scholarly journals Improving the Energy Performance of Public Buildings Equipped with Individual Gas Boilers Due to Thermal Retrofitting

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1565
Author(s):  
Anna Życzyńska ◽  
Dariusz Majerek ◽  
Zbigniew Suchorab ◽  
Agnieszka Żelazna ◽  
Václav Kočí ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Public Buildings ◽  
Energy Audits ◽  
The Impact

The article assesses an impact of thermal retrofitting on an improvement of the energy quality of public buildings in terms of their heating. The analysis covered a group of 14 buildings, including schools, kindergartens or offices, while energy audits were carried out for 12 of them. The indications of individual gas meters were the source of actual data for the assessment of changes in energy consumption indexes in operating conditions. The analysis showed a clear improvement in the energy quality of buildings; however, the actual effects were much lower than forecasted. The average forecasted decrease in energy consumption was supposed to be 64.3%, but the measured data showed only 37.1%. The investigation confirmed that the most complex refurbishing provided the most satisfactory decrease in energy consumption (51.4% of real decrease in energy consumption), while objects with partial thermal refurbishing reached an efficiency of only 21.8%. It was stated that in operating conditions, special attention should be paid to the manner of energy use, since different indicators of energy consumption can be obtained with the same parameters of building’s balance cover. The results obtained can be further utilized in thermal-refurbishment implementation procedures. Follow-up investigations on the impact of selected parameters on energy consumption are planned.

scholarly journals Measurements of Energy Consumption and Environment Quality of High-Speed Railway Stations in China

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Bin Qian ◽  
Tao Yu ◽  
Haiquan Bi ◽  
Bo Lei
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Public Buildings ◽  
Railway Station ◽  
High Speed Railway

In recent years, the energy performance of public buildings has attracted substantial attention due to the significant energy-saving potential. As a semi-open high-space building, the high-speed railway station is obviously different from other public buildings and even traditional stations in terms of energy consumption and internal environment. This paper investigates the current energy consumption situation and environmental quality of 15 high-speed railway passenger stations in China. Results show that the energy consumption of the high-speed railway station is between 117–470 kWh/(m2·a). The energy consumption of the station is related to the area and the passenger flow. The energy use of the station using district heating is higher than that of the station without district heating in the same region. The higher glazing ratio induces good natural lighting in the station, but the uniformity of the lighting in the station is not good. The acceptable temperature range of passengers in winter is larger than that in summer. The average air change rate of the high-speed railway station is 3.2 h−1 in winter and 1.8 h−1 in summer, which is the main reason of high energy consumption of the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) system in this kind of building.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Impact of Different Variables on the Energy Demand in Office Buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5347
Author(s):  
José Luis Fuentes-Bargues ◽  
José-Luis Vivancos ◽  
Pablo Ferrer-Gisbert ◽  
Miguel Ángel Gimeno-Guillem
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Energy Behaviour ◽  
Balance Energy ◽  
The Impact

The design of near zero energy offices is a priority, which involves looking to achieve designs which minimise energy consumption and balance energy requirements with an increase in the installation and consumption of renewable energy. In light of this, some authors have used computer software to achieve simulations of the energy behaviour of buildings. Other studies based on regulatory systems which classify and label energy use also generally make their assessments through the use of software. In Spain, there is an authorised procedure for certifying the energy performance of buildings, and software (LIDER-CALENER unified tool) which is used to demonstrate compliance of the performance of buildings both from the point of view of energy demand and energy consumption. The aim of this study is to analyse the energy behaviour of an office building and the variability of the same using the software in terms of the following variables: climate zone, building orientation and certain surrounding wall types and encasements typical of this type of construction.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Use at the University of Almeria (Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5843
Author(s):  
Mehdi Chihib ◽  
Esther Salmerón-Manzano ◽  
Mimoun Chourak ◽  
Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno ◽  
Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
University Buildings ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in many sectors and industries. In the energy sector, the demand has fallen drastically during the first quarter of 2020. The University of Almeria campus also declined the energy consumption in 2020, and through this study, we aimed to measure the impact of closing the campus on the energy use of its different facilities. We built our analysis based upon the dataset collected during the year 2020 and previous years; the patterns evolution through time allowed us to better understand the energy performance of each facility during this exceptional year. We rearranged the university buildings into categories, and all the categories reduced their electricity consumption share in comparison with the previous year of 2019. Furthermore, the portfolio of categories presented a wide range of ratios that varied from 56% to 98%, the library category was found to be the most influenced, and the research category was found to be the least influenced. This opened questions like why some facilities were influenced more than others? What can we do to reduce the energy use even more when the facilities are closed? The university buildings presented diverse structures that revealed differences in energy performance, which explained why the impact of such an event (COVID-19 pandemic) is not necessarily relevant to have equivalent variations. Nevertheless, some management deficiencies were detected, and some energy savings measures were proposed to achieve a minimum waste of energy.

