Zero Energy Hotels and Sustainable Mobility in the Islands of Aegean Sea (Greece)

The goal of this work is to evaluate and to give evidence to innovative and sustainable technologies applied in the construction industry to carry out self-sufficient energy and to use the surplus energy for the production of hydrogen vector. An architectural integration design along with high technological systems is performed. The intermittency of renewable energy sources along with climatic conditions dependency imposes to store the energy produced, since it is clean and having a big calorific value: the hydrogen vector is currently the better energy carrier. The energy to obtain hydrogen by dissociation of water is supplied by a photovoltaic (PV) system. Through the computations of the annual energy balance between building’s demand and supply energy, it is shown that the extra energy produced by the solar generation system is used also for the hydrogen sustainable mobility. The renewable systems, model’s design and case study are tackled for the bigger one of the Dodecanese islands in the South Aegean Sea: Rhodes (Rodos). The Zero energy building’s integrative design-based approach, applied to the Hotel Buildings type industry is targeted to have new hotels buildings, in the Mediterranean typical warm climate, with zero energy consumption. The designers, authors of this work, have studied a real case or pilot project of an hotel, in the resort formula, suitable to the Greek landscape, showcasing technologies and innovations supporting environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, electricity storage by fuel cells that are tools particularly applicable to hotel facility [1]. The feasibility of this case study or pilot project is aligned jointly to the target of Zero Emission and Energy Efficiency EU Policy, as imposed by EU Directives. The strategic position of Rhodes in a geographical point full of sun and wind renewable energy power, enables to ensure the clean energy production, the current interesting development of the hydrogen as energy vector in the buildings [2] and also to satisfy the demand of tourists’ accommodation by having at the same time zero energy costs. Moreover, the presence in the island of the best example worldwide of ancient and sustainable built environment (UNESCO World Heritage site), represents also the best motivation to give witness there of a zero impact environmental urban development through the adoption of these achieved scientific results for a major success of Zero Energy Buildings.

New Building Typologies for Zero Energy Mass Custom Housing(ZEMCH)in More Sustainable Patterns of Development

Conferences and publications on Smart Cities and self-styled ecological buildings such as“Vertical Forests”,“Biophilic”building complexes and other similar are multiplying.But then,in reality,we continue to design as we have always done for the last ninety years:with the consolidated rules and formal solutions of international post-modern composition,in its various forms.The only attentions are(and not always)to super-insulate the envelopes,arrange photovoltaic panels on the roofs,make the systems smart and cover the facades and roofs with appropriate green washing.Even in the awareness that human settlements and cities are extremely complex phenomena,mostly determined by economic and social factors,rather than by conscious typological-settlement choices,perhaps the time has come to acknowledge that the traditional paradigms of design must be changed.First of all,the types of settlements must be renewed,because it is through their optimization that the greatest savings in terms of energy and sustainability can be achieved.The research presented here is the application of a ten-year study that involved the development of net Zero Energy Mass Custom Housing(ZEMCH)in specific context in southern Italy.The Innovation and Transparency of Tenders Environmental Compatibility(ITACA)Assessment Protocol,derived from the Green Building Challenge’s GBTool,was used as a design guide,which is normally used for the assessment and judgment of sustainability at the building scale and not of the urban design.The result is a settlement model in which network of pedestrian,cycle and public transport is fully integrated with adjacent urban areas;effective landscaping connects public and private green and kitchen-gardens/orchards everywhere;buildings are made with new semi-underground typologies;net ZEMCHs are made with local,recyclable materials with low impact or positive energy balance;wastewater and rainwater are collected,in-loco phyto-purified and reused;renewable energies(sun,earth,wind)satisfy remaining necessities,with a minimum of plant interventions.

