In 1999, the State of California initiated thedesign of its largest office-building complex.The State Legislature mandated that thiscomplex exceed the states energy code in effectat the time by at least 30% as well as beconstructed as an example of sustainableconstruction. As a result, numerous pioneeringspecifications and guidelines were developed toenhance indoor air quality, energy and waterefficiency, as well as increase recycled contentsin building materials.
Undeniably the natural environment has greataffect to the quality of living in a space. Formany years people have been seriously takingunder consideration the environmental conditionsof each area in the construction of theirresidences.
This paper presents an indoor environment andenergy management system for microclimatecontrol of greenhouses. Two fuzzy logic controllers,where expert knowledge of the agriculturistsand growersis emdedded, are developed.These controllers consist of a fuzzy P (Proportional)and a PD (Proportional-Derivative).
The main trend in developmental theoriesnowadays is the Sustainable Development theorythat sets environmental protection as a prerequisitefor economical growth. This approachwas established in the conference held in Rio,Brazil in 1992. Thus, after the Conference aninternational framework was created (AGENDA21, Green Bible, Habitat II, Agenda, UrbanAgenda) within which actions, having as commoncharacteristic the developmental model ofsustainable growth, are coordinated.Energy production and its use are consideredresponsible for the largest part of climatechange.
New types of solar energy systems and smallwind turbines efficient in energy conversion andof advanced aesthetics are presented. These systemshave been developed in Physics Departmentof University of Patras and aim to an improvedintegration of RES on buildings. Newsolar water heaters of the Integrated CollectorStorage (ICS) type, thermal colored collectors,hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems,Fresnel lenses with linear multifanctionalabsorbers, and small wind turbines are consideredto be applied as satisfactory solutions forthe built and urban environment.
Since ancient times man has always tried tocontrol the environment in which he lived. Principlesof environmental building design wheredeveloped over the centuries mostly by trial anderror. One early form of environmental designwas the atrium, which can often be seen inhouses of wealthy Romans (Fig. 1). Its one ofthe - if not the- simplest way of keeping the insideof the building warm during the winter,cool during the summer while letting the sun enterinside the building at the same time.
The present work is part of a student projectperformed at the School of Architecture at theUniversity of Patras, Greece and summarizesand discusses principles and design concepts forbuilding integrated photovoltaics. A review forthe several types and properties of the photovoltaicswith regard to integration aspects in thebuilding envelope and their advantages and disadvantagesare included. The work also includesaspects for the new aesthetic items that comefrom these new types of building componentsand suggestions for application requirementsand future perspectives.
This paper attempts to organise examples ofbuilding features for air cooling in historical architecturein categories based on the manner inwhich the air is channelled in or through thebuilding. Contemporary building applicationsthat bear reference to historical methods havealso been searched and presented. This researchhas shown that historical prototypes and contemporaryapplications both can be used to improvenatural ventilation and cooling of buildings.
The present paper describes the developmentand the specifications of a software package thatdelivers useful information on scientific topics,bibliography, achievements and activities relatedto the area of renewable energy sourcesand energy management. The queries and resultsare transmitted over the Internet through asimple graphical interface. The package consistsof a database designed to host this informationand a web-based software application, whichserves the dynamic content.
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