Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Dwellings – Energy conservation – Ontario'
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Turner, Carolyn S. "Perceived thermal comfort and energy conservation strategies in residential heating." Diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49947.
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The perception of thermal comfort is an important factor influencing the acceptability of residential heating strategies. The perceived thermal comfort may affect a person's inclination to try a strategy or to use it on a long-term basis. In the study, perceived thermal comfort was assessed in relation to room temperature, humidity, clothing worn, preferred room temperatures, personal control over the temperatures, and energy consumption. The relationships among these variables were examined for five families participating in a live-in study comparing five residential heating strategies. The strategies tested included closing off bedroom vents/doors, setting the thermostat at 65°F, and the use of a solar greenhouse and a woodstove as supplemental heat sources. The families lived in a retrofitted solar test house for a period of four to six weeks. The house was equipped with a computer which monitored 37 channels of information at ten-second intervals and recorded the data hourly. The data collected included temperatures in every room, inside and outside humidity, wind velocity, and other variables that interplay in comfort levels and energy use. The ten adult respondents completed daily and weekly questionnaires containing Likert-type scales of thermal comfort and checklists of clothing worn. The results suggest the following conclusions: 1) the use of a residential setting to measure thermal comfort under varying environmental conditions can be successfully accomplished, 2) psychological variables such as personal control should be considered and tested by persons involved in standards development for the thermal environment, 3) the ability and experience of the persons to use a strategy can affect the achieved energy saving benefits of the strategy, 4) personal preference in the amount of personal effort a person is willing or able to give will impact on the decision on whether to use certain strategies, 5) heating strategies that can produce a direct source of heat or at least some warmer areas were rated higher by the project participants, and 6) weather can play an important role in the effectiveness of the solar greenhouse as a heating source.Ph. D.
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Williamson, T. J. "Concept(s) of the energy-efficient house in the temperate regions of Australia : a critical review /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1997. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phw732.pdf.
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Panayiotou, Gregoris. "Thermal performance of dwellings in Cyprus and approaches for energy conservation." Thesis, Brunel University, 2014. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/9204.
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Energy has always been the dominant driving force for the socio-economic development of mankind. Nowadays, the global energy system is highly depended on fossil fuels. A great share of the final energy consumption, over 40%, in the EU-27 is consumed by the existing building stock whereas dwellings account for 66.62% of this. Thus, the need to increase the energy performance of dwellings is an important instrument in the efforts to lessen Europe’s energy dependency. In order to define measures to increase the energy performance of dwellings a deeper understanding of their characteristics should be gained. Unfortunately, in Cyprus there is a gap in knowledge on this aspect. In this thesis the characteristics of the dwellings in Cyprus are defined through a sample of 500 dwellings. The results revealed that more than 80% of dwellings in Cyprus do not have thermal insulation installed on their envelope. From this it is clear that the definition of the optimum thermal insulation material to be applied in dwellings is very important. Thus, the commercially available thermal insulation materials and topologies used in Cyprus were reviewed and defined through a market survey and the typical dwelling was modelled. The effect of the application of thermal insulation to its energy behaviour was simulated using TRNSYS. This resulted in the definition of the optimum thermal insulation materials and topologies to be applied in both new and existing dwellings. Accordingly, the application of advanced commercially available materials such as Phase Change Materials (PCM) to the envelope of the typical dwelling was investigated. The energy savings achieved by the addition of a PCM layer on the envelope of the typical dwelling was found to be 28.6%. The optimum PCM case was also combined with the optimum thermal insulation combination and an energy saving of 68% was predicted. The incorporation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to the typical dwelling was also simulated and studied. Specifically, two types of standalone RES systems were initially evaluated; a solely photovoltaic (PV) system and a hybrid PV-Wind system. The results showed that the solely PV system is a much better option due to the very high solar potential of Cyprus in comparison to the poor wind profile of the island. Subsequently, a grid-connected PV system was also evaluated and the results showed that when a RES system is grid-connected the cost of the system is reduced to half of that of the standalone cases. This research has revealed that the optimum topology combinations to be applied in both new and existing dwellings in Cyprus is thermal insulation plaster or thermal insulation bricks (only for new dwellings) on the external walls combined with expanded polystyrene on the roof. These results will provide valuable information that will assist both engineers and architects in the efficient design of dwellings in Cyprus. The investigation of the application of macroencapsulated PCM showed that these materials are not yet an economically viable solution for application in Cyprus The findings also show that a solely PV system is the optimum RES system to be applied in Cyprus especially when it is grid-connected. The findings of this project are useful for individuals, house builders and designers as well as policy makers for the design of energy saving subsidy schemes.
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Jeter, Teresa M. "A model residential energy efficiency program." Virtual Press, 1995. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/941726.