Demonstration of the Nearly Zero Energy Building Concept

Nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) will become an obligatory energy efficiency standard in Europe. Following to common guidelines in European legislation, the countries investigated technical and economic framework for the preparation of detailed national technical definition of nZEB. Slovenia accepted the nZEB criteria in early 2015. This paper describes the technical and economic background for identification of economically viable concepts of highly energy efficient apartment building. The highrise demonstration building Eco Silver House revealed that meeting nZEB standards was not an easy task, not so much for technical reasons, but mostly due to the processes, inadequate skills, not fully compliant regulation and insufficient possibilities for interaction between the building and energy networks. Analysis of cost effectiveness showed that the Eco Silver House fulfilled minimal requirements of cost-optimal for apartment building with Net Present Value of 272 EUR/m2 and Primary energy use of 79 kWh/ m2?a in line with the Slovenian national cost optimal study of minimum energy performance requirements from the year 2014. At the time, the requirement of 50% share of renewables in final energy use is not fulfilled, but will be easily reached when EU2020 energy efficiency targets set in the Slovenian Energy Act regarding the RES share in district heating systems and public power grid will be gradually implemented. The demonstration project FP7 EE-HIGHRISE confirms that in spite of the barriers, the nZEB minimum requirements defined on profound theoretical studies can be met in practice.

A review on zero energy buildings-Pros and cons

Enhancing the energy efficiency of structures has been a staple of energy policies.The key goal is to slash elec-tricity usage in order to minimize the footprint of houses.This goal is sought by putting restrictions on the design specifications with respect to the properties of the raw materials and components as well as the exploitation of sustainable sources of energy.These facts for the basis for zero-energy building(ZEB)being established.This novel technology has faced several obstacles impeding its commercialization and future advancement.This inves-tigation therefore holistically explored and evaluated the state of zero energy building and factors impeding their commercialization.The review further proposed some suggestion in terms of technology that can be considered by the sector to augment existing technologies.Similarly,the investigation touched on the effect of occupant’s character in zero energy structures.Policies in terms of government subsidies and tax rebates were recommended to encourage more investors into the sector.Finally,the perception of zero energy building being more expensive compared to the traditional structures can equally be curbed via efficient and effective public sensitization.

Contribution of nearly-zero energy buildings standards enforcement to achieve carbon neutral in urban area by 2060

Nearly-zero energy buildings (NZEB) would effectively improve building energy efficiency and promote building electrification. By using a carbon emission model integrated into a bottom-up mid-to-long term energy consumption model, this study analyzes the contribution of NZEB standards to carbon emission targets in the urban area of China by 2060. Three scenarios are set, namely BAU, steady development (S1), and high-speed development (S2). For BAU, the total carbon emissions will reach a peak of 1.94 Gt CO_(2) by 2040. In S1 scenario, total building carbon emissions will reach the peak of 1.72 Gt CO_(2) by 2030. In S2 scenario, the carbon emissions will reach a peak by 2025 with 1.64 Gt CO_(2). Under S1 scenario, which features consistency with NZEB market development and periodic improvement of building energy-efficiency standards, the carbon emission peak in 2030 will be accomplished. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, the upgrading of building energy standards to NZEB will contribute 50.1%, while zero-carbon electricity contribution is 49.9%. It is concluded that 2025, 2030, and 2035 could be set as mandatory enforcement years for ultra-low energy buildings, NZEB and zero energy building (ZEB), respectively.

New challenges for optimal design of nearly/net zero energy buildings under post-occupancy performance-based design standards and a risk-benefit based solution

One of the challenges in construction of nearly and net ZEBs is how to truly achieve the nearly and net energy goals after building occupancy.Traditional building design standards and practices are mostly based on design performance evaluation,but practices show that many designed nearly/net ZEBs failed to achieve the energy goals after building occupancy.To facilitate the practical achievement of nearly and net ZEBs,recently most of the newly-released ZEB design standards have turned to post-occupancy performance evaluation,posing great challenges to nearly and net ZEB design.However,the detailed challenges have not be comprehensively investigated,and effective optimal design methods which can facilitate the achievement of nearly and net ZEBs under these standards are still absent.In this study,new challenges of nearly and net ZEB design under the post-occupancy performance-based design standards are fully investigated,and a risk-benefit based optimal design method is proposed to facilitate the achievement of nearly and net ZEBs under these standards.The newly-released ZEB standard in China is taken as an example to investigate the challenges and test the proposed method.Results show that nearly and net ZEBs designed using conventional design method have high risk in achieving energy goals under these standards due to high risk in satisfying the requirement regarding non-renewable primary energy consumption after building occupancy.The proposed design method is effective to facilitate achieving energy goals under these standards based on the risk that decision-makers would like to take.

