Thesis (Ph.D.)-- University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-144).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1940. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 44-45.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2009. / Advisor: Kevin Shinners. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

<p>Legislated renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) may not be the key to ensure forecast energy demands are met. States without a legislated RPS and with efficient permitting procedures were found to have approved and issued 28.57% more permits on average than those with a legislated RPS. Assessment models to make informed decisions about the need and effect of legislated RPSs do not exist. Decision makers and policy creators need to use empirical data and a viable model to resolve the debate over a nationally legislated RPS. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine if relationships between the independent variables of RPS and insolation levels and the dependent variable of the percentage of permits approved would prove to be a viable model. The research population was 68 cities in the United States, of which 55 were used in this study. The return on investment economic decision model provided the theoretical framework for this study and the model generated. The output of multiple regression analysis indicated a weak to medium positive relationship among the variables. None of these relationships were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. A model using site specific data might yield significant results and be useful for determining which solar energy projects to pursue and where to implement them without Federal or State mandated RPSs. A viable model would bring about efficiency gains in the permitting process and effectiveness gains in promoting installations of solar energy-based systems. Research leading to the development of a viable model would benefit society by encouraging the development of sustainable energy sources and helping to meet forecast energy demands.

Snow-free surfaces is needed for parking place, platform, and playground and even in city center square. With energy prices rising, energy saving is becoming a hot topic. Meanwhile environmental problems are becoming more and more serious, thus, the ways to saving energy is becoming an eye-catcher. So burring heating pipes underground has been a popular way to get ice-free surfaces. Using heating pipes for melting snow is much more efficient and more benefit for the environment comparing with using other methods.   In this project, an energy analysis of a football pitch with an area of 5000 m2 is carried out under a series of conditions between insulated and uninsulated construction. All calculations are done with the so-called finite element method (FEM), in the COMSOL. COMSOL is used for simulating and calculating the energy use with outdoor temperatures of -5 ºC and -10 ºC. Top layer materials concrete, grass and stone are also discussed. The ability of XPS and EPS insulation material is compared and noted. The models are divided into two parts, one is with snowfall and the other is without snowfall.   The results in the report shows that adding insulation under the heating pipe has significant energy saving potential. The surface with concrete layer has the best insulated ability, which can prevent more heat losses. The EPS insulated construction has a better performance in keeping more heat in the soil.

abstract: For decades, load shifting control, one of the most effective peak demand management methods, has attracted attention from both researchers and engineers. Various load shifting controls have been developed and introduced in mainly commercial buildings. Utility companies typically penalize consumers with “demand rates”. This along with increased population and increased customer energy demand will only increase the need for load shifting. There have been many white papers, thesis papers and case studies written on the different types of Thermal Energy Storage and their uses. Previous papers have been written by Engineers, Manufacturers and Researchers. This thesis paper is unique because it will be presented from the application and applied perspective of the Facilities Manager. There is a need in the field of Facilities Management for relevant applications. This paper will present and discuss the methodology, process applications and challenges of load shifting using (TES) Thermal Energy Storage, mainly ice storage. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Construction 2016

The economic and environmental benefits secured through the increased integration of photovoltaic (PV) technology into the built environment are undeniable and provide the principal motivation for this research. Present delays in the technology transfer of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) can be attributed to the following; material cost, performance guarantee, increased installation complexity and unfamiliar technology. It is well understood that the temperature of a PV material receiving solar irradiation, will increase with solar intensity, while reducing in electrical efficiency. It therefore makes economic sense to minimise the increase in PV material temperature and maximise electrical energy yield. Through the addition of a convecting fluid, flowing over the surface of heated PV material, heat transfer will be induced. With the added benefit of warm air capture from an integrated photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collector, the economic benefits are increased. But, to ensure maximum utilisation of both thermal and electrical energy production, a significantly more complex control system has to be employed than that for a PV system on its own. Modelling the energy flows within a multifunctional PVT building facade presents a problem of considerable complexity. Previous work in this area has centred on performing finite element analysis of the system in order to find solutions to complex algorithms. It requires considerable computational power to perform these calculations and often the results produced are much more detailed than required. Within this thesis, a fully operational PVT facade model is presented, giving the potential for improved multifunctional facade design. This new model has been developed into a software program for use within the TRNSYS environment. By using the TRNSYS software, a detailed building model has been created and integrated with the new PVT facade model. Simulations were then undertaken to evaluate the energy transfers between internal and external environments and the electrical and thermal energy capturing capabilities of the facade. Simulated results have been evaluated against experimental data taken from a fully operational PVT facade. The results conclude that the presented model simulates the energy flows around, through and within the facade (radiative, conductive, convective and electrical) very well. Performance enhancing development work is due to take