scholarly journals Development of a Surface Temperature Sensor to Enhance Energy Efficiency Actions in Buildings

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Mota ◽  
Alexandre Mota ◽  
Cláudia Pezzuto ◽  
Marcius Carvalho ◽  
Marina Lavorato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Remote Monitoring ◽  
Temperature Sensor ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Urban Centers

The air temperature increase in urban centers can lead to problems such as increased energy consumption associated to air conditioning, the intensification of pollution, human discomfort and health problems. In this context, the building envelope plays an important role in urban thermal equilibrium. Energy efficiency rating systems for buildings (LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, AQUA—High Environmental Quality, PROCEL Edifica, etc.) stimulate energy efficiency actions in the built environment, considering, for example, the envelope and energy efficiency initiatives in buildings. Research carried out recently has shown that monitoring of buildings can provide important information about building performance, supporting building control strategies and enabling actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort. More specifically, wireless sensors are also being used to monitor buildings. This work proposes and presents the development of a surface temperature sensor that can support actions to enhance energy efficiency in the built environment, meeting the requirements proposed by the energy efficiency rating systems of buildings. This sensor must have characteristics such as low cost, the storage capacity of a large amount of data and the possibility of remote monitoring of the collected temperatures. Computer simulations and validation tests were carried out showing that the proposed sensor allows the remote monitoring (using a wireless transmission system) of the surface temperature in buildings, respecting the requirements of high storage capability and low cost.

Strategy for Energy-Efficient Office Building of Public University in Malaysia: Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Zamhari Tahir ◽  
◽  
Mohd Nasrun Mohd Nawi ◽  
Faisal Zulhumadi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public University ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Budget Planning ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Good Energy

Malaysia’s public university campuses should be a good example of pioneering efforts to achieve good energy efficiency in government-owned office buildings. While there is concern about achieving energy efficiency in office buildings, there are still many energy efficiency problems that cause an increase in operating expenses every year. Based on a preliminary energy audit of two main office buildings at two separate public university campuses in Malaysia, this study investigated possible strategies. During the audit process, there was a range of different approaches that were introduced and proposed, which include no-cost, low-cost, and high-cost energy measures. However, in addressing energy efficiency issues, there are three practical energy-saving measures to be considered, not only in the university’s main buildings but also in other government office buildings. Such energy-saving measures involve the lighting system, air-conditioning system, and building envelope. The measures chosen as a strategy described in this paper have been researched recently, or are currently on-going studies. All of these strategies have been and are being implemented in these two campuses, and are therefore examples of practical solutions that can be applied according to budget planning and annual budget allocations. The findings and strategies of this study are expected to be a form of guidance to address issues related to energy management in office buildings. The end of this paper provides some recommendations in future and similar studies that may be conducted for all office buildings within these two campuses containing different building designs and features.

Fabrication of 3D Temperature Sensor Using Magnetostrictive Inkjet Printhead

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 50405-1-50405-5
Author(s):  
Young-Woo Park ◽  
Myounggyu Noh
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Inkjet Printing ◽  
Temperature Sensor ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Drop On Demand ◽  
Aided Design ◽  
Nanoparticle Ink ◽  
Inkjet Printhead

Abstract Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has attracted much attention for creating objects of arbitrary shape and manufacturing. For the first time, in this work, we present the fabrication of an inkjet printed low-cost 3D temperature sensor on a 3D-shaped thermoplastic substrate suitable for packaging, flexible electronics, and other printed applications. The design, fabrication, and testing of a 3D printed temperature sensor are presented. The sensor pattern is designed using a computer-aided design program and fabricated by drop-on-demand inkjet printing using a magnetostrictive inkjet printhead at room temperature. The sensor pattern is printed using commercially available conductive silver nanoparticle ink. A moving speed of 90 mm/min is chosen to print the sensor pattern. The inkjet printed temperature sensor is demonstrated, and it is characterized by good electrical properties, exhibiting good sensitivity and linearity. The results indicate that 3D inkjet printing technology may have great potential for applications in sensor fabrication.

scholarly journals Control Strategies for Daylight and Artificial Lighting in Office Buildings—A Bibliometrically Assisted Review

