U.S. alone, buildings consume 34.8 Quadrillion (1015) BTU of energy annually at a cost of $1.4 Trillion. Of this energy 58% is utilized for heating and air conditioning. ^ Several building energy analysis tools have been developed to assess energy demands and lifecycle energy costs in buildings. Such analyses are also essential for an efficient HVAC design that overcomes the pitfalls of an under/over-designed system. DOE-2 is among the most widely known full building energy analysis models. It also constitutes the simulation engine of other prominent software such as eQUEST, EnergyPro, PowerDOE. Therefore, it is essential that DOE-2 energy simulations be characterized by high accuracy. ^ Infiltration is an uncontrolled process through which outside air leaks into a building. Studies have estimated infiltration to account for up to 50% of a building's energy demand. This, considered alongside the annual cost of buildings energy consumption, reveals the costs of air infiltration. It also stresses the need that prominent building energy simulation engines accurately account for its impact. ^ In this research the relative accuracy of current air infiltration calculation methods is evaluated against an intricate Multiphysics Hygrothermal CFD building envelope analysis. The full-scale CFD analysis is based on a meticulous representation of cracking in building envelopes and on real-life conditions. The research found that even the most advanced current infiltration methods, including in DOE-2, are at up to 96.13% relative error versus CFD analysis. ^ An Enhanced Model for Combined Heat and Air Infiltration Simulation was developed. The model resulted in 91.6% improvement in relative accuracy over current models. It reduces error versus CFD analysis to less than 4.5% while requiring less than 1% of the time required for such a complex hygrothermal analysis. The algorithm used in our model was demonstrated to be easy to integrate into DOE-2 and other engines as a standalone method for evaluating infiltration heat loads. This will vastly increase the accuracy of such simulation engines while maintaining their speed and ease of use characteristics that make them very widely used in building design.^

Impacts of FDI Renewable Energy Technology Spillover on China's Energy Industry Performance

Environmental friendly renewable energy plays an indispensable role in energy industry development. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in advanced renewable energy technology spillover is promising to improve technological capability and promote China’s energy industry performance growth. In this paper, the impacts of FDI renewable energy technology spillover on China’s energy industry performance are analyzed based on theoretical and empirical studies. Firstly, three hypotheses are proposed to illustrate the relationships between FDI renewable energy technology spillover and three energy industry performances including economic, environmental, and innovative performances. To verify the hypotheses, techniques including factor analysis and data envelopment analysis (DEA) are employed to quantify the FDI renewable energy technology spillover and the energy industry performance of China, respectively. Furthermore, a panel data regression model is proposed to measure the impacts of FDI renewable energy technology spillover on China’s energy industry performance. Finally, energy industries of 30 different provinces in China based on the yearbook data from 2005 to 2011 are comparatively analyzed for evaluating the impacts through the empirical research. The results demonstrate that FDI renewable energy technology spillover has positive impacts on China’s energy industry performance. It can also be found that the technology spillover effects are more obvious in economic and technological developed regions. Finally, four suggestions are provided to enhance energy industry performance and promote renewable energy technology spillover in China.