This project aims to evaluate different combinations of solar panels on roofs and facades for multistorey buildings to identify the most cost-effective options. The goal is to compare the economic viability of solar panels installed on roofs and facades for two rental properties with different heating systems. One building consists of seven floors, and the other has four floors. The subject of the study is based on limited roof areas relative to floor area and electricity demand, and combined solar panel installations on roofs, facades, and other building parts can contribute to an efficient solution.

The calculations are performed in the VIP-Energy program to determine electricity demand, the produced solar energy, self-consumption of solar energy, sold electricity, and purchased electricity. This information is used to conduct a life cycle cost analysis in Excel, where various installations and combinations of solar panels are compared for each property over a 25-year period. The analysis is conducted with two heating systems: district heating and geothermal heat pump.

By combining the VIP-Energy program to obtain energy-related data and the LCC tool for analyzing life cycle costs, a comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits and profitability of solar panels for each property over a 25-year period can be made. This provides valuable insights for making well-informed decisions regarding the installation and use of solar panels while considering different heating systems and their impact on the investment's payback period.

The results show that the combination of solar panels on roofs and facades offers the most cost-effective solution for both buildings, regardless of the heating system used. However, the profitability varies between the two heating systems, with the geothermal heat pump system proving to be the most advantageous. This is due to its higher savings and shorter payback period. The results indicate that the geothermal heat pump system has a maximum payback period of 8 years in house 4 and 7 years in house 5, while the district heating system has a maximum payback period of 14 years in house 4 and 11 years in house 5. This means that the investment is recouped faster in the geothermal heat pump system compared to the district heating system.

The seven-story building has an advantage as it has larger areas for facade installations, increasing its potential to generate electricity through the facade compared to the four-story building that was also studied.

Nearly all combinations of solar panels in both buildings show reasonable payback periods relative to the solar panels' warranty period of 12 years, and the investment in solar panels proves to be profitable with significant potential for future gains.

The vital objective of biophilic habitat is to outline attributes and put them into a clear, sensible, organized format so developers, designers, planners, and architects can learn about the importance of a connection to the natural environment in all their building projects. Renew ability is the key to our human range and our prime resource for architecture. Every site is definite as to its location, natural relief, local vegetation, and its macro-microclimate.

Biophilic habitat becomes an original utterance in social requirement. Moreover, this concept becomes a truly new orientation of human cultural life. Biophilic habitat is a part of a new concept in architecture, that work intensive with human health, ecology and sustainability precepts, such a integrate part of architectural formation which must be in optimal proportion with other buildings material. The position of green covering and its area depend basically on the category of functions that occur under this area. Biophilic habitat produces buildings that use less energy to operate because they feature efficient designs, materials and systems. The majority biophilic architectures have highly competent heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting systems, and appliances. In addition, these biophilic restructures are built of energy-efficient materials carefully installed to prevent the loss of conditioned.

Construction Engineering, Building Construction, House Engineering, Building Engineer.

Extensive biogeochemical transformation of organic matter takes place in the shallow continental shelf seas of Siberia. This, in combination with brine production from sea-ice formation, results in cold bottom waters with relatively high salinity and nutrient concentrations, as well as low oxygen and pH levels. Data from the SWERUS-C3 expedition with icebreaker Oden, from July to September 2014, show the distribution of such nutrient-rich, cold bottom waters along the continental margin from about 140 to 180 degrees E. The water with maximum nutrient concentration, classically named the upper halocline, is absent over the Lomonosov Ridge at 140 degrees E, while it appears in the Makarov Basin at 150 degrees E and intensifies further eastwards. At the intercept between the Mendeleev Ridge and the East Siberian continental shelf slope, the nutrient maximum is still intense, but distributed across a larger depth interval. The nutrient-rich water is found here at salinities of up to similar to 34.5, i.e. in the water classically named lower halocline. East of 170 degrees E transient tracers show significantly less ventilated waters below about 150 m water depth. This likely results from a local isolation of waters over the Chukchi Abyssal Plain as the boundary current from the west is steered away from this area by the bathymetry of the Mendeleev Ridge. The water with salinities of similar to 34.5 has high nutrients and low oxygen concentrations as well as low pH, typically indicating decay of organic matter. A deficit in nitrate relative to phosphate suggests that this process partly occurs under hypoxia. We conclude that the high nutrient water with salinity similar to 34.5 are formed on the shelf slope in the Mendeleev Ridge region from interior basin water that is trapped for enough time to attain its signature through interaction with the sediment.

