1,721,062 research outputs found
Acoustic Comfort for Spaces Used by People with Cognitive Impairment: A Starting Point for the Application of Acoustic Event Detection and Sound Source Recognition Systems
No full textThe AED (Acoustic Event Detection) and SSR (Sound Source Recognition) systems are increasingly used in projects involving home automation, security, help for the visually impaired or for the elderly who want to pursue projects of independent living. The application of such technologies can also become a valid reference in the case of subjects suffering from cognitive, not just physical, deficits (Down syndrome, autism, etc.). In these cases remote assistance systems can represent a strong support both for the people who take care of them (parents, specialized personnel), and also for people with cognitive disabilities to pursue projects of independent living. Based on the study of the peculiarities that the internal spaces hosting activities for people with various cognitive deficits must have, criteria for acoustic comfort and internal design have been optimized for certain types of living, working and resting spaces. The aim of this work is to understand how the indoor sound field of dedicated rooms may affect boundary conditions for the installation of AED and SSR and how the specific interior design for special spaces may influence the speech intelligibility and clarity of these rooms
Smart Sensors and Auditory Sensitivity: Acoustic Optimization of Dedicated Spaces for Autistic Individuals
No full textThis work deals with the design of an indoor environment dedicated to autistic individuals, who may suffer from hypersensitivity to acoustic stimuli. Specifically, in this volume customized pieces of furniture are included, containing smart sensors, designed to help people with cognitive deficits to live an independent life. Among the indoor comfort aspects, the acoustic requirements have been investigated, in order to guarantee both the optimal functioning of the acoustic sensors and the acoustic occupants’ well-being. The optimal indoor acoustic levels are based on a literature review. Measurements are performed in order to calibrate a 3D acoustic model. Then diverse scenarios are analysed, and an optimized configuration is proposed and realized. The model is then validated with the final acoustic measurements, which confirm the designed results
Comparative experimental analysis and modelling of a flower greenhouse equipped with a desiccant system
No full textTwo identical flower greenhouses operating near Bergamo (northern Italy) have been equipped with an innovative and a traditional air conditioning system respectively. The innovative air conditioning system based on H 2O-LiCl desiccant consists of an integrated dehumidification and regeneration unit. In the dehumidification part the strong solution absorbs the ambient air humidity. Heat recovery is performed on the desiccant regeneration process enabling to heat the ambient air previously dehumidified. Auxiliary unit heaters driven by hot water complete the sensible heat needs of the greenhouse. The same unit heaters are used to perform sensible heating in the traditional greenhouse. Natural ventilation through roof opening is the only method to control the humidity in the traditional greenhouse but it is also used in the innovative one to integrate the desiccant system. The experimental comparison shows a 10% average primary energy saving for the desiccant-based system with respect to ..
Extensive Comparative Analysis Of Two Building Energy Simulation Codes For Southern Europe Climates: Heating And Cooling Energy Needs and Peak Loads Calculation In TRNSYS And EnergyPlus
Full text linkIn order to evaluate the energy performance of buildings, both in heating and in cooling periods, the simulation codes can be used. Moreover, in accordance with the technical Standard EN ISO 13790:2008, the simulation codes can be employed for refining the steady-state methods, and particularly the utilization factors estimations, in accordance with the procedure proposed. As the various simulation codes implement different capabilities and refer to different mathematical models and calculation assumptions, the necessary validation steps which are used for diagnostic purposes are not enough to ensure the agreement of the results over a wider range of configurations and conditions. The main dynamic simulation codes have been generally evaluated according to the Standard ANSI/ASHRAE 140:2007 (BESTEST). By this approach the user can choose a software among those successfully tested, giving acceptable deviations between the computed output and the reference values for a selected number of reference buildings defined in the Standard. However the number of those reference building configurations is limited and the considered features are not representative of the common building stock present for instance in Southern Europe. Moreover, as those configurations were selected for diagnostic purposes, they are expected to produce unacceptable biasing when considered with statistical approaches in order to improve the quasi steady state approaches as the one proposed in the technical standard EN ISO 13790:2008. In this work a procedure to identify the main causes of deviation has been developed and has been applied to two well-known dynamic simulation software: TRNSYS (version 16.1) and EnergyPlus (version 7). The approach is based on a factorial plan of comparison aimed to investigate the main variables related to the envelope of the building and its behavior: variations in geometry and boundary conditions (dimensions and orientation of the glazing, amount of dispersing surface) envelope characteristics (walls insulation and heat capacity, insulation and solar transmittance of glazings) internal gains. From the combination of the values of the above variables, more than 1600 different configurations have been obtained for two Italian climatic conditions, each of which providing monthly values for heating and cooling needs and for heating and cooling peak loads. Thanks to the large number of configurations, the monthly heating and cooling energy needs and peak loads have been analysed with inferential statistics, which allowed to evaluate the agreement between the outputs and to characterize the weight of the different variables in causing the deviations found
Internal versus external shading devices performance in office buildings
No full textIn this paper different configurations of an open-space office located in Rome has been simulated with EnergyPlus 8 to compare
the performance of outdoor and indoor shading devices concerning the thermal and visual comfort and the overall primary energy
use. The standard PMV indices [1] have been calculated considering also the effect of the diffuse and beam solar radiation
directly reaching the occupants through the windows. Although the use of shades always improves the thermal comfort, the
energy demand could increase as an effect of the internal position of shades in combination with particular orientations and
glazing types
OFFICE ENERGY NEEDS AND INDOOR COMFORT WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXTERNAL ROLLER SHADES IN A SOUTHERN EUROPE CLIMATE
No full textDependence of the energy need of residential buildings on the features of the glazing systems
No full textPARAMETRICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT REFURBISHMENT MEASURES
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Sensitivity to the Reference Buildings Choice of the New Energy Requirements: an Application of the Regulation EU 244/2012
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