Energy performance and environmental quality of typical railway passenger stations in northern China

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Song ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Xiaofeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Public Buildings ◽  
Railway Passenger ◽  
Operation And Management

In recent 20 years, the energy performance of public buildings has attracted substantial attention due to the potential for significant energy savings. As semi-open structures, railway passenger stations are noticeably distinct from other public buildings. This paper investigated current energy consumption situation of 36 railway passenger stations in northern China. The energy consumption of the railway passenger stations was divided into high, medium and low levels, with the annual average energy use indexes being 423 kWh/m2, 222 kWh/m2 and 101 kWh/m2, respectively. Heating and cooling are the main energy consumers for major building services. The analysis also established a linear relationship between energy consumption and passenger flow density. However, the linear correlation was not evident where inconsistent operation and management occurred, as was often the case for small and medium sized stations. To further explore, the environmental quality which can reflect the operation and management levels was also tested in eight small- and medium-sized stations. The result showed that stations with high operational and management standards more closely approximated the linear curve and that stations with low standards were further away. Hence, the linear curve would represent the energy consumption levels of railway stations with high standards of operation and management.

Impact of roof shading on building energy performance in warm & humid climatic places of India

2020 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Kuladeep Kumar Sadevi ◽  
Avlokita Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
General Assumption ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Passive Cooling ◽  
Base Case ◽  
U Value ◽  
The Impact

With the rise in awareness of energy efficient buildings and adoption of mandatory energy conservation codes across the globe, significant change is being observed in the way the buildings are designed. With the launch of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India, climate responsive designs and passive cooling techniques are being explored increasingly in building designs. Of all the building envelope components, roof surface has been identified as the most significant with respect to the heat gain due to the incident solar radiation on buildings, especially in tropical climatic conditions. Since ECBC specifies stringent U-Values for roof assembly, use of insulating materials is becoming popular. Along with insulation, the shading of the roof is also observed to be an important strategy for improving thermal performance of the building, especially in Warm and humid climatic conditions. This study intends to assess the impact of roof shading on building’s energy performance in comparison to that of exposed roof with insulation. A typical office building with specific geometry and schedules has been identified as base case model for this study. This building is simulated using energy modelling software ‘Design Builder’ with base case parameters as prescribed in ECBC. Further, the same building has been simulated parametrically adjusting the amount of roof insulation and roof shading simultaneously. The overall energy consumption and the envelope performance of the top floor are extracted for analysis. The results indicate that the roof shading is an effective passive cooling strategy for both naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings in Warm and humid climates of India. It is also observed that a fully shaded roof outperforms the insulated roof as per ECBC prescription. Provision of shading over roof reduces the annual energy consumption of building in case of both insulated and uninsulated roofs. However, the impact is higher for uninsulated roofs (U-Value of 3.933 W/m2K), being 4.18% as compared to 0.59% for insulated roofs (U-Value of 0.33 W/m2K).While the general assumption is that roof insulation helps in reducing the energy consumption in tropical buildings, it is observed to be the other way when insulation is provided with roof shading. It is due to restricted heat loss during night.

The effect of surgery in tenosynovial giant cell tumours as measured by patient-reported outcomes on quality of life and joint function

2019 ◽  
Vol 101-B (3) ◽  
pp. 272-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. M. Verspoor ◽  
M. J. L. Mastboom ◽  
G. Hannink ◽  
W. T. A. van der Graaf ◽  
M. A. J. van de Sande ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Giant Cell ◽  
Diffuse Type ◽  
Joint Function ◽  
Population Means ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
The Impact