Wastewater contains elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which the treatment plants are forced to deal with. If the purification in the plant are substandard these substances is emitted in lakes and streams, which can lead to eutrophication. The small village of Fengersfors, in the province of Dalsland, uses two small stabilization pounds to cleanse their wastewater. These stabilization pounds do not meet the authorities’ treatment requirements, which have led the municipality to upgrade the facility. Before expanding the treatment plant, today’s volumes of extraneous water must be reduced to be able to dimension the new pounds, in proportion to the size of Fengersfors. Extraneous water is clean water that reaches the treatment plants in addition to water from baths, showers, washing machines and toilets. Examples of additional water can be storm water and groundwater. It is desired to minimize the percentage of extraneous water in wastewater systems to avoid costly purification processes.

The purpose of this study is to reduce the flow of extraneous water which transports to the stabilization pounds. What sources to extraneous water is there in Fengersfors and which actions should the municipality take to achieve their goal of reduced flow of extraneous water to the stabilization pounds?

To identify seepage of extraneous water in wastewater systems is a time consuming job. To address the problem, without being forced to duplicate the system, it is important to first build an image of the area. In this study this is done by four examinations: field inventory of residential areas, field inventory of transfer schemes, investigation of groundwater levels and dye tracing of bad connections. These steps are easy to preform, requires no large financial means and need not to be performed by individuals with special skills. The survey is completed in two overview maps, Fengersfors Norra and Fengersfors Södra. These are then used for basic calculations to point out areas which are contributing large volumes of groundwater, trough foundation drainage, to the treatment plant.

Several properties in Fengersfors have their roof surfaces connected to the wastewater system. Simple measures, such as switching to drain spouts with dense water deflector, can reduce the volume of rainwater that reaches the stabilization pounds. General for the area is that ditches have been neglected for a long time, resulting in drums and wells clogged. A functioning ditch system is necessary for transport of storm and drainage water to the recipient. During the dye tracing process parts of previously unknown storm water systems were found. Sewer system maps can now be updated and become an important part of future actions. The study provides an indication of which areas need to be addressed or further investigated by the municipality.

Karlstad is a city with an interesting history. After the great fire in 1865, the new Karlstad began to take its form. The cultural heritage that the city carries must be managed with care. Therefore, objectives and guidelines for the city were created to help preserve it. These are summarized by the township in three words: manage, improve and innovate. 

South of the railway is the Stadsträdgården, a well preserved historic park with rich flora. The park has an English Victorian style with protective vegetation, which separates the garden from the city. A few buildings are found in its vicinity. One that is called the Orangery has a particularly interesting heritage. It’s a grand building with elements of carpentry and contemporary decoration. Up until 1876 the Orangery was conducting plant related activities, but then the extent at which the activities were committed decreased. 

 In close proximity to Stadsträdgården is the lake Vänern. Despite the park's central location and the city's close relationship with water in the other directions; there is no obvious link to the south. Such interlocking functions, would be filled if the park would provide a greater variety of attractions. 

The purpose is to link Karlstad’s central core to Vänern in the south and thus broaden the city and expand its capabilities. The goal is to find a natural meeting place that connects the center parts of Karlstad with the more southern located residential areas and at the same time linking the water with the city.  The work process includes literature studies, visits to relevant activities, SWOT analysis and modeling in Revit. The results are presented in the form of a proposal including a potential meeting place and additional measures for the given area. 

The orangery in Stadsträdgården exhibit particularly good qualities regarding recreation. With some changes, the building can be used to attract people from the city and create the needed link between the city and the water. A proposal for such development is visualized in 3-dimensional models with associated explanatory text.  The result is illustrated in the form of the Orangery building; a proposal on an extension on this house, greenhouses in Stadsträdgården, a stage and a new plan for the park. These are presented in the form of 3-dimensional images. 