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The opportunity for reducing energy expenditures in homes has never been greater nor has the need been more pressing. Based on the current analysis of weatherization programs, millions of houses do not receive energy efficiency measures and houses that are being weatherized are not receiving the kinds of measures that generate the greatest energy savings. Many of these problems are attributed to program policies, regulations and funding limitations. Given these critical issues. The creative project is a model residential energy efficiency program. Its purpose is to serve as a guide for planning, designing, developing and implementing the kinds of residential energy efficiency programs that will maximize services and benefits. More specifically, the model will assist in the design and implementation of programs that are effective, efficient and can deliver the “right” energy measures to “any” house that needs them. A community in a small Midwestern city was selected to help demonstrate the various components of the model program.Department of Urban Planning
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Fay, Mark Roger. "Comparative life cycle energy studies of typical Australian suburban dwellings /." Connect to thesis, 1999. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00000382.
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Buffaloe, Barbara. "Factors influencing homeowners' decisions to seek residential energy efficiency knowledge." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5042.
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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007 .The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 29, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.
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Bothma, Johan. "Landscape and architectural devices for energy-efficient South Africa suburban residential design." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2004. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01122005-070827.
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McClaren, Mersiha Spahic. "Energy Efficiency and Conservation Attitudes| An Exploration of a Landscape of Choices." Thesis, Portland State University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3687548.
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This study explored energy-related attitudes and energy-saving behaviors that are no- or low-cost and relatively simple to perform. This study relied on two data sources: a longitudinal but cross-sectional survey of 4,102 U.S. residents (five biennial waves of this survey were conducted from 2002 to 2010) and a 2010 cross-sectional survey of 2,000 California residents. These two surveys contained data on two no- and low-cost behaviors: changing thermostat setting to save energy (no-cost behavior) and CFL installation behavior (low-cost behavior). In terms of attitudes, two attitudinal measures emerged from these data following a Cronbach's alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): the pro-environmental attitude and concern for the energy use in the U.S. society. These two attitudes, along with other socio-demographic and external factors (home ownership, weather, price of energy, etc.), were examined to assess whether attitude-behavior relationships persisted over time, were more prominent across certain groups, or were constrained by income or other socio-demographic factors. Three theoretical viewpoints of how attitudes may relate to behavior guided the analysis on how attitudes and contextual factors may inter-relate either directly or through a moderator variable to affect thermostat-setting and CFL installation behavior.
Results from these analyses revealed four important patterns. First, a relationship between the pro-environmental attitude and the two behaviors (thermostat-setting and CFL installation behavior) was weak but persistent across time. Second, financial factors such as income moderated the pro-environmental attitude and CFL installation relationship, indicating that the pro-environmental attitude could influence the behavior in those situations where financial resources are sufficient to comfortably allow the consumer to participate. Third, this study documented that most people reported changing thermostat settings to save energy or having one or more CFLs in their homes. This finding suggests that organizations, policy makers, or energy efficiency program administrators may want to assess whether they should pursue these two behaviors further, since they appear to be very common in the U.S. population. Last, this study showed that thermostat-setting and CFL installation behavior have multi-factorial influences; many factors in addition to attitudes were significantly associated with these behaviors, and all these factors together explained no more than 16% of behavioral variance. This suggested that if energy-saving behaviors are a function of many different variables, of which none appear to be the "silver bullet" in explaining the behaviors (as noted in this study), then policy analysis should explore a broader number of causal pathways and entertain a wider range of interventions to influence consumers to save energy.
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Lam, Elvia Yolanda. "Optimization of a residential design through the use of transient thermal analysis computer programs." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/22382.
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Leung, Kin-bong, and 梁建邦. "A study on energy conservation measures in common area of private residential estates in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45008140.
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Anderson, John A. "An analysis of the superinsulated approach to energy efficient design." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/23336.
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Hitchcock, Guy St John. "The human dimension of domestic energy use : an integrated approach." Thesis, n.p, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/.
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Kliman, Susan Schaefer 1963, and Susan Schaefer 1963 Kliman. "Effects of vegetation, structural and human factors on the thermal performance of residences in a semi-arid environment." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/190933.