Comprehensive energy, economic, environmental assessment of a building integrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric system with battery storage for net zero energy building

To realize the goal of net zero energy building(NZEB),the integration of renewable energy and novel design of buildings is needed.The paths of energy demand reduction and additional energy supply with renewables are separated.In this study,those two are merged into one integration.The concept is based on the combination of photovoltaic,thermoelectric modules,energy storage and control algorithms.Five types of building envelope systems,namely PV+TE(S1),Grid+TE(S2),PV+Grid+TE(S3),PV+Battery+TE(S4)and PV+Grid+Battery+TE(S5)are studied,from aspects of energy,economic and environmental(E3)performance.The new envelope systems can achieve thermal load reduction while providing additional cooling/heating supply,which can promote advance of NZEBs.It is found that there is a typical optimum setting of thermal energy load for each one of them with minimum annual power consumption.Except for the S1 system,the rest can realize negative accumulated power consumption in a year-round operation,which means the thermal load of building envelope could be zero.The uniform annual cost for S1 to S5 under interest rate of 0.04 are 19.78,14.77,23.83,60.53,64.94$/m2,respectively.The S5 system has the highest environmental effect with 3.04 t/m2 reduction of CO_(2) over 30 years of operation.

Numerical simulation of temperature and relative humidity in zero energy cool chamber

Temperature and relative humidity are important parameters that can affect the storage of food in a zero energy cool chamber(ZECC).The distributions of average temperature and relative humidity are influenced by factors such as chamber size,water temperature,load weight and filler thickness.In this research,thermal environment analysis using numerical simulation of biological respiration was conducted for tomatoes stored in a ZECC.The ZECC was composed of inner and outer brick walls,filler(a mixture of sand and zeolite),water between the walls and a shading curtain.The results obtained from the numerical model were compared by setting different values for each factor.The following conclusions are drawn after comparison and analysis of results:(1)the distributions of average temperature and relative humidity are strongly related to the thickness of the filler–a thicker filler causes a lower temperature;(2)the water temperature in the filler exerts little influence on the average temperature and relative humidity;and(3)the lowest temperature and the highest relative humidity can be achieved with a chamber size of 0.6 m and a load weight of 30 kg.In addition,to validate the results of the numerical model,the simulation results are compared with experimental data,which show good agreement.It is confirmed that numerical simulation can be satisfactorily applied to predict the distribution of environmental parameters such as temperature and relative humidity in a cool chamber.

Indoor environment of nearly zero energy residential buildings with conventional air conditioning in hot-summer and cold-winter zone

According to the few researches on Nearly zero energy residential buildings(NZERB)in hot-summer and cold-winter zone,although it could reduce the cooling load of buildings due to its high thermal insulation and air tightness,it still needed for certain cooling in summer.This paper studied indoor environment of NZERB un-der three kinds of air-conditioners(split-type air-conditioner,multi-line air-conditioner and ceiling radiant air-conditioner).Firstly,a simulation model of NZERB was established based on Nanjing,a typical city in hot-summer and cold-winter zone.Secondly,variation of indoor air temperature and building load characteristics with outdoor air temperature were studied.Thirdly,indoor environment and energy consumption under three selected con-ventional air-conditioners in summer were simulated.Finally,the discussion was given,and an air-conditioner combining with convective and radiant cooling were proposed.The results indicated that the air-conditioner needed to be turned on in NZERB in hot-summer and cold-winter zone due to the room air temperature in off-air condition ranged from 32℃to 36℃,which was higher than designed indoor environment temperature in sum-mer,but the indoor environment of NZERB under three selected conventional air-conditioners could not meet the requirements of energy saving and comfort at the same time,and a proposed convective-radiant air-conditioner could be fast,stable,and energy saving.The findings can provide a reference for conducting active technology in NZERB.