In the conclusion to be reached, it appears that Stadsträdgården is the area best suited as a natural meeting place, as well as to connect the city with the water and its more southern neighborhoods. To achieve the set goals, some changes are required to the park. The extension of the Orangery is meant to compose as the entrance to Stadsträdgården and act as a main attraction for the area. Complementary works in the form of the greenhouse, stage and multi-functional furniture are meant to create a varied environment that appeals to a wide variety of people.

The availability to clean drinking water is something a lot of people take for granted today. Daily, there are about 1.8 billion people around the world that drinks water from a contaminated water source. Unfortunately, the deficiency is a fact, and about 361 000 children under the age of five die each year because of diarrheal disease (WHO, 2016a). 

Earlier studies show that a biosand filter is an easy and efficient water purification method that cleans the water both physically, biologically and chemically. A biosand filter is often built using local material and is filled with sand, which makes the construction cheap and easy to repair is needed. Earlier studies have shown that this purification method can reduce waterborne disease by 99,9% with the help of a biofilm layer which develop in the top layer of the sand if the conditions are meet (CAWST, 2009).

The purpose with this study was to build and evaluate a biosand filter as a water treatment method in Ghana. In total, three biosand filters was built with local material, each with different sand heights. The evaluation was done by studying the waters physical, biological and chemical properties before and after the filtration, which then was compared to the water quality standards from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Sweden. The results show that none of the three filters could produce water which met the standards for drinking water, which might be caused by the high flow of water through the filter which prevented the biofilm to grow. With the help from the results in Ghana, a new design of a water filter has been made to reduce the flow of water through the filter. Which gave a new biosand filter design with a diameter of 42 cm that, sand height of 80 cm and gravel height of 15 cm.  

One of EU´s biggest goals in climate policy is that carbon emissions shall be reduced by 20% before 2020 to inhibit global warming. By combining renewable energy sources with a more efficient energy system, it could go faster to achieve these goals.

The purpose of this report is to find out if it is possible to construct a self-sufficient house, located in Karlstad, which uses solar and wind power for its energy demand. The house should not be dependent on the district electricity, but should be able to provide its own energy demand, by being equipped with an energy storage system. To reach the goals of the report an examination of the energy demand for an energy efficient house was made. This was done by comparing the house with a passive house. These calculations were simulated in the program VIP-Energy. The calculations of the solar and wind power were based on the energy demand of the house, and it was supplemented with a pellet stove and battery in order to make it self-sufficient. During the report, an investigation has been made as to the environmental impact of the house compared to an equivalent house that is heated by electricity. An economic analysis has also been calculated for the house.

The project led to a passive house with a total energy requirement of 11.906 kWh per year. The process required a number of assumptions which may have given rise to some uncertainty in the results. In order to provide the energy need for the house a solar panel system with a maximum power of 12 kW and a wind turbine of 10 kW was chosen. This resulted in an excessive energy production during the summer months and yielded a large surplus of electricity. The solar and wind power generated a total surplus of 18.000 kWh per year. The surplus generated was a consequence of the house intending to be self-sufficient, therefore the calculations was made during the time of year when energy demand was greatest. The system was finally outfitted with a pellet stove and seven sections of 24V batteries with 250Ah/battery.

The cost analysis estimated an initial cost of solar panels, wind turbine, pellet stove and the batteries. The initial cost was estimated to 403 500 kr and a pellet consumption of about 1000 kr per year. It would take a minimum of 25 years to repay the initial cost if the house was compared to an equivalent house that uses electricity for its energy demand. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions that is prevented compared to an electrically heated house is almost 1000 kg per year. This is equal to 266 one-way trips during a 25 year period between Gothenburg and Stockholm with a mid-sized car.

Conclusions to be drawn from the report are that it would not be economically sustainable to construct a self-sufficient house. Since the house is not connected to the district electricity, it cannot sell the surplus electricity during the summer months. However, further studies could be done to determine the opportunities for the house to be fitted with a charging station for electric cars. In this way the house would be able to provide the intrinsic means of transport that does not give any effect on the climate. That could also save the cost of other fuels for transportation.