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The objectives of the study were to examine and quantify the relationship between vegetation and the thermal performance of residences in a hot arid environment. Also explored were structural and human influences on residential energy consumption. A primary goal was to determine how much energy savings could be realized through strategic planting of vegetation. This study sought to validate previous simulation and modeling studies that documented annual savings of 2-11% on residential cooling loads. Also examined was whether shrubs and grass could provide a benefit similar to that of trees, assessing the importance of evapotranspiration versus shading. An empirical study was conducted using 105 existing homes in the metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona. Data included construction type, amenities, living habits of occupants, and energy consumption for heating and cooling over a two-year period. These data were analyzed with a combination of bivariate and multivariate analyses to examine direct correlations between specific variables and energy consumption and the relative importance of each variable. These analyses were unable to document any measurable savings in summer cooling loads as a result of vegetation adjacent to the house, and the presence of trees actually increased the winter heating load by 2%. While trees provide important shading benefits, and can reduce the direct solar gain through the windows of a house, analysis demonstrated that structural and human factors were the most important aspects in residential energy consumption. The size of the house is of primary importance. Houses with evaporative cooling consumed significantly less energy than those with air conditioning. Thermostat settings and habits regarding thermostat operation were the most critical human factors. Occupants who adjusted their thermostats a few degrees cooler in winter and warmer in summer realized measurable savings. Occupants who turned their heating and cooling equipment off when they were not home used significantly less energy for heating and cooling. These factors far outweighed any impact from vegetation on annual energy consumption. While trees should not be considered as a primary means of reducing annual energy consumption, properly placed vegetation can provide aesthetic benefits and increase the thermal comfort of the occupants.
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Johnson, Kerenza Marguerite Lau Tin-Man. "An approach to design a user-friendly set of guidelines for homeowners to achieve maximum energy efficiency in existing home structures." Auburn, Ala., 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10415/1928.
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Kumirai, Tichaona. "Energy efficiency interventions for residential buildings in Bloemfontein using passive energy techniques." Thesis, Bloemfontein : Central University of Technology, Free State, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/124.
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Thesis (M. Tech. (Mech. Eng.)) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2010The purpose of this research is to minimize the use of active systems in providing thermal comfort in single-family detached, middle to high income residential buildings in Bloemfontein. The typical case study house was selected according to the criteria as reviewed by Mathews et al., (1999). Measurements were taken for seven days (18 – 24 May 2009). The measurements were carried out in the winter period for Bloemfontein, South Africa. Ecolog TH1, humidity and temperature data logger was used in doing the measurements. These measurements included indoor temperatures and indoor relative humidity. Temperature swings of 8.43 ºC and thermal lag of 1 hour were observed. For the period of seven days (168 hours), the house was thermally comfortable for 84 hours. Thermal analysis for the base case house was done using Ecotect™ (building analysis software) and the simulated results were compared with the measured results. A mean bias error (MBE) of between 10.3% ≤≤11.5% was obtained on the initial calibration. The final calibration of the model yielded error between0.364% ≤≤0.365%. The final calibration model which presented a small error was adopted as the base case. Passive strategies were incorporated to the Ecotect™ model (final calibrated model) singly and in combination; then both thermal and space load simulations were obtained and compared to simulations from the original situation (base case) for assessing improvements in terms of thermal comfort and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy consumption. Annual HVAC electricity savings of up to 55.2 % were obtained from incorporating passive strategies in combination. Incorporating passive strategies resulted in small improvements in thermal comfort.
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Florides, Georgios A. "Investigations into the effectiveness of measures to reduce the energy requirements of domestic dwellings in Cyprus." Thesis, Brunel University, 2001. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7881.
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In recent years there has been an increasing trend in the provision of central heating and split vapour compression air conditioning systems to domestic dwellings in Cyprus. To minimise their economic and environmental impact, this study examines the feasibility and economic viability of energy conservation measures and the feasibility of the application of solar driven LiBr-water absorption system for space conditioning. Initially, the study compares through simulation, the heating and cooling requirements of domestic dwellings constructed in Cyprus during the last century. The simulations required values for the thermal conductivity of local building materials, like the hollow brick and mud and straw block. These were not available, and measurements were performed on a machine specifically purchased for the project to establish these values for the first time. These material properties will be of value to building services engineers in Cyprus and the Middle East for the more precise determination of building heating and cooling loads. Evaluation of the internal conditions resulting from the various types of constructions indicated that the traditional and insulated modem houses, could maintain indoor temperature in winter between 16°C and 20°C, but in the summer temperatures exceeded 36°C. The use of natural and mechanical ventilation could reduce slightly the maximum indoor summertime temperatures, but not to a level that could provide thermal comfort. Window gains are an important factor in domestic building energy requirements, and significant savings can result when extra measures are taken. The savings in cooling energy demand for a well-insulated house may be as high as 24% when low-emissivity double glazed windows are used compared to clear double glazed windows giving a pay-back period of 3.8 years. Other factors investigated are the effect of overhangs, shape and orientation of buildings and thermal mass. The results show that the roof is the most important structural element of domestic dwellings in the Cypriot environment. For good thermal performance, the roof must offer a discharge time of 6 hours or more and have a thermal conductivity of less than 0.48 W/m-K. Life cycle cost analysis has shown that measures that increase the roof insulation pay back in a short period of time, between 3.5 to 5 years. However, measures taken to increase wall insulation pay back in a longer period of time, approximately 10 years. The only natural energy resource abundantly available in Cyprus is solar energy, which could be used to power a low energy active cooling system based on the absorption cycle. To facilitate investigation of the feasibility of the application of solar driven absorption systems for domestic cooling, a 1 kW LiBr-water absorption-cooling unit was designed and constructed. The unit was used to determine experimentally the heat and mass transfer coefficients in the heat exchangers of absorption systems. In certain cases these were found to differ considerably from values obtained from heat and mass transfer correlations published by other investigators. The experimentally determined heat and mass transfer coefficients were employed in the design and costing of an 11 kW cooling capacity solar driven absorption cooling machine which, from simulations, was found to have sufficient capacity to satisfy the cooling needs of a well insulated domestic dwelling. Economic analysis has shown that for such a system to be economically competitive compared to conventional cooling systems its capital cost should be below C£ 2000. This drawback can be balanced by a lower total equivalent warming impact being 2.7 times smaller compared to conventional cooling systems.
