New solar energy systems with efficient energy output and advanced aesthetics have been developed at the University of Patras last 20 years. Among them some collector types are effective in aesthetics and energy output, as the solar collectors with colored absorbers and the stationary CPC type collectors. The building integration of air cooled photovoltaics aiming to contribute to building ventilation and of hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems, to provide heat and electricity, are solar devices of particular practical value.
Social, financial, energy and technical data from about 1110 households have been collected during 2004 in the major Athens area. The sample has been divided in seven income groups and a detailed analysis has been performed. Important conclusions have been drawn regarding the quality of households, the operational conditions and the energy spent per income group. Low income people are more likely to be living in old buildings with poor envelope conditions. The cost per person and unit area is much higher for the low income group for both heating and electricity.
Psychometric diagram, or diagram of humid air, was establishedby three authors in a period of 10 years, very possible independent from one another. It is interesting how three men got the same idea in three very different locations of the globe, at a time when there were no radios,good phones or electronic connections. It was difficulttime for close dialogs and exchange of informationbut still it happened that three men, nearly in same time have done the same contribution to science and art of HVAC&R.
Widely known as urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon, urban air temperatures tend to be higher than rural temperatures,due to the thermal performance of building materials and urban geometry, together with the productionof anthropogenic heat. Although the UHI phenomenonis worldwide studied, still just too few works deal with the relationship between heat islands and electricalenergy consumption. Furthermore, just a few tools that could actually support urban designers and decisionmakers are currently available.
This paper describes an experimental study of the thermalenvironment in a highly-glazed perimeter zone of an office building under varying climatic conditions, as well as in a controlled test chamber at the Hydro-Quebecresearch facilities in Shawinigan (LTE). Glazing and shading temperatures were measured at several points and the thermal environment was measured using an indoorclimate analyzer and a thermal comfort meter.
This paper presents the results of a casestudy inLowerNgau Tau Kok Estatein Hongkong, whichtry to find the relationship between exterior environmental comfort and residentsbehaviors, especially for an elder community. Filed thermal parameters measurement, observation and interviewon residentsbehaviorsand some simulation about wind and building shadoware conducted.
The idea of using one-dimensional fillers as a reinforcingagent is nothing new: straw has been used to reinforcemud bricks since about 4000 BC. Mud brick is sustainable and traditional material which is used in large scales of building houses in hot-arid climate, so it is identity of these areas and it is not able to be ignored.
This paper will describe how the urban projects or the new master plans must consider the environmental impactof the proposed intervention and minimise them through a sustainable planning. The Nicosias bi-communalmaster plan project has as development objective the improvement of the existing habitat and the human settlement conditions with a preservation and rehabilitationpolicy in particular way for the walled city (historicalcentre) that is almost abandoned since the Turkishinvasion of 1974.
Optical properties (i.e. reflectance, transmittance, etc) of light scattering materials can be described using two approaches.The first approach, models the interaction of light with the matters particles (microscopic approach), while the second, models the light fluxes into and out of bulked considered matter (macroscopic approach). Kubelka-Munk (K-M) is the most common theory of macroscopic modeling, for calculating the change of light fluxes (two-flux theory) as a function of scattering, absorption, and distance.
During the last years there is an increased consciousnessof the environmental problems, which are created by the use of fossil fuels for electrical power generation consumed by converting cooling systems. In addition, the use of common working fluids (refrigerants), with their ozone-depleting and global warming potential, has become a serious environmental problem.
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