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and joint function in tenosynovial giant cell tumour (TGCT) patients before and after surgical treatment. Patients and Methods This prospective cohort study run in two Dutch referral centres assessed patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs; 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)) in 359 consecutive patients with localized- and diffuse-type TGCT of large joints. Patients with recurrent disease (n = 121) and a wait-and-see policy (n = 32) were excluded. Collected data were analyzed at specified time intervals preoperatively (baseline) and/or postoperatively up to five years. Results A total of 206 TGCT patients, 108 localized- and 98 diffuse-type, were analyzed. Median age at diagnosis of localized- and diffuse-type was 41 years (interquartile range (IQR) 29 to 49) and 37 years (IQR 27 to 47), respectively. SF-36 analyses showed statistically significant and clinically relevant deteriorated preoperative and immediate postoperative scores compared with general Dutch population means, depending on subscale and TGCT subtype. After three to six months of follow-up, these scores improved to general population means and continued to be fairly stable over the following years. VAS scores, for both subtypes, showed no statistically significant or clinically relevant differences pre- or postoperatively. In diffuse-type patients, the improvement in median WOMAC score was statistically significant and clinically relevant preoperatively versus six to 24 months postoperatively, and remained up to five years’ follow-up. Conclusion Patients with TGCT report a better HRQoL and joint function after surgery. Pain scores, which vary hugely between patients and in patients over time, did not improve. A disease-specific PROM would help to decipher the impact of TGCT on patients’ daily life and functioning in more detail. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:272–280.

scholarly journals Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Cervical Spine Surgery for Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3375
Author(s):  
Atsushi Kimura ◽  
Katsushi Takeshita ◽  
Toshitaka Yoshii ◽  
Satoru Egawa ◽  
Takashi Hirai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Postoperative Complications ◽  
Spine Surgery ◽  
Posterior Longitudinal Ligament ◽  
Lower Extremity Function ◽  
Cervical Spine Surgery ◽  
The Impact

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is commonly associated with diabetes mellitus (DM); however, the impact of DM on cervical spine surgery for OPLL remains unclear. This study was performed to evaluate the influence of diabetes DM on the outcomes following cervical spine surgery for OPLL. In total, 478 patients with cervical OPLL who underwent surgical treatment were prospectively recruited from April 2015 to July 2017. Functional measurements were conducted at baseline and at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery using JOA and JOACMEQ scores. The incidence of postoperative complications was categorized into early (≤30 days) and late (>30 days), depending on the time from surgery. From the initial group of 478 patients, 402 completed the 2-year follow-up and were included in the analysis. Of the 402 patients, 127 (32%) had DM as a comorbid disease. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was significantly higher in patients with DM than in patients without DM in both the early and late postoperative periods. The patients with DM had a significantly lower JOA score and JOACMEQ scores in the domains of lower extremity function and quality of life than those without DM at the 2-year follow-up.

scholarly journals A Fundamental Study on the Development of New Energy Performance Index in Office Buildings

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2064
Author(s):  
Jin-Hee Kim ◽  
Seong-Koo Son ◽  
Gyeong-Seok Choi ◽  
Young-Tag Kim ◽  
Sung-Bum Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Light Transmittance ◽  
Wall Structure ◽  
Fundamental Study ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
U Value ◽  
The Impact

Recently, there have been significant concerns regarding excessive energy use in office buildings with a large window-to-wall ratio (WWR) because of the curtain wall structure. However, prior research has confirmed that the impact of the window area on energy consumption varies depending on building size. A newly proposed window-to-floor ratio (WFR) correlates better with energy consumption in the building. In this paper, we derived the correlation by analyzing a simulation using EnergyPlus, and the results are as follows. In the case of small buildings, the results of this study showed that the WWR and energy requirement increase proportionally, and the smaller the size is, the higher the energy sensitivity will be. However, results also confirmed that this correlation was not established for buildings approximately 3600 m2 or larger. Nevertheless, from analyzing the correlation between the WFR and the energy requirements, it could be deduced that energy required increased proportionally when the WFR was 0.1 or higher. On the other hand, the correlation between WWR, U-value, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and material property values of windows had little effect on energy when the WWR was 20%, and the highest effect was seen at a WWR of 100%. Further, with an SHGC below 0.3, the energy requirement decreased with an increasing WWR, regardless of U-value. In addition, we confirmed the need for in-depth research on the impact of the windows’ U-value, SHGC, and WWR, and this will be verified through future studies. In future studies on window performance, U-value, SHGC, visible light transmittance (VLT), wall U-value as sensitivity variables, and correlation between WFR and building size will be examined.