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Lee, Kwun-hang, and 李冠恒. "Energy labeling of residential buildings in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2009. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B43784008.
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Shaikh, Gilman Yusuf. "Guidelines for Greening (Renovation) of Existing Homes." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822735/.
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This Thesis is aimed at evaluating the options of renovation for an existing residential building to make it more energy efficient. The various aspects in the basic structures of residential homes are discussed in order to help the user identify the areas of the house for which renovation is required to improve the energy efficiency of the building. These aspects include doors, roof and wall in addition to various systems of electrical wiring, mechanical systems of ventilation, heating and cooling and plumbing systems for the efficient flow of water throughout the house. The renovation options have been described in detail to provide as many possibilities to the user as possible. The building taken for renovation is a 1953 suburban home which has been awarded the honor of being the first building to be labeled as Zero Energy Home in its vicinity. This has made the home so efficient that its expenditure of energy has become equivalent to its energy generation, therefore, cancelling each other out and creating an estimate of zero energy.
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Hu, Huafen. "Risk-conscious design of off-grid solar energy houses." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31814.
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Thesis (Ph.D)--Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.Committee Chair: Godfried Augenbroe; Committee Member: Ellis Johnson; Committee Member: Pieter De Wilde; Committee Member: Ruchi Choudhary; Committee Member: Russell Gentry. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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Pyle, Joanne Marie. "A determination of the attitudes towards energy use and conservation of users (homeowners) and providers (housebuilders) of domestic dwellings and their influence upon C0₂ emissions." Thesis, University of Greenwich, 2001. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/6275/.
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UK energy use in domestic housing forms an important part of the Government's programme to reduce CO2 emissions, the sector contributing nearly one third of total CO2 emissions. The research established that within the parameters of legislation, market economy and high levels of homeownership, the attitude of users (homeowners) and providers (housebuilders) effectively determine the contribution that this sector will make to reducing CO2 emissions. The research aim was to determine whether the attitudes of users (homeowners) and providers (housebuilders) are conducive to a reduction in CO2 emissions from domestic dwellings. The study undertook a large-scale survey of users (homeowners) attitudes towards energy use and conservation. The research concluded that users (homeowners) attitudes are not conducive to a reduction in CCh emissions. Results of the study established the existence of a link between the attitudes of users (homeowners) towards energy conservation and CO2 emissions. The study identified that users (homeowners) attitudes towards energy use and conservation are not the homogeneous. A premise that the Government had always assumed. More specifically, three distinguishable groups of users were identified; the elderly, the income sensitive and the ambivalent. The study identified that the knowledge levels and awareness of users (homeowners) towards energy is low, despite two decades of cognitive information campaigns regarding energy conservation from the Government. The study also determined that previous government campaigns to reduce energy use have been largely ineffective, their effects at best, transitory. Finally, the study identified that maintenance of comfort is the most significant factor in the use of energy by users (homeowners). The survey of providers (housebuilders) determined their attitude towards energy use and conservation. The study determined for the first time the attitudes of providers (housebuilders) to energy conservation and CO2 emissions. It showed them to act unitarily and to be singularly driven by profit. The research concluded that providers (housebuilders) attitudes are not conducive to a reduction in CO2 emissions. The results show that providers are exceptionally attuned to their market and respond only to commercial demands and legislation. Providers do not consider energy efficiency to be an important issue in new homes. No market exists for energy efficiency in housing. Users will not pay a premium for energy measures in housing.
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Dickason, Deborah. "Green Improvements: A Consumer's Guide to Environmentally and Economically Responsible Home Repairs and Improvements for the North Central Texas Region." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2004. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4625/.