Lack of safe drinking water is one of the biggest humanitarian problems in the world today. Over one billion people in developing countries have no access to good quality drinking water, and subsequently, diarrhoea caused by unclean water leads to 1.8 million deaths of children under the age of five. That corresponds to 90 per cent of all deaths among children in that age group. However, by improving water and sanitation management, one tenth of all worldwide cases of disease can be prevented. In relation to this, the United Nations has launched the seventh millennium goal, which is to half the proportion of people lacking access to safe drinking water by year 2015 (compared with the proportion of year 2000). Therefore, it is important to both improve and develop water treatment techniques in order to achieve a sustainable development, especially in the third world.

Kofi Ansah and Edumafa are two villages on the Ghanaian countryside. Here, as in the rest of Ghana, it is common to drink water from throwaway plastic containers. This is because the water quality is poor in the stationary water sources such as tanks and wells etc. The plastic containers contribute to a big waste problem and it´s therefore desirable to improve the water quality in stationary water sources in order to reduce the waste problem that now is occurring.

Solar Disinfection, or SODIS, is a water treatment technique that is based on solar radiation. Water containers (usually PET bottles) are filled with water and then exposed to the sun for about six hours. The germicidal effect can be derived to thermal heating in combination with the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. The technique is suitable in the third world since the treatment procedure is both simple and inexpensive. The purpose of this study was to estimate the possible waste reduction regarding the small plastic containers by the implementation of SODIS as a water treatment technique, and evaluate if SODIS is an adequate way to improve the quality of water collected from stationary water distribution systems in Ghana.

The study has shown that SODIS is an adequate method for producing low health risk water at a household level in Ghana. A solar exposure of six hours is enough to reach a safe bacterial content within the treated water. It is also clear that SODIS could reduce the present waste problem regarding the throwaway plastic containers by more than 1600 plastic bags per person and year, and that the Ghanaians attitude to start performing SODIS is positive.

Further work should be aimed at implementing SODIS as a water treatment technique by teaching the Ghanaian people, especially in the rural areas, the importance of water and sanitation issues. The implementation of SODIS is a long term project that cannot be accomplished singlehandedly. It can be achieved by instructing certain people in the villages as to how the procedure is done. For this to be effective, these individuals should preferably be well educated and speak both English and the local language. These people can in turn educate and instruct the other villagers in how SODIS is executed and by doing so complete and secure a sustainable use of the technique.

Tumble dryers and drying cabinets have to a large extent replaced the traditional way of drying clothes outdoors. They are faster, more convenient, require less space and can be operated regardless of weather conditions. This replacement has significantly increased residential energy consumption, due to the fact that tumbles dryers consume large amounts of electrical energy. In the USA 9 % of the households electric energy is consumed when drying clothes. Over 4 million tumble dryers are sold in Europe each year and 20 % of the residential electricity consumption in Sweden is used drying and washing clothes. Tumble dryers are also utilized in the industrial sector, but industrial dryers are not considered in this study.Increasing energy costs contributes to the public’s awareness and desire to cut their energy consumption. The aim of this study is to increase the energy efficiency and drastically reduce electric power use of tumble dryers.There are two main types of tumble dryers available on the market; the open cycle tumble dryer and the closed cycle tumble dryer. The open cycle tumble dryer is often attached to the ventilation system and thereby it evacuates its exhaust air. The closed cycle tumble dryer condenses the water from the air before it recirculates it.To increase the energy efficiency and reduce electric power use of tumble dryers, two separate studies were made. One on a water cooled closed cycle tumble dryer and one on a hot water heated open cycle tumble dryer. Both tumble dryers where rebuild and originated from the same tumble dryer. The tumble dryer that both studies originated from was a conventional air cooled closed cycle tumble dryer. The tumble dryer is made by Asko Cylinda AB.The results reveal that the water cooled closed cycle tumble dryer does not have greater energy efficiency than the conventional air cooled closed cycle tumble dryer. However the drying time was reduced by 37 %.The result also reveals that the hot water heated open cycle tumble dryer cuts the electric consumption by 93 % and improves the energy efficiency by 53 % compared to the conventional air cooled closed cycle tumble dryer. On the other hand the drying time increases by 9 %.