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3852
Author(s):  
Daniel Plörer ◽  
Sascha Hammes ◽  
Martin Hauer ◽  
Vincent van Karsbergen ◽  
Rainer Pfluger
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Integral Control ◽  
Artificial Lighting

A significant proportion of the total energy consumption in office buildings is attributable to lighting. Enhancements in energy efficiency are currently achieved through strategies to reduce artificial lighting by intelligent daylight utilization. Control strategies in the field of daylighting and artificial lighting are mostly rule-based and focus either on comfort aspects or energy objectives. This paper aims to provide an overview of published scientific literature on enhanced control strategies, in which new control approaches are critically analysed regarding the fulfilment of energy efficiency targets and comfort criteria simultaneously. For this purpose, subject-specific review articles from the period between 2015 and 2020 and their research sources from as far back as 1978 are analysed. Results show clearly that building controls increasingly need to address multiple trades to achieve a maximum improvement in user comfort and energy efficiency. User acceptance can be highlighted as a decisive factor in achieving targeted system efficiencies, which are highly determined by the ability of active user interaction in the automatic control system. The future trend is moving towards decentralized control concepts including appropriate occupancy detection and space zoning. Simulation-based controls and learning systems are identified as appropriate methods that can play a decisive role in reducing building energy demand through integral control concepts.

scholarly journals Minimal Monitoring of Improvements in Energy Performance after Envelope Renovation in Subsidized Single Family Housing in Madrid

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Fernando Martín-Consuegra ◽  
Fernando de Frutos ◽  
Ignacio Oteiza ◽  
Carmen Alonso ◽  
Borja Frutos
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Nineteen Fifties ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Urban Complex

This study quantified the improvement in energy efficiency following passive renovation of the thermal envelope in highly inefficient residential complexes on the outskirts of the city of Madrid. A case study was conducted of a single-family terrace housing, representative of the smallest size subsidized dwellings built in Spain for workers in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Two units of similar characteristics, one in its original state and the other renovated, were analyzed in detail against their urban setting with an experimental method proposed hereunder for simplified, minimal monitoring. The dwellings were compared on the grounds of indoor environment quality parameters recorded over a period covering both winter and summer months. That information was supplemented with an analysis of the energy consumption metered. The result was a low-cost, reasonably accurate measure of the improvements gained in the renovated unit. The monitoring output data were entered in a theoretical energy efficiency model for the entire neighborhood to obtain an estimate of the potential for energy savings if the entire urban complex were renovated.

scholarly journals An Agent-Based Crop Model Framework for Heterogeneous Soils

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Jorge Lopez-Jimenez ◽  
Nicanor Quijano ◽  
Alain Vande Wouwer
Keyword(s):  
Growth Models ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Soil Heterogeneity ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Crop Growth Models ◽  
Definition Of

Climate change and the efficient use of freshwater for irrigation pose a challenge for sustainable agriculture. Traditionally, the prediction of agricultural production is carried out through crop-growth models and historical records of the climatic variables. However, one of the main flaws of these models is that they do not consider the variability of the soil throughout the cultivation area. In addition, with the availability of new information sources (i.e., aerial or satellite images) and low-cost meteorological stations, it is convenient that the models incorporate prediction capabilities to enhance the representation of production scenarios. In this work, an agent-based model (ABM) that considers the soil heterogeneity and water exchanges is proposed. Soil heterogeneity is associated to the combination of individual behaviours of uniform portions of land (agents), while water fluxes are related to the topography. Each agent is characterized by an individual dynamic model, which describes the local crop growth. Moreover, this model considers positive and negative effects of water level, i.e., drought and waterlogging, on the biomass production. The development of the global ABM is oriented to the future use of control strategies and optimal irrigation policies. The model is built bottom-up starting with the definition of agents, and the Python environment Mesa is chosen for the implementation. The validation is carried out using three topographic scenarios in Colombia. Results of potential production cases are discussed, and some practical recommendations on the implementation are presented.

scholarly journals Energy efficiency behaviour in the built environment—an assessment of current evaluation practices in the Nordic countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Johansson ◽  
Niko Gentile ◽  
Lena Neij
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Environmental Psychology ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Evaluation Practices ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Behavioural Aspects