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The Consumer's Guide is designed to help consumers by providing guidelines for the purchase of specific energy-efficient household appliances- water heaters, air conditioning and heating systems, windows, dishwashers, refrigerators, clothes washers, and dryers. This serves two major purposes: to decrease the environmental impact of those products and to save consumers money over the lifetime of the products. The seven major appliances covered in this work are things that consumers tend to purchase quickly when their older models wear out and with little research into their energy and/or water efficiency. The guide begins with a general introduction and an explanation of the need for energy conservation. Explanations of how they work, purchasing tips, installation tips, maintenance tips, tips for additional energy efficiency, and case studies are given for each appliance. Printable pamphlets are included at the end.
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Lauck, Jeffrey Stephen. "Evaluation of Phase Change Materials for Cooling in a Super-Insulated Passive House." PDXScholar, 2013. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1444.
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Due to factors such as rising energy costs, diminishing resources, and climate change, the demand for high performance buildings is on the rise. As a result, several new building standards have emerged including the Passive House Standard, a rigorous energy-use standard based on a super-insulated and very tightly sealed building envelope. The standard requires that that air infiltration is less than or equal to 0.6 air changes per hour at a 50 Pascal pressure difference, annual heating energy is less than or equal to 15kWh/m2, and total annual source energy is less than or equal to 120 kWh/m2. A common complaint about passive houses is that they tend to overheat. Prior research using simulation suggests that the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs), which store heat as they melt and release heat as the freeze, can reduce the number of overheated hours and improve thermal comfort.
In this study, an actual passive house duplex in Southeast Portland was thoroughly instrumented to monitor various air and surface temperatures. One unit contains 130kg of PCM while the other unit contains no PCM to serve as an experimental control. The performance of the PCM was evaluated through analysis of observed data and through additional simulation using an EnergyPlus model validated with observed data. The study found that installation of the PCM had a positive effect on thermal comfort, reducing the estimated overheated hours from about 400 to 200.
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Engvall, Karin. "A Sociological Approach to Indoor Environment in Dwellings : Risk factors for Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and Discomfort." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis : Univ.-bibl. [distributör], 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-3506.
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Tamura, Cintia Akemi. "Análise da influência dos parâmetros edilícios na obtenção de acesso solar nas zonas residenciais de Curitiba." Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, 2010. http://repositorio.utfpr.edu.br/jspui/handle/1/359.
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Edificações construídas conforme os parâmetros permitidos pela legislação de uso do solo nem sempre garantem bons resultados em relação ao acesso solar. Obras com limites em divisas de terrenos, super utilização dos limites de ocupação e de altura legalmente permitidos no município de Curitiba para edificações em zonas residenciais comumente bloqueiam o acesso solar no interior das edificações, causando frequentemente sombreamento, aumento da umidade e frio no período de inverno, condições agravadas pela tendência atual de adensamento e verticalização urbanos. Considerando que Curitiba é a capital mais fria do Brasil, este fato torna-se preocupante sob a análise do conforto ambiental destes edifícios. O trabalho visa contribuir para a melhoria do conforto ambiental em construções residenciais de Curitiba, a partir da elaboração de modelos para verificação da eficácia da legislação vigente, e a proposição de parâmetros obtidos através do conceito de envelope solar que propiciem o ganho efetivo de insolação e luz natural. Para isto, foram realizadas simulações de ocupação de acordo com o permitido por lei no município com os programas Google SketchUp 7.0.657 Pro, AutoCAD 2007 e através de maquete física no equipamento Heliodon. Foram realizadas também simulações com o programa Relux Professional 2007, que forneceu dados em lux para cada implantação avaliada. Os dados obtidos com a simulação de ocupação permitida por lei foram comparados com os obtidos pela simulação desta mesma ocupação com o uso do envelope solar para dimensionamento dos limites máximos construtivos, que demonstrou um acréscimo significativo no ganho de insolação no interior da edificação. Por fim, foram sugeridas as orientações com o melhor potencial de acesso solar para cada Zona residencial avaliada.Buildings constructed according to the parameters allowed by the law of soil use and occupation do not always yield satisfactory results with regard to solar access. Buildings erected on the plot limits, overuse of the limits of height and occupancy legally permitted in the city of Curitiba for buildings in residential areas commonly block solar access within the buildings, often causing shading, increased humidity and cold in winter conditions, together with the current trend of urban densification and verticalization. Considering that Curitiba is the coldest capital of Brazil, this fact becomes alarming with regard to indoor comfort analyses in such buildings. The thesis aims to contribute for the improvement of environmental comfort in residential buildings in Curitiba, presenting models to check the effectiveness of the current legislation in providing solar gains and daylight, next to the use of the solar envelope concept. For this, simulations were carried out regarding maximum plot occupation permitted by law with Google SketchUp 7.0.657 Pro, AutoCAD 2007 and by means of a physical model in the Heliodon device. Were also carried out simulations with the software Relux Professional 2007, which provided data in lux evaluated for each deployment The similarity of the results confirmed the reliability of the method. The data obtained from the simulation of maximum occupancy were compared to those obtained considering the use of the solar envelope concept, the latter showing a significant increase in daylight inside the building. Finally, guidelines have been suggested with the best potential for solar access for each residential area evaluated. Keywords: Soil use and occupation. Insolation. Daylight. Simulation. Solar envelope.