scholarly journals P181 Long-term improvement in axial spondyloarthritis clinical outcomes following 2-weeks of intensive education and rehabilitation: results from the Bath residential rehabilitation programme

Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Barnett ◽  
Anita McGrogan ◽  
Matthew Young ◽  
Charlotte Cavill ◽  
Mandy Freeth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Disease Activity ◽  
Axial Spondyloarthritis ◽  
Rehabilitation Programme ◽  
Spinal Mobility ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background/Aims  Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic condition, characterised by inflammatory back pain - often associated with impaired function and mobility, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and reduced quality of life. Despite the vast advances in pharmacological treatments for axSpA over the last few decades, physical activity and rehabilitation remain vital for effective disease management. At the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath (RNHRD), the 2-week inpatient axSpA rehabilitation programme has been integral to axSpA care since the 1970’s. Prior research has demonstrated significant short-term improvements in spinal mobility (BASMI), function (BASFI) and disease activity (BASDAI) following course attendance. However, the long-term outcomes are yet to be evaluated in this unique cohort. Methods  Since the early 1990’s, clinical measures of spinal mobility, function and disease activity have been routinely collected at the RNHRD at all clinical appointments through administration of the BASMI, BASFI and BASDAI, respectively. Dates of attending the axSpA course and standard clinical and treatment follow-up data were also collected. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the impact of course attendance on final reported BASMI, BASDAI and BASFI scores (final score=most recent). Length of follow-up was defined as time between first and last recorded BASMI. Results  Of the 203 patients within the Bath SPARC200 cohort, 77.8% (158/203) had attended at least one rehabilitation course throughout follow-up. 70.0% (140/203) of patients were male. The mean duration of follow-up was 13.5 years (range 0-35 years); 28.1% (57/203) of individuals with 20+ years of follow-up. Course attendance (yes versus no) significantly reduced final BASMI score by 0.84 (p = 0.001, 95%CI -1.31 to -0.37) and final BASDAI score by 0.74 (p = 0.018, 95%CI -1.34 to -0.13). Although course attendance reduced final BASFI by 0.45 (95%CI -1.17 to 0.28), this relationship did not reach significance (p = 0.225). Whilst minimally clinically important difference (MCID) is, to our knowledge, yet to be defined for BASMI, MCIDs were achieved long-term for both BASDAI and BASFI - defined by van der Heijde and colleagues in 2016 as 0.7 and 0.4 for BASDAI and BASFI, respectively. Conclusion  These results provide novel evidence to support the integral role of education, physical activity and rehabilitation in the management of axSpA. Future work should investigate additional outcomes of critical importance to patients and clinicians, such as fatigue, quality of life and work productivity. Furthermore, a greater understanding of the factors that confound these outcomes may provide insights into those patients who may most benefit from attending a 2-week rehabilitation course. In addition to facilitating identification of those patients who may require additional clinical support. Disclosure  R. Barnett: None. A. McGrogan: None. M. Young: None. C. Cavill: None. M. Freeth: None. R. Sengupta: Honoraria; Biogen, Celgene, AbbVie, Novartis, MSD. Grants/research support; Novartis, UCB.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Urban-Scale Building Energy-Use Models and Tools—Application for the City of Fribourg, Switzerland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1595
Author(s):  
Valeria Todeschi ◽  
Roberto Boghetti ◽  
Jérôme H. Kämpf ◽  
Guglielmina Mutani
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Engineering Model ◽  
Building Energy Use ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Building energy-use models and tools can simulate and represent the distribution of energy consumption of buildings located in an urban area. The aim of these models is to simulate the energy performance of buildings at multiple temporal and spatial scales, taking into account both the building shape and the surrounding urban context. This paper investigates existing models by simulating the hourly space heating consumption of residential buildings in an urban environment. Existing bottom-up urban-energy models were applied to the city of Fribourg in order to evaluate the accuracy and flexibility of energy simulations. Two common energy-use models—a machine learning model and a GIS-based engineering model—were compared and evaluated against anonymized monitoring data. The study shows that the simulations were quite precise with an annual mean absolute percentage error of 12.8 and 19.3% for the machine learning and the GIS-based engineering model, respectively, on residential buildings built in different periods of construction. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis using the Morris method was carried out on the GIS-based engineering model in order to assess the impact of input variables on space heating consumption and to identify possible optimization opportunities of the existing model.

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