AbstractBehavioural change is expected to play a significant role in the transformation to a more energy efficient built environment. Despite this, current evaluation practice of interventions often overlook behavioural aspects in their ambition of advancing our knowledge on transformative change. Moreover, little attention is paid to how different research perspectives on human behaviour can complement each other in providing a broader scope and deeper understanding of behavioural change. In this study, we acknowledge this gap, and assess the current evaluation practices on behaviour. The focus is on energy efficiency in the built environment in the Nordic countries, and evaluations undertaken by researchers. The assessment shows that the Nordic evaluations apply a variety of disciplinary approaches, but have only to a limited extent addressed a psychological understanding of individual behaviour and behavioural change. We analyse and discuss the potential contribution of environmental psychology in strengthening a cross disciplinary evaluation approach. In all, the results indicate the value of also adding environmental psychology, to provide a stronger cross disciplinary understanding of behavioural change, and the need to coordinate and combine evaluations departing from different disciplinary approaches, to improve understanding of the transformational process.

scholarly journals Exploring the Variation Trend of Urban Expansion, Land Surface Temperature, and Ecological Quality and Their Interrelationships in Guangzhou, China, from 1987 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1019
Author(s):  
Jianhui Xu ◽  
Yi Zhao ◽  
Caige Sun ◽  
Hanbin Liang ◽  
Ji Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Rapid Urbanization

This study explored the model of urban impervious surface (IS) density, land surface temperature (LST), and comprehensive ecological evaluation index (CEEI) from urban centers to suburbs. The interrelationships between these parameters in Guangzhou from 1987 to 2019 were analyzed using time-series Landsat-5 TM (Thematic Mapper), Landsat-8 OLI (Operational Land Imager), and TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) images. The urban IS densities were calculated in concentric rings using time-series IS fractions, which were used to construct an inverse S-shaped urban IS density function to depict changes in urban form and the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban expansion from the urban center to the suburbs. The results indicated that Guangzhou experienced expansive urban growth, with the patterns of urban spatial structure changing from a single-center to a multi-center structure over the past 32 years. Next, the normalized LST and CEEI in each concentric ring were calculated, and their variation trends from the urban center to the suburbs were modeled using linear and nonlinear functions, respectively. The results showed that the normalized LST had a gradual decreasing trend from the urban center to the suburbs, while the CEEI showed a significant increasing trend. During the 32-year rapid urban development, the normalized LST difference between the urban center and suburbs increased gradually with time, and the CEEI significantly decreased. This indicated that rapid urbanization significantly expanded the impervious surface areas in Guangzhou, leading to an increase in the LST difference between urban centers and suburbs and a deterioration in ecological quality. Finally, the potential interrelationships among urban IS density, normalized LST, and CEEI were also explored using different models. This study revealed that rapid urbanization has produced geographical convergence between several ISs, which may increase the risk of the urban heat island effect and degradation of ecological quality.

scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Thermal Behavior of Exterior Coating Textures of Building in Hot and Arid Climates

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4175
Author(s):  
Islam Boukhelkhal ◽  
Fatiha Bourbia
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
External Surface ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Aesthetic Appearance ◽  
Reduction Of Energy Consumption

The building envelope is the barrier between the interior and exterior environments. It has many important functions, including protecting the interior space from the climatic variations through its envelope materials and design elements, as well as reduction of energy consumption and improving indoor thermal comfort. Furthermore, exterior building sidings, in addition to their aesthetic appearance, can have useful textures for reducing solar gains and providing good thermal insulation performance. This research examined and evaluated the effect of external siding texture and geometry on energy performance. For this objective, a field in situ testing and investigation of surface temperature was carried out on four samples (test boxes) with different exterior textures and different orientations, under the climate zone of Constantine–Algeria during the summer period. The results indicated significant dependability between the exterior texture geometry, the percentage of shadow projected, and external surface temperature. The second part of the research involved a similar approach, exploring the effect of three types of particles with the same appearance but with different thermal characteristics. It was concluded that the natural plant aggregates “palm particles” had the best performance, which contributed to a significant reduction of external surface temperature reaching 4.3 °C, which meant decreasing the energy consumption.

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