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Williamson, Terry J. "Concept(s) of the energy-efficient house in the temperate regions of Australia : a critical review / Terence John Williamson." 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/19138.
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Computer disk in pocket attached to back cover.Bibliography: leaves 159-170.
System requirements for accompanying computer disk: Macintosh or IBM compatible computer. Other requirements: Microsoft Excel V 5.0 or later.
ix, 228 leaves : ill., map ; 30 cm + 1 computer disk (3.5")
Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library.
In addressing the identification of the scope of energy-efficient goals within the broader design problem, the conceptions of the energy-efficient dwelling are examined, along with how published advice for the design of energy-efficient houses is derived from these conceptions, and the adequacy of this published advice as a basis for good design decisions.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Architecture, 1997
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Williamson, Terence John. "Concept(s) of the energy-efficient house in the temperate regions of Australia : a critical review / Terence John Williamson." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/19138.
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Computer disk in pocket attached to back cover.Bibliography: leaves 159-170.
System requirements for accompanying computer disk: Macintosh or IBM compatible computer. Other requirements: Microsoft Excel V 5.0 or later.
ix, 228 leaves : ill., map ; 30 cm + 1 computer disk (3.5")
In addressing the identification of the scope of energy-efficient goals within the broader design problem, the conceptions of the energy-efficient dwelling are examined, along with how published advice for the design of energy-efficient houses is derived from these conceptions, and the adequacy of this published advice as a basis for good design decisions.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Architecture, 1997
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Beach, Holly D. "A comparison of residential energy efficiency strategies between historic preservation and building science." 2011. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1639859.
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The National Park Service has provided guidance to the public for years regarding weatherization measures for historic houses. Some of this guidance advised against installing wall insulation, citing the potential for moisture condensation resulting in structural damage.
With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, a substantial investment was made in the 30 year old Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides federal funds for home weatherization. The program has used wall insulation with no reported problems and proven energy savings. Some State Historic Preservation Offices (who review federally funded actions) protested the use of wall insulation based on the NPS guidance, especially Preservation Brief #3.
This thesis describes the fundamental differences between the preservation community’s approach to energy efficiency as compared to the weatherization community’s approach, and addresses some concerns of historic preservation officials regarding perceived potential damage of some weatherization measures, including wall insulation.Introduction : HP and DOE programmatic agreement -- Energy efficiency guidance from the historic preservation community -- Guidance from the weatherization community -- Analysis of differences between preservation guidance and DOE guidance -- Recommendations.
Department of Architecture
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Kliman, Susan Schaefer. "Effects of vegetation on the thermal performance of a residence in an arid environment." 2001. http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file:///data1/pdf/etd/azu_etd_hy0067_m_sip1_w.pdf&type=application/pdf.
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Wei, Peter. "Energy Footprinting and Human-Centric Building Co-Optimization with Multi-Task Deep Reinforcement Learning." Thesis, 2021. https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-7dsy-ne61.
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In the United States, commercial and residential buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption, which provides an important opportunity for energy impact. As we spend the majority of our active moments during the day in transportation, commercial buildings, streets, and infrastructure, some of the greatest opportunities to reduce energy usage occur when we are outside of the home. A large percentage of energy consumption in the built environment directly or indirectly services humans; thus, there is a significant amount of untapped energy savings that can be achieved by involving humans in the optimization process. By including occupants in the building co-optimization process, we can gain a better understanding of individual energy responsibility and significantly improve energy consumption, thermal comfort and air quality over non human-in-the-loop systems and strategies.
First, we present ePrints, a scalable energy footprinting system capable of providing personalized energy footprints in real-time. ePrints supports different apportionment policies, with microsecond-level footprint computation time and graceful scaling with the size of the building, frequency of energy updates, and rate of occupant location changes. Finally, we present applications enabled by our system, such as mobile and wearable applications to provide users timely feedback on the energy impacts of their actions, as well as applications to provide energy saving suggestions and inform building-level policies.
Next, we extend the idea of energy footprinting to the city-scale with CityEnergy a city-scale energy footprinting system that utilizes the city's digital twin to provide real-time energy footprints with a focus on 100% coverage. CityEnergy takes advantage of existing sensing infrastructure and data sources in urban cities to provide energy and population estimates at the building level, even in built environments that do not have existing or accessible energy or population data.