It is possible to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems with the help of building energy management systems. Through deeper knowledge of the dynamics of the system the staff is able to choose a more effective management strategy. Statistics from the energy management system will inform about the system behaviour. It is possible to collect and present the statistics needed thanks to the fast development of information technology and the introduction of computer based building management system.

A research project will investigate methods for creation of individual models of HVAC systems based on measurement data. Each system will then be simulated for different operating conditions. As a result of the simulation an optimal management strategy can be chosen. Different performance ratios will be used to evaluate the level of energy efficiency. The performance ratios should be defined so that they can be calculated from measurement data.

This pilot study presents the background, purpose and method of the project. Some examples will be given to illustrate ineffective use due to a badly chosen management strategy.



Sammanfattning



Installationssystem kan drifteffektiviseras genom utnyttjande av driftstatistik. Genom att lära känna sin anläggning kan driftteknikern lättare fatta beslut om optimalaste driftstrategi. Med en förbättrad driftstatistik får teknikern många viktiga upplysningar om anläggningens dynamik och beteende. Som konsekvens av den snabba utvecklingen inom informationsteknologin samt införandet av datorstödda styr- och övervakningssystem finns möjligheter till omfattande datainsamling.

Ett forskningsprojektet skall undersöka metoder att utifrån insamlad driftstatistik skapa individuella modeller av installationssystem. Modellen skall för varje enskild anläggning senare kunna utnyttjas för att simulera olika driftfall och därmed kunna optimera valet av driftstrategi. Olika nyckeltal kommer att användas för att utvärdera och följa upp effektiviseringsarbetet. Nyckeltalen skall definieras så att de kan beräknas utifrån insamlad driftstatistik.

Denna förstudie beskriver bakgrund, syfte och metodval för projektet. Ett par exempel från utförda mätningar visar på typiska fall av energiineffektivitet som konsekvens av felaktigt vald driftstrategi.

Vargbroskolan i Storfors kommun har byggts med ambitionen att minimera energianvändningen utan att ge avkall på inneklimatet. Byggnaden är mycket välisolerad och har ett hybridventilationssystem. Denna rapport redovisar erfarenheter från de inledande två driftåren med fokus på energianvändning och inneklimat.

Rapporten ingår som del i redovisningen av Demonstrationsprojekt 2006:05,Vargbroskolan, vilket är finansierat inom ramen för Energimyndighetensprogram för Passivhus och Lågenergihus.

Vargbroskolan är en grundskola för årskurs 4-9 med ca 270 elever. Totala golvytan är ca 4030 m2. Byggnaden togs i drift januari 2008.

Seglet är ett 12-vånings punkthus med 44 lägenheter beläget i Karlstad. Byggherre är Karlstads Bostads AB. Huset är byggt med mycket höga ambitioner när det gäller kvalitet och resurshushållning och togs i drift i börjanav 2007.

Denna rapport redovisar klimatskalets egenskaper och funktion samt utformningen av installationssystemen för värme, ventilation och tappvatten.Rapporten beskriver också drifterfarenheterna från de första årens drift samt de förbättringsåtgärder som utförts.

Seglets lösningar visar att energieffektivisering och inneklimat kan gå hand ihand. Konceptet med en enkel förvärmning av tilluften löser två problem. Dels kan tilluften tillföras lägenheten utan risk för drag och dels saknar det FTX-systemets nackdelar med utökat servicebehov för filterbyten och ökad elanvändning för tilluftsfläkten. Det välisolerade och täta klimatskalet ger en komfortabel inomhusmiljö. Den befarade risken med höga rumstemperaturer sommartid har inte besannats. Tack vare genomtänkta fönsterplaceringar med solskyddsglas där så är befogat samt goda möjligheter till effektiv vädring har lägenheterna samma temperaturnivå sommartid som motsvarande lägenheter i normalisolerade byggnader. Byggnaden är mycket resurseffektiv med låga förbrukningstal på både energi och vatten. Då största delen av värmebehovet täcks med fjärrvärme står sig byggnaden mycket väl i en jämförande miljöbedömning.

