Digital Erasmus –a pan-European approach to teaching building performance and resilient design

The global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has forced universities to completely re-think their teaching concepts to provide safe, remote teaching of students off-campus. One of the challenges of this rapid transition is ensuring that the quality of the learning experience remains high and that students are able to engage and thrive in this new and...

Integrating technology, education and practice to change energy behaviours in schools

Schools are learning communities where multiple stakeholders can collaborate to learn about energy efficiency, including via formal curricula, non-formal learning and day-to-day practices. Furthermore, by improving energy literacy among building occupants, the energy efficiency of schools can be improved. However, turning schools into learning...

Post-occupancy monitoring of two flats in Madrid: Development and assessment of a mixed methods methodology

Recent research has shown large differences between the expected and the actual energy consumption in buildings. The differences have been attributed partially, to the assumptions made during the design phase of buildings when simulation methods are employed. More accurate occupancy profiles on building operation could help to carry out more...

Potential contribution of hydro power plants to the energy consumption of East Asian islands

Population growth, increasing energy demand and depleting fossil fuel resei-ves put a pressure on conventional methods of electricity generation. Hydropower is an alternative energy source that is known to have a large capacity potential. However, previous estimations of the potential capacity have been inconsistent and incomplete. In this study...

Value of information in closed-loop reservoir management

This paper proposes a new methodology to perform value of information (VOI) analysis within a closed-loop reservoir management (CLRM) framework. The workflow combines tools such as robust optimization and history matching in an environment of uncertainty characterization. The approach is illustrated with two simple examples: an analytical...

Hidden information in ill-posed inverse problems

It is well known that parameter updating of large-scale numerical reservoir flow models (a.k.a. ‘computer assisted history matching’) is an ill-posed inverse problem. Typically the number of uncertain parameters in a reservoir flow model is very large whereas the available information for estimating these parameters is limited. The classic...

Robust ensemble-based multi-objective optimization

We consider robust ensemble-based multi-objective optimization using a hierarchical switching algorithm for combined long-term and short term water flooding optimization. We apply a modified formulation of the ensemble gradient which results in improved performance compared to earlier formulations. We also apply multi-dimensional scaling to...

Finding structural parameters for energy efficient cities

Europe is going through a great social, economic and environmental period of transition. The changes the EU is currently undergoing have been causing increased awareness about sustainable development, natural resources use and energy efficiency on the agenda at the European level of policy making. However after more than forty years of the...

Amsterdam as a Sustainable European Metropolis: Integration of Water, Energy and Material Flows

Amsterdam has the ambition to develop as a competitive and sustainable European metropolis. The flows of energy, water and resources within the urban environment have a large potential to contribute to this ambition. The overall mass balances of phosphate, food, water, energy and material imports in the Amsterdam region have already been mapped....

Intention-Aware Routing to Minimise Delays at Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

En-route charging stations allow electric vehicles to greatly extend their range. However, as a full charge takes a considerable amount of time, there may be significant waiting times at peak hours. To address this problem, we propose a novel navigation system, which communicates its intentions (i.e., routing policies) to other drivers. Using...

Adaptive principles for thermal comfort in dwellings: From comfort temperatures to avoiding discomfort

Many theories on thermal comfort exist and there are many ways to deliver this in an energy efficient way. Both aspects are often studied in a static way and most of these studies only regard one of the aspects, seldom investigating what influence the way of delivering thermal comfort has on the actual perceived thermal comfort. This paper...

The relation between exergy and sustainability according to literature

A thorough investigation of literature about the relation between exergy and sustainability was conducted in September 2010. An overview of opinions and methods in the field of exergy analysis and sustainability is briefly presented. Exergy analysis has several advantages compared to energy analysis, but a careful underpinning of the relation...

Exergy Efficient Application of LNG Cold

The worldwide demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is growing, which results in numerous LNG import terminals being under construction. In the interest of sustainable development, it is important to decide carefully upon which technology to apply for evaporating the LNG to natural gas. Three options for the evaporation of LNG have been...

Analysis of material and energy efficiency of Mexican, Peruvian and Dutch dwellings using the three-step-strategy

Buildings consume resources and produces emissions to the environment during their life cycle. They consume materials during their construction, maintenance and renovation activities, consume energy and water during their use, and produce waste at the end of their useful life. There are several sustainable building methods for environmental...

Certification of passive houses: A Western European overview

According to the popular definition, passive houses have to reach a target energy demand for heating less than 15 kWh per square meter and per year. This criterion is used as a basis for quality assurance procedures and certification of passive house projects. This paper identifies the experiences in several western European countries concerning...