On the Cosmical Zero Point Energy Density

The frequency spectrum of the cosmical Zero Point Energy (ZPE) and its total density are so far unknown in their details. In the present complementary investigation, a revised theory forms the basis for studies of this concept in two respects. It first applies to the observable universe considered as an entity, as well as to included subregions such as the galaxies with supermassive black holes. Second, experiments are proposed on the maximum Casimir force arising between two metal plates of different materials and with a vanishing air gap in their spacing. This serves the purpose of making an indirect determination of the ZPE energy density in the laboratory, i.e. at the Earth’s orbit. The ZPE energy density is interpreted as dark matter density and its pressure gradient as dark energy force density.

Bound State Description of Particles from a Quantum Field Theory of Fermions and Bosons, Compatible with Relativity

Both, the dilemma to find a quantum field theory consistent with Einstein’s law of relativity and the problem to describe existing particles as bound states of matter has been solved by calculating bound state matrix elements from a dual fermion-boson Lagrangian. In this formalism, the fermion binding energies are compensated by boson energies, indicating that particles can be generated out of the vacuum. This yields quantitative solutions for various mesons ω (0.78 GeV) - Υ (9.46 GeV) and all leptons e, μ and τ, with uncertainties in the extracted properties of less than 1‰. For transparency, a Web-page with the address htpps://h2909473.stratoserver.net has been constructed, where all calculations can be run on line and also the underlying fortran source code can be inspected.

Hubble Scale Dark Energy Meets Nano Scale Casimir Energy and the Rational of Their T-Duality and Mirror Symmetry Equivalence

We establish that ordinary energy, Casimir energy and dark energy are not only interlinked but are basically the same thing separated merely by scale and topology. Casimir energy is essentially a nano scale spacetime phenomenon produced by the boundary condition of the two Casimir plates constituting the Casimir experimental set up for measuring the Casimir force. By contrast dark energy is the result of the cosmic boundary condition, i.e. the boundary of the universe. This one sided M?bius-like boundary located at vast cosmic distance and was comparable only to the Hubble radius scales of the universe. All the Casimir energy spreads out until the majority of it reaches the vicinity of the edge of the cosmos. According to a famous theorem due to the Ukrainian-Israeli scientist I. Dvoretzky, almost 96% of the total energy will be concentrated at the boundary of the universe, too far away to be measured directly. The rest of the accumulated Casimir energy density is consequently the nearly 4% to 4.5%, the existence of which is confirmed by various sophisticated cosmic measurements and observations. When all is said and done, the work is essentially yet another confirmation of Witten’s T-duality and mirror symmetry bringing nano scale and Hubble scale together in an unexpected magical yet mathematically rigorous way.

A REASONABLE METHOD FOR CONSTRACTING GENERAL ELEMENT DM4 OF THICK AND THIN PLATE WITH EFFECTUAL AND REALIABLE NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS

In this thesis, the interal relations between about shear looking, zero energy mode and patch test are studied, and a reasonable method provided for building general element of thick and thin plate with effectual and realiable numerical solution.

Force-Based Quadrilateral Plate Bending Element for Plate Using Large Increment Method

A force-based quadrilateral plate element( 4NQP13) for the analysis of the plate bending problems using large increment method( LIM) was proposed. The LIM, a force-based finite element method( FEM),has been successfully developed for the analysis of truss,beam,frame,and 2D continua problems. In these analyses,LIMcan provide more precise stress results and less computational time consumption compared with displacement-based FEM. The plate element was based on the Mindlin-Reissner plate theory which took into account the transverse shear effects.Numerical examples were presented to study its performance including accuracy and convergence behavior,and the results were compared with the results have been obtained from the displacementbased quadrilateral plate elements and the analytical solutions. The4NQP13 element can analyze the moderately thick plates and the thin plates using LIMand is free from spurious zero energy modes and free from shear locking for thin plate analysis.

