{"title":"Assessing the Implementation of Renewable Energy Policy within the UAE by Adopting the Australian ‘Solar Town’ Program","authors":"Sundus Shareef, H. Altan","doi":"10.5334/fce.75","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/fce.75","url":null,"abstract":"The environmental policies and the use of renewable energy are at the highest priority of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) plans and strategies, and the implementation of clean energy in the country is one of the recent environmental practices that would require more studies and investigation. Conducting this study will offer some valuable analyses and results that could be taking into consideration in the implementation of renewable and solar energy programs further to enacting the environmental legislations and policies to achieve the UAE’s target of reducing CO2 emissions 70% by 2050. This study aims to explore the capability of implementing the solar panel (PV) system on a large scale by adopting the ‘Solar Town’ program and policies developed by some of the leading countries such as Germany and Australia. Further to this, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) was conducted to explore the benefit and the payback period of implementing this program. By calculating the CBA for each property within the community, it has been found that the PV energy system could cover an apartment’s electricity consumption with a 1.1 kW surplus, while it can cover only 60% of a villa’s electricity consumption.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41732885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoli Ma, Han Zhao, Xudong Zhao, Guiqiang Li, Samson Shittu
{"title":"Building Integrated Thermoelectric Air Conditioners—A Potentially Fully Environmentally Friendly Solution in Building Services","authors":"Xiaoli Ma, Han Zhao, Xudong Zhao, Guiqiang Li, Samson Shittu","doi":"10.5334/fce.76","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/fce.76","url":null,"abstract":"The refrigerants used in conventional vapor-compression air conditioning systems have detrimental effects on the global environment. Phasing-down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants for HVAC equipment over the next 20 years has been proposed. A thermoelectric air conditioning system that directly converts electrical energy to thermal energy using a simple solid-state semiconductor device, has the advantages of environmentally friendly, no refrigerant, very compact, high reliability, no moving parts (except for small fans), and it can be easily integrated into the building structure. However, the existing thermoelectric air conditioning systems have the problem of low Coefficient of Performance (COP), which limits its applications for domestic air conditioning. With the development of the thermoelectric technologies, the above problem is prospected to be solved. The paper presents an overview of recent advances in thermoelectric materials, thermoelectric module design and thermoelectric heating and cooling system design which would provide the potential to greatly improve the COP of the thermoelectric air conditioner. In addition, utilizing the waste heat of the thermoelectric system for domestic applications to improve the overall COP of the system would be an ideal way to promote public adoption of the TE air conditioner, which is discussed in this paper. The paper also presents an overview of the existing building integrated thermoelectric air conditioning systems and proposes a novel building integrated thermoelectric system that integrates a thermoelectric heat pump unit into a double-skin ventilated facade to provide heating and cooling, heat recovery ventilation and domestic hot water or drying services for buildings, based on the thermoelectric waste heat utilization. Several building integration methods of the proposed system are presented.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48704416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Techno-Economic Analysis of Standalone Solar Photovoltaic-Wind-Biogas Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Community Energy Requirement","authors":"Vijay Mudgal, K. Reddy, T. Mallick","doi":"10.5334/fce.72","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/fce.72","url":null,"abstract":"Integrated renewable energy system (IRES) is integration of different energy sources to provide uninterrupted and viable solution for electrification especially for areas not connected to main grid due to difficult terrain and economic reasons. IRES has many advantages like non-depleting, non-polluting nature, better load matching and better renewable energy utilization. In the present study, mathematical modelling, size optimization and techno-economic analysis of standalone IRES have been carried out. Hybrid system is modelled to have maximum contribution from wind and solar energy with minimum net present cost (NPC) of system to meet electric load demand of CRC building, IIT Madras, India (13.01°N and 80.24°E). The results show that most feasible system configuration consists of 12 kW Photovoltaics, 3 kW wind turbine and 15 kW biogas generator with NPC and cost of energy equal to $ 117,098 and $ 0.09/kWh respectively. The IRES generates 71,826 kWh of energy to meet AC load of 64,396 kWh per year. The capacity factor and percentage contribution of PV, wind turbine and biogas generator are 17.8%, 6.57%, 39.1% and 26%, 2.4%, 71.6% respectively. The paper also presents sensitivity analysis of hybrid system with variation in capital cost of different components.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47700421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaofeng Zheng, E. Cooper, Y. Zu, M. Gillott, D. Tetlow, S. Riffat, C. Wood
{"title":"Experimental Studies of a Pulse Pressurisation Technique for Measuring Building Airtightness","authors":"Xiaofeng Zheng, E. Cooper, Y. Zu, M. Gillott, D. Tetlow, S. Riffat, C. Wood","doi":"10.5334/FCE.66","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.66","url":null,"abstract":"A pulse pressurisation technique is developed and utilised for determining building leakage at low pressure, based on a “quasi-steady pulse” concept. The underlying principle of the technique is to subject the building envelope to a known volume change in a short period of time (typically 1.5 s). The resulting pressure pulse is recorded, from which the leakage characteristic at low pressure is determined. The technique minimizes the effects of wind and buoyancy forces and has proven to be repeatable. It can use a compact and portable test rig and does not need to penetrate the building envelope. Therefore, it can obtain the leakage of a building very quickly and efficiently. Throughout the various stages of research and development of the pulse technique, experimental investigations have been carried out