Research on the Indoor Thermal Environment of Attached Sunspace Passive Solar Heating System Based on Zero-State Response Control Strategy

The application of attached sunspace passive solar heating systems (ASPSHS) for farmhouses can improve building performance, reduce heating energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. In order to take better use of the attached sunspace to prevent heat transfer or promote natural ventilation, this paper presented a zero-state response control strategy for the opening and closing time of active interior window in the ASPSHS. In order to verify the application of this strategy, an attached sunspace was built in an actual farmhouse. A natural ventilation heat exchange model was built based on the farmhouse with attached sunspace. The proposed zero-state response control strategy was implemented in TRNSYS software. Field measurement in living lab was carried out to inspect the distribution of the thermal environment in the farmhouse with attached sunspace under a zero-state response control strategy in the cold region of northern China. The experimental results show that, even under −5.0–2.5 °C ambient temperature, the application of zero-state response control strategy effectively increases the internal temperature to an average of 25.45 °C higher than the outside, with 23% indoor discernible temperature differential in the sample daytime. The whole-season heating performance was evaluated by simulating the model for the heating season in 2020–2021. The simulation demonstrates that the ASPSHS under zero-state response control strategy can maintain a basic indoor temperature of 14 °C for 1094 h during the heating season, with a daytime heating guarantee rate of 73.33%, thus ensuring higher indoor heating comfort during the day. When compared to a farmhouse with an attached sunspace under the zero-state response control strategy, the energy savings rate can be enhanced by 20.88%, and carbon emissions can be reduced by 51.73%. Overall, the attached sunspace with the zero-state response control strategy can effectively increase the indoor temperature when the solar radiation is intensive and create a suitable thermal environment for the farmhouse in the cold region of northern China.

Considerations for the Accurate Measurement of Incident Photon to Current Efficiency in Photoelectrochemical Cells

In this paper we review some of the considerations and potential sources of error when conducting Incident Photon to Current Efficiency (IPCE) measurements, with focus on photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells for water splitting. The PEC aspect introduces challenges for accurate measurements often not encountered in dry PV cells. These can include slow charge transfer dynamics and, depending on conditions (such as a white light bias, which is important for samples with non-linear response to light intensity), possible composition changes, mostly at the surface, that a sample may gradually undergo as a result of chemical interactions with the aqueous electrolyte. These can introduce often-overlooked dependencies related to the timing of the measurement, such as a slower measurement requirement in the case of slow charge transfer dynamics, to accurately capture the steady-state response of the system. Fluctuations of the probe beam can be particularly acute when a Xe lamp with monochromator is used, and longer scanning times also allow for appreciable changes in the sample environment, especially when the sample is under realistically strong white light bias. The IPCE measurement system and procedure need to be capable of providing accurate measurements under specific conditions, according to sample and operating requirements. To illustrate these issues, complications, and solution options, we present example measurements of hematite photoanodes, leading to the use of a motorized rotating mirror stage to solve the inherent fluctuation and drift-related problems. For an example of potential pitfalls in IPCE measurements of metastable samples, we present measurements of BiVO4 photoanodes, which had changing IPCE spectral shapes under white-light bias.

Assessing the Ecosystem Health of Coastal Wetland Vegetation (Suaeda salsa) Using the Pressure State Response Model, a Case of the Liao River Estuary in China

Suaeda salsa (S. salsa) is an important ecological barrier and tourism resource in coastal wetland resources, and assessing changes in its health is beneficial for protecting the ecological health of wetlands and increasing finances. The aim was to explore improvements in the degradation of S. salsa communities in the Liao River Estuary National Nature Reserve since a wetland restoration project was carried out in Panjin, Liaoning Province, China, in 2015. In this study, landscape changes in the reserve were assessed based on Sentinel-2 images classification results from 2016 to 2019. A pressure-state-response framework was constructed to assess the annual degradation of S. salsa communities within the wetlands. The assessment results show that the area of S. salsa communities and water bodies decreased annually from 2016 to 2019, and the increased degradation indicators indicate a state of continued degradation. The area of types such as aquaculture ponds and Phragmites australis communities did not change much, while the estuarine mudflats increased year by year. The causes of S. salsa community degradation include anthropogenic impacts from abandoned aquaculture ponds and sluice control systems but also natural impacts from changes in the tidal amplitude and soil properties of the mudflats. The results also indicate that the living conditions of S. salsa in the Liao River estuary wetlands are poor and that anthropogenic disturbance is necessary to restore the original vegetation abundance.

State and COVID-19 Response in the Asian Tiger Economies

By comparing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Tiger economies, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, this article examines the advantages and limitations of the statist command and control approaches to crisis management. Local, regional, and global politics as well as global political economy impinge and influence the state response. The article argues that a combination of factors – the institutional memory, overall state capacity and efficacy rooted in the preexisting institutional nexus, performance legitimacy, trust, reliance on scientific rationality, and integration with global scientific networks – stood in good stead in dealing with the crisis. Yet, as the crisis rolled on, some of the stellar performers showed considerable gaps in planning and politics trumped sensible policies. Despite the commonality, the article shows that there were important differences in the responses of the three Tiger economies, especially in rolling out the vaccines, which can be explained not only by the state capacity but also the larger global politico-economic contexts. The article argues that the state capacity is affected by the global dynamics, the specificity of geopolitical and historical contexts, which must be factored in in explaining successes and failures of state responses.