Revised Quantum Electrodynamics in a Condensed Form

This theory aims beyond the possibilities being available from the Standard Model. Examples are given by the directly obtained rest masses of the elementary particles, the deduced values of the elementary charge and of the mass of the boson detected by CERN which are close to their experimental data, and by an incorporated spin of the photon.

Relic Entropy Growth and Initial Big Bang Conditions, as a Subset of Quantum Information

This paper shows how increased entropy values from an initially low big bang level can be measured experimentally by counting relic gravitons. Furthermore the physical mechanism of this entropy increase is explained via analogies with early-universe phase transitions. The role of Ng’s revised infinite quantum statistics in the physics of gravitational wave detection is acknowledged. Ng’s infinite quantum statistics can be used to show that is a starting point to the increasing net universe cosmological entropy. Finally, in a nod to similarities with zero point energy (ZPE) analysis, it is important to note that the resulting in fact is much lower, allowing for evaluating initial graviton production as an emergent field phenomena, which may be similar to how ZPE states can be used to extract energy from a vacuum if entropy is not maximized. The rapid increase in entropy so alluded to without near sudden increases to 1088 may be enough to allow successful modeling of relic graviton production for entropy in a manner similar to zero point energy (ZPE) energy extraction from a vacuum state. This entropy count is akin to quantum information models used to tell how much “information” may be stored in initial conditions, and transferred from a prior to the present

LEED体系下基于近零能耗关键技术的建筑节能潜力应用研究

对于国内大部分获得LEED认证的建筑而言,在节能方面仍然有很大的潜力待挖掘。为了进一步推动建筑节能,美国USGBC在LEED评价体系基础上发布了"零能耗"LEED Zero Energy评价体系,该体系要求建筑达到零能耗的建筑目标,但并未明确给出建筑如何实现"零能耗"的详细实施路径。近些年我国通过科学理论研究及大量示范项目的实践,发布了GB/T 51350—2019《近零能耗建筑技术标准》,该标准从被动式技术、主动式技术及可再生能源全面制定了建筑全过程实现"零能耗"建筑的技术实施路径。本文从技术措施、评价方式、用能边界等多角度对比了LEED评价体系及GB/T51350—2019《近零能耗建筑技术标准》的异同。以寒冷地区获得LEED认证的办公建筑为研究对象,通过De ST能耗模拟,应用被动式、主动式及可再生能源等技术手段对案例建筑进行优化。结果表明,近零能耗关键技术措施将大幅提高建筑本体节能率,有助于LEED认证建筑实现LEED Zero Energy的目标。

Development of the Large Increment Method in Analysis for Thin and Moderately Thick Plates

Many displacement-based quadrilateral plate elements based on Mindlin-Reissner plate theory have been proposed to analyze the thin and moderately thick plate problems. However, numerical inaccuracies of some elements appear since the presence of shear locking and spurious zero energy modes for thin plate problems. To overcome these shortcomings, we employ the large increment method(LIM) for the analyses of the plate bending problems, and propose a force-based 8-node quadrilateral plate(8NQP) element which is based on MindlinReissner plate theory and has no extra spurious zero energy mode. Several benchmark plate bending problems are presented to illustrate the accuracy and convergence of the plate element by comparing with the analytical solutions and displacement-based plate elements. The results show that the 8-node plate element produces fast convergence and accurate stress distributions in both the moderately thick and thin plate bending problems. The plate element is insensitive to mesh distortion and it can avoid the shear locking for thin plate analysis.

Prospects of shallow geothermal systems in HVAC for NZEB

Shallow geothermal systems use the thermal inertia of the earth to provide a temperature gradient between the ambient conditions and the underground soil.This thermal inertia can be used by the heat exchangers to provide space heating and cooling during the winters and summers.This paper provides a brief but broad overview of the different active and passive technologies involved in the use of heat exchangers for HVAC in order to achieve a near net zero energy building.Firstly the different types of ground heat exchangers and heat pumps are introduced along with the relevant studies of significance in this field.It has been demonstrated that the different types of heat exchangers can be integrated with thermally active building envelopes and renewable energy resources to significantly minimize the building energy use.Finally a pathway has been devised for use of ground heat exchangers to realize a net zero energy building.