Nyckeltal för klimatskal och energianvändning

Medelvärde för klimatskalets värmeisolering, Um, W/m²,K ca 0,21

Luftläckage, läckflöde vid provtryckning till 50 Pa, l/s,m²A_omg 0,13

Specifik energianvändning, kWh/m²,år 58

Electricity usage by a household dishwasher can be reduced by using a heat pump system to heat the dishwasher cabinet, dishware and washing water. The evaporator obtains the energy from an energy storage unit which consists of a container filled with water which freezes to ice. The majority of the heat transfer from the energy storage to the evaporator occurs when ice is created in the energy storage unit. A transient simulation model of a dishwasher with a heat pump system was developed and compared to an experimental setup with good agreement. A simulation study of the compressor cylinder volume and the compressor operating time was performed. The results showed a 24% reduction in total electricity use compared to a dishwasher cycle using a traditional electric element.

In this thesis, I discuss experiences from designing, building and evaluating two research plants, which use circulating, atmospheric pressure superheated steam as drying medium for drying sawdust in a fluidized bed.



The increased use of pellets has created a demand for new drying equipment at the Swedish pellet plants. The underlying cause is that almost all of the available dried material, such as wood shavings, is already in use. The remaining biofuel materials, primarily wet sawdust need drying before entering the pellet process.



The primary demands on the drying process were an uncomplicated design and efficient energy use. A key aim was to improve the drying technique used in the Swedish wood fuel system with specially interest on the control system.



Sawdust has been tested in both a full scale and a laboratory scale dryers. The tests were done in a spouted bed. The product of the steam mass flow and the enthalpy difference limits the drying capacity. The tests showed that it is possible to use the temperature after the dryer as a control parameter for the outgoing moisture content in a spouted bed dryer. The results and conclusions can be very useful when designing a similar full scale drying system.

Sverige är inte längre världsledande som pelletsproducent. USA producerar allra mest pellets i världen. Kanada och Ryssland producerar också allt mer pellets. Ingen av dessa länder har någon omfattande inhemsk konsumtion. I stort sett all pellets exporteras och det sker huvudsakligen till Europa. Sannolikt kommer det att leda till att priset på pellets i Europa sjunker, med följd att lönsamheten för svenska pelletsproducenter minskar.

In 2011, the total consumption of pellets in Sweden amounted to 1.9 million tons, which represents an energy value of 9 TWh. The pellets are used in large-scale as well as in small-scale applications, and increased demands on pellet quality are likely to force pellet producers to improve on the pellet properties. One way of increasing pellet quality is by using additives. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to examine kraft lignin as an additive. Pelletswere produced in a small industrial pellet press located at KarlstadUniversity, Karlstad, Sweden, and 1–4% of kraft lignin was added to the pellets. The results indicate that the addition of an increased amount of kraft lignin to the pellets increases their mechanical durability and their lengths. The results also indicate that dry kraft lignin yields pellets with higher durability as compared to wet kraft lignin. The energy demand was unaffected by the increased use of kraft lignin. The general results presented in this paper are useful for producers of lignin, pellet producers and end-users of pellets, who are interested in developing their products and/or improving the production processes.

Spouted bed drying technology shows promising results for the drying of unscreened sawdust in superheated steam. In this paper, the experiences from designing, running and evaluating two spouted bed continuous feed dryers are presented. Stable running conditions and drying results have been achieved. This has been particularly important for sawdust that will be compressed into pellets or briquettes. The spouted bed superheated steam dryer also shows high potential for energy efficient integration into sawmills. Our recommendation is thus, to use the outlet steam temperature as the control parameter for the outlet moisture content. A drying rate above and one below the fibre saturation level, can be identified. Visual observations through the viewing glass in the drying zone in both the dryers clearly showed that not all of the material participated in the spout at all times; there were, however, no indications of dead zones. A heat transfer analysis indicated that only about 70% of the surface area of the material was in thermal contact with the steam. This paper sums up the experiences regarding drying properties, control and system properties obtained when sawdust is dried using superheated steam as the drying medium. Further work on standardised dryers in series or in parallel is necessary to increase the capacity in the spouted bed dryer.