under different configurations and scenarios in order to validate the changes that have been made for the purpose of system development and optimisation. This paper provides an overview of experimental investigations in the validation process by covering comparison between blower door and pulse unit, comparison between piston-based pulse unit and nozzle-based pulse unit, testing with multiple pulse units in a large building, testing with a known opening, and testing in different building types with a range of volumes and airtightness levels. It enables us to understand the strengths and the limits of the pulse technique, from the experimental and practical perspectives. A good repeatability level (within ±5%) has been maintained throughout the various developmental stages and the average value of Q50/Q4 reported herein was in close agreement (","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48824381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Future Cities: New Generation’s Visions of Sustainability Concepts and Models","authors":"Fa Likitswat","doi":"10.5334/FCE.61","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.61","url":null,"abstract":"The creation of sustainable cities for unpredicted and uncertain futures requires and involves a broad range of disciplines. Our living conditions within the cityscape are a consequence of the actions of the past generation, while cities shape the next generation’s way of life. Some of the key challenges in shaping our future cities are not only our behavioural changes but also the redesign and restructuring of the built environment to make it more liveable and give it a sustainable urban form. On the basis of the empirical evidences obtained from the Life and Sustainability classes at Thammasat University, in this study, I critically evaluated the sustainability concepts and models of sustainable future cities from the young generation’s perspective. Zero energy, quality of life, green infrastructure, city resilience, and combined approach were the five main concepts explored. The analysis shows the students’ perceptions and learning outcomes of sustainable concepts and models. By using the built environment module as an example, I collected data 1,735 undergraduate students enrolled in the fall semester of 2016 and closely re-examined 35 group projects. The results revealed that most of the students were familiar with the two concepts of quality of life and green infrastructure. However, there found it difficult to develop their vision of future cities on the basis of the concept of quality of life. The relationship between the new generation’s perceptions of sustainability concepts and the conceptualised prototypes or models of future cities from their understanding was analysed from a socio-economic perspective. Finally, in this paper, I suggest that these two concepts, namely green infrastructure and quality of life, be used as the core concepts along with the other sub-concepts to develop the discussion towards the design and development of future cities.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43686576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Brennan, C. White, M. Barclay, Thomas Griffiths, Richard P. Lewis
{"title":"Performance Characterisation and Optimisation of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) System in a Maritime Climate","authors":"D. Brennan, C. White, M. Barclay, Thomas Griffiths, Richard P. Lewis","doi":"10.5334/FCE.62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.62","url":null,"abstract":"A seasonal analysis of a long-term dataset produced by an off-grid classroom facility showcasing several solar orientated renewable technologies is presented. The performance of the building’s BIPV and battery storage system is characterised and optimisation strategies are discussed. The building experiences a typical oceanic climate defined by a relatively narrow annual temperature range and a high level of annual precipitation, resulting in significant fluctuation in PV performance throughout the year. On clear days, the battery system reaches capacity quickly and PV power output drops to the base load of the building. This curtailment of solar generation highlights the importance of developing control strategies to optimise system performance. Maximising the performance of the building requires accurate methodologies for predicting PV generation and detailed knowledge of building demand profiles. Significant correlation is observed between the solar irradiance, battery state of charge and PV power output, demonstrating the importance of these variables in any solar forecasting model. Demand profiles are deterministic and follow classroom routine. A baseline accounts for persistent systems such as the building management system that are active throughout the day, with demand peaking during occupancy. This information could be incorporated into scheduling algorithms to optimise performance. Consumption is more aligned with the solar generation profile than typical residential buildings that peak in the evening as levels of solar generation fall. The synergistic effect of buildings with different demand profiles could be a mitigation method to minimise the temporal mismatch between solar generation and consumption.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42407723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tatiana Alvares-Sanches, P. Osborne, P. White, A. Bahaj
{"title":"Spatial Variation in Sound Frequency Components Across an Urban Area Derived from Mobile Surveys","authors":"Tatiana Alvares-Sanches, P. Osborne, P. White, A. Bahaj","doi":"10.5334/FCE.54","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.54","url":null,"abstract":"Continuous exposure to noise can lead to premature hearing loss, reduced cognitive performance, insomnia, stress, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Road noise affects the health of >125 million people in the European Union and Member States are required to map major noise hotspots. These strategic noise maps are usually derived from traffic counts and propagation models because large- scale measurement of the acoustic environment using conventional methods is infeasible. In this study, the authors surveyed the entire city of Southampton, UK using a mobile survey technique, capturing spatial variations in street-level sound characteristics across multiple frequencies from all sound sources. Over 52,000 calibrated and georeferenced sound clips covering 11 Hz to 22.7 kHz are analysed here to investigate variations in sound frequency composition across urban space and then applied to two issues: the definition of naturalness in the acoustic environment; and perceptions of social inequity in sound exposure. Clusters of acoustic characteristics were identified and mapped using spectral clustering and principal components analysis based on octave bands, ecoacoustic indices and dBA. We found independent patterns in low, mid and high frequencies, and the ecoacoustic indices that related to land use. Ecoacoustic indices partially mapped onto greenspace, identifying naturalness, but not uniquely, probably because urban anthropogenic sounds occur at higher frequencies than in the natural areas where such indices were developed. There was some evidence of inequity in sound exposure according to social deprivation and ethnicity, and results differed according to frequency bands. The consequences of these findings and the benefits of city-wide sound surveys for urban planning are discussed.