CityEnergy takes advantage of LFTSys, a low frame-rate vehicle tracking and traffic flow system that we implement on New York City's traffic camera network, to aid in building population estimates. Evaluations comparing CityEnergy with building level energy footprints and city-wide data demonstrate the potential for CityEnergy to provide personal energy footprint estimates at the city-scale.
We then tackle the challenge of involving humans in the building energy optimization process by developing recEnergy, a recommender system for reducing energy consumption in commercial buildings with human-in-the-loop. recEnergy learns actions with high energy saving potential through deep reinforcement learning, actively distribute recommendations to occupants in a commercial building, and utilize feedback from the occupants to better learn four different types of energy saving recommendations. Over a four week user study, recEnergy improves building energy reduction from a baseline saving (passive-only strategy) of 19% to 26%.
Finally, we extend the recommender system to co-optimize over energy consumption, occupant thermal comfort, and air quality. The recommender system utilizes a multi-task deep reinforcement learning architecture, and is trained using a simulation environment. The simulation environment is built using different models trained on data captured from a digital twin of a real deployment. To measure occupant thermal comfort, the digital twin utilizes a real-time comfort estimation system that extracts and integrates facial temperature features with environmental sensing to provide personalized comfort estimates. We studied three different use cases in this deployment by varying the objective weights in the recommender system, and found that the system has the potential to further reduce energy consumption by 8% in energy focused optimization, improve all objectives by 5-10% in joint optimization, and improve thermal comfort by up to 21% in comfort and air quality focused optimization by incorporating move recommendations.
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Schembri, Jeremy. "The Influence of Home Energy Management Systems on the Behaviours of Residential Electricity Consumers: An Ontario, Canada Case Study." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/4029.
Full textAbstract:
The current state of Ontario’s electricity system and natural environment has prompted the provincial government to call for the province to adopt a ‘culture of conservation.’ Answering this call will involve the promotion of a variety of solutions. Included in that will be the use of information and communication technology, which encompasses technologies such as home energy management system (HEMS). It is believed that the feedback and home automation features of the HEMS will enable its users to alter their electricity consumption behaviours, via net reductions and/or load shifting. This study has assessed the ability of HEMS to encourage reduction in total and on-peak electricity consumption while in a time-of-use pricing environment. Additional focus was on which consumers had the greatest success using the HEMS to adopt electricity conservation behaviours. Two hundred and sixteen participants of a Milton, Ontario HEMS pilot study were chosen to take part in this case study. These participants were divided into two equal groups: a sample group, those who received a HEMS, and a control group, those who did not receive a HEMS. Participants from both groups were asked to complete two surveys and allow their electricity consumption data to be analyzed. The initial survey was to establish some baseline information about the participants. The second survey was designed to determine if changes had occurred in the household since the initial baseline survey. Through the analysis of the survey and households electricity consumption data, conclusions were drawn on how participants used the HEMS. The study had a 2.9% relative reduction in total electricity consumption and a 13.2% relative reduction in on-peak electricity consumption. However, additional analysis of the results revealed promising findings with regard to the HEMS ability to catalyze conservation and demand management among recent time-of-use pricing adopters.
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Deline, Mary Elizabeth. "Keeping Up With the Joneses: Electricity Consumption, Publicity and Social Network Influence in Milton, Ontario." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/5219.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract
This study used an exploratory research focus to investigate if making electricity consumption public and subject to social norms and networks resulted in consumption decreases for households in Milton, Ontario. In the first phase, Milton Hydro identified customers who fell within an average annual electricity consumption category and these customers were invited to participate by mail. Due to lack of participant uptake, cold-calling, targeting of service and faith groups and commuters, and snowball sampling were employed to obtain a total participant size of 17. The second phase saw participants grouped according to social network type (occupational, faith group, etc) and exposed to approval or disapproval indicators within their group about their daily electricity consumption rates via an on-line ‘energy pool’. There were five main groups: one of neighbours, one of members of a faith group, one of members of a company, one of strangers and one of a control group. Group members saw other members’ indicators with the exception of the control group, whose indicators were privately delivered. All group’s electricity consumption was tracked through daily smart meter readings. Participants also had the option of commenting on each other’s electricity use via an online ‘comment box’. In the third phase participants were asked to participate in a questionnaire to assess: 1) the perceived efficacy of the intervention; 2) perceptions of electricity consumption; and 3) the influence of the group on these perceptions. This sequential methodology was chosen for its ability to “...explain significant (or non-significant) results, outlier results, or surprising results” (Cresswell, 2006, p. 72).
The findings of this exploratory research seem to suggest the following:
1) that publicity or group type does not seem to affect electricity consumption in comparative electricity consumption feedback for this study;
2) that participants used injunctive norms to comment on their electricity consumption but directed these comments solely at themselves; and
3) that the stronger the relationships in the group, the more likely participants were to engage with the website through checking it and commenting on it.
