1,720,966 research outputs found
Internal heat loads profiles for buildings’ energy modelling: comparison of different standards
No full textIn absence of real data on occupants and electric devices patterns, nominal values and schedules of internal heat loads given by existing related standards can be adopted for buildings energy modelling. Since different results can be obtained depending on the standard, the choice of the proper one, based only on given nominal values and schedules, could be not straightforward. As a novelty, this study reports a comparison among the energy implications of different building internal heat load profiles from current standards. To this aim, typical building floors representing common residential and office rooms composition were defined. Then, different days’ profiles and peaks of the overall internal heat loads densities due to occupancy, equipment, and artificial lighting, obtained from selected standards, are analyzed and compared together with the resulting different annual internal heat load density components and their effect on building annual thermal energy needs. Hence, insights to choose the most suitable standard, depending on the study context, are provided. Moreover, the calculated values of internal heat loads densities can be directly adopted as an early-stage approach in energy simulation models, neglecting detailing the building rooms’ composition
Mapping Seasonal Variability of Buildings Electricity Demand profiles in Mediterranean Small Islands
Full text linkIn communities with a high tourist influx and warm climate, such as Mediterranean small islands, the energy demands for space cooling and domestic hot water are expected to significantly increase during summer. Considering the current energy context, for succeeding energy transition and reducing the dependency on not endogenous fossil fuels, it is paramount to increase the deployment of renewable sources of energy, especially wind and solar which, however, are aleatory and unpredictable. Hence, to reduce the high costs for energy supply in these contexts, the analysis of the variation of energy consumption is fundamental. Moreover, mapping the spatial distribution of energy profiles can be useful to have an overview at a large scale of the considered building stock. Within this frame, a Geographic-Information-System-based procedure was implemented to estimate the residential buildings energy demand profiles, focusing on the seasonal variation. The adopted method can provide a valid supporting tool for decision makers that have to implement smart energy strategies in contexts with a high variation of the energy demand and evident electricity summer peaks. The method for mapping the energy demand profiles, implemented on the small island of Pantelleria, can be applied to other similar contexts, also supporting energy policies in the implementation of renewable energy communities
Layered dry envelope insulated with sheep wool-lime mix
Full text linkThis poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope component that might be implemented on buildings of the Mediterranean area, in order to improve the energy efficiency and the environmental sustainability. These goals have been achieved by means of the use of local and natural building materials or arising from renewable resources. In particular, thermal insulating has been realize utilizing a mix of natural and mineral materials, obtaining a biocomposite with comparable building physics and mechanical properties to commonly used building materials. Among natural materials, the sheep wool was chosen since it is, on the hand, a waste to exploit and, on the other hand, it has a good behavior towards heat, moisture and indoor air pollution. Several sample have been realized mixing sheep wool, at different granulometry, with lime in different weight percentages. For each sample, thermal tests have been performed by means of a heat flow meter. The U value, Yie, mass and time lag have been evaluated for the whole designed system according to the Italian standards. In order to compare the environmental impact of the designed system with a similar commercial product, a Life Cycle Assessment has been carried out. Finally, thermal performance of the envelope system was evaluated by simulating its use in the retrofit of the old structure of a factory both in wall and in floor elements. The results was good in terms of energy balances of the building, while LCA results are contradictory, being one of the main issue the lack of data for local materials not directly investigated by authors
A gis-based procedure for estimating the energy demand profiles of buildings towards urban energy policies
Full text linkAssessing the existing building stock’s hourly energy demand and predicting its variation due to energy efficiency measures are fundamental for planning strategies towards renewable-based Smart Energy Systems. However, the need for accurate methods for this purpose in the literature arises. The present article describes a GIS-based procedure developed for estimating the energy demand profiles of urban buildings based on the definition of the volumetric consistency of a building stock, characterized by different ages of construction and the most widespread uses, as well as dynamic simulations of a set of Building Energy Models adopting different energy-related features. The simulation models are based on a simple Building Energy Concept where selected thermal zones, representative of different boundary conditions options, are accounted. By associating the simulated hourly energy density profiles to the geo-referenced building stock and to the surveyed thermal system types, the whole hourly energy profile is estimated for the considered area. The method was tested on the building stock of Milan (Italy) and validated with the data available from the annual energy balance of the city. This procedure could support energy planners in defining urban energy demand profiles for energy policy scenarios
Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture
No full textSustainable agriculture is strongly promoted by Agenda 2030 and peri-urban agriculture is considered strategic for agri-food sustainability. Although, innovative farming practices are being implemented, the analysis of their impacts often does not reach the required depth. Within the EU project ‘UIA-OpenAgri - New Skills for new Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture’, a regeneration process of a peri-urban area in Milan (Italy) was started, through the development of an innovative food hub. 28 innovative foodchains are assessed by a Life Cycle Assessment approach based on primary data collected from the involved start-ups. Non-Renewable Cumulative Energy Demand and the Global Warming Potential indicators are assessed and coupled with the productive land indicator. To effectively support involved operators in planning sustainable agriculture practices, the results are presented with GIS maps and insights for improving economic sustainability of involved start-ups are presented. The study shows that the impacts related to the practices implemented (i.e. organic agriculture, including intercropping, agroforestry, ancient grains, etc.) decrease by an average of 55% in energy consumption and 65% on Global Warming Potential if compared to conventional ones. Then, these practices can provide a positive contribution to the Agenda 2030 goal of ensuring sustainable farm production practices
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Assessment of tools for urban energy planning
No full textIn recent years, studies and policies have encouraged the diffusion of distributed energy supply technologies and large integration of renewable sources. This increases the need for new professionals in energy planning. Several computational tools for energy planning have been developed as described in the technical literature. However, energy planners of urban/district areas engaged in the transition towards smart systems related to buildings energy services require well-documented tools to evaluate the combination of available energy sources by proper conversion technologies. With this, after a scientific review, we selected 17 tools targeted on an urban/districts scale that can evaluate several energy services, sources and/or technologies, and provided with detailed and easily accessible documentation. These tools were classified based on their defined features: analysis type, operation spatial scale, outputs time scale, energy service, and licence. Among them, 6 user-friendly tools were identified (energyPRO, HOMER, iHOGA, EnergyPLAN, SIREN, WebOpt) that can provide hourly energy calculations and can be considered as viable for widespread use. Specifically, the general information, functionalities, structure, graphic user interface, required input data, and outputs were described. Therefore, the energy planners are guided towards choosing the most suitable tool based on their skills, aims, and data availability for a specific application
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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