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46320460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Temporary Appropriation of Public Space As an Emergence Assemblage for the Future Urban Landscape: The Case of Mexico City","authors":"J. A. Lara-Hernandez, A. Melis, Steffen Lehmann","doi":"10.5334/FCE.53","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.53","url":null,"abstract":"Temporary appropriation (TA) is a re-emerging concept which occurs in the urban social landscape as a multidimensional phenomenon. Intended as multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar research, the present paper explores the way in which temporary appropriation could be interpreted as an assemblage product of other assemblages within the urban landscape. It, therefore, seeks to unravel and to re-think the nature of temporary appropriation through interconnected theoretical frameworks such as assemblage theory. Derived from the seminal work of Deleuze and Guattari (1989) and developed further by Manuel DeLanda (2016), assemblage theory focuses on the relations produced by the components of a whole rather than the components themselves. Thus, in the present paper, a diverse range of theories is combined together to conceptualise temporary appropriation as part of the urban landscape and as an emerging product of other assemblages such as culture, legal framework and urban design. These approaches are drawn together by illustrating Mexico City Centre as an example of a highly coded city in which these assemblages emerge. A representative sample street was selected as a case-study to analyse TA in relation to the streetscape design through participant observation and image analysis of the visual complexity of the streetscape. The paper concludes that assemblage theory could be used as a theoretical framework investigating urban-social phenomena. In addition, the study identified the visual complexity of the assemblage of the urban landscape that supports the greater diversity of TA.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42533501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Urban Farming in Inner-city Multi-storey Car-parking Structures- Adaptive Reuse Potential","authors":"Monika Szopińska-Mularz, Steffen Lehmann","doi":"10.5334/FCE.50","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.50","url":null,"abstract":"The future direction of transport and new global concepts of low-carbon mobility are likely to increase the number of obsolete inner-city multi-storey car-parking structures. The adaptive reuse of these garages is challenged through the continuity of urban change and the need for new mixed-use typologies. The development of technologically advanced farming in these structures could become an innovative strategy that as an interim solution justifies renovation versus demolition and new construction. The paper presents findings from the first stage of the multiple-site case study research on car-parking structures strategically selected in 3 UK cities (Portsmouth, Bristol and Brighton). In order to develop a better understanding of the conditions that enable the implementation of urban hydroponic farming in selected structures planning and technical limitations and opportunities have been identified through the analysis of policies, exploration of layouts using Revit software, field observation and photography. The analysis demonstrated that there is a range of possible uses that may be developed in the process of up-cycling of inner-city car-parking structures, of which one might be hydroponics. Looking at three multi-storey garages has shown that these have similar problems for adaptive reuse, which can be overcome with appropriate architectural strategies. Converting these structures for farming could support addressing social, environmental and economic problems. However, the proposed development requires innovations in planning documents. Further analysis needs to be conducted to assess whether the amount of food that could be produced in such a structure is efficient and comparable with other means of achieving it.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44449159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"SCENe Things: IoT-based Monitoring of a Community Energy Scheme","authors":"R. Shipman, M. Gillott","doi":"10.5334/FCE.64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5334/FCE.64","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes a technology platform for monitoring homes within a community energy scheme. A range of sensors was deployed to measure in-home environmental conditions, occupancy, electrical power, electrical energy, thermal energy, heating behaviour and boiler performance to better understand and predict energy consumption in individual homes and across the community. The community assets include solar photovoltaic panels that are deployed in an urban solar farm and on rooftops to generate energy that is used to charge a central battery. This community scale storage supports participation in grid services to help balance the national grid and in future phases to power a community heat network, electric vehicle charging and self-consumption within individual properties. The monitoring data helps develop insights to optimise this multifaceted system and to provide feedback to residents to visualise and control their energy consumption and encourage reductions in demand. It was found that a diverse range of Internet of Things technologies was required to generate this data and make it available for subsequent access and analysis. This diversity was consolidated in the cloud to provide a common data structure for consumption by other services via industry standard interfaces. The cloud infrastructure utilised scalable and easily deployable services that are readily available from Internet of Things platforms from the major technology companies. The paper concludes by highlighting promising areas of focus for community-level monitoring in related projects.","PeriodicalId":36755,"journal":{"name":"Future Cities and Environment","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47990125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}