This study may be useful to those in the fields of: 1) electricity conservation who wish to leverage feedback technologies; 2) social networks who wish to better understand how tie strength interacts with social norms and; 3) those in social marketing who wish to develop norm-based campaigns.
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Simmons, Sarah Ivy. "Investigating the impacts of time-of-use electricity rates on lower-income and senior-headed households: A case study of Milton, Ontario (Canada)." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/5041.
Full textAbstract:
Through the Smart Metering Initiative in the Canadian province of Ontario, all residential electricity customers will be converted from a tiered rate regime to a time-of-use (TOU) rate regime by the year 2010. Although TOU rates are designed to be cost-neutral for the average consumer, research suggests that TOU rates may affect consumers differently depending on their socioeconomic characteristics. In an effort to better understand the effects of TOU rates on lower-income and senior-headed households, a case-study in Milton was conducted between June and December of 2007. The overarching thesis question is: What are the behavioural responses to, and financial impacts of, TOU electricity rates on lower-income and senior-headed households? Nine expert interviews were conducted with Ontario professionals working in government, environmental non-profit groups, citizen advocacy organizations and affordable housing associations in order to provide context for the study. Time-differentiated electricity consumption data were then collected from 199 households from two senior housing complexes and two affordable housing complexes in Milton, Ontario between June and December 2007. A questionnaire was also sent to each household to determine some socio-economic and structural characteristics of the households. The electricity consumption data collected from the four sites suggest that the households would not benefit financially from TOU rates given electricity consumption behaviour during the period prior to the implementation of TOU rates in June 2007. Thus, they would have to change their behaviour in order to benefit financially from TOU rates. During this pre-TOU period, Site A, Site B and Site C would have paid more, on average, for their electricity under TOU rates than on tiered rates ($0.34, $0.61 and $0.15 per week, respectively). While Site D, on average, would have seen no change under TOU rates. A conservation effect was detected by comparing the electricity consumption from billing periods in 2006 to corresponding billing periods in 2007 after the implementation of TOU rates. Site A saw a conservation effect during the first corresponding billing period (35%); while Site B saw a conservation effect for three corresponding billing periods (21%, 24% and 9%). Site C saw a conservation effect for the first five corresponding billing periods (ranging from 8% to 21%), while Site D saw a conservation effect for all corresponding billing periods (ranging from 10% to 34%). The presence of a conservation effect at Site D was unexpected, particularly because households at Site D are not responsible for paying their own electricity bills. Although a conservation effect was observed after the implementation of TOU rates, the extent to which it could be attributed to the implementation of TOU rates is unclear, and should be investigated further. There was no considerable shift in the proportion of electricity consumed during each of the peak periods during the summer TOU period for Site A and Site D after the introduction of TOU rates. There was, however, a slight reduction in the portion of electricity consumed during the summer TOU period for Site B and Site C (0.2% and 0.1% per week, respectively). Due to the change in the on-, mid- and off-peak schedule from the summer TOU period to the winter TOU period, the households consume more electricity during the off-peak periods in the winter than they do during the off-peak periods in the summer (even though their patterns of consumption do not change). Similar to the pre-TOU period, during the summer post-TOU period, Site A and Site B, and Site C, on average, paid more for electricity (commodity) under TOU rates than they would have paid if they had continued on tiered rates ($0.38, $0.51 and $0.16 more per week, respectively), while Site D would have seen no change in their electricity costs. In contrast, during the winter post-TOU period several sites paid less for electricity on TOU rates than they would have if they had continued on tiered rates. Site B, Site C and Site D paid, on average, $0.78, $0.16 and $1.76 less per week, respectively. Although Site A paid more under on TOU rates during the winter post-TOU (on average $0.18 more per week), the cost was less than during the summer post-TOU period. The change in costs expressed here does not reflect any reduced costs that may have resulted from conservation. For example, if the households were shown to have a conservation effect, they might have lower electricity costs. Additionally, the changes in costs do not reflect any additional fees or charges that might be attributed to the smart meter installation and the Smart Metering Initiative (e.g., additional fees from Milton Hydro). In conclusion, TOU rates appear to be ineffective at motivating these lower-income and senior-headed households in Milton, Ontario to shift electricity from on-peak periods to off-peak periods, however, a reduction in electricity usage may be attributed to TOU rates. Further research is required to confirm these effects. It is important to note that some of the lower-income and senior-headed households in this study appeared to see an increase in their electricity bill, particularly during the summer TOU period. Lower-income and senior-headed households are thought to be less able to shift electricity consumption, therefore it is important to develop mechanisms to identify households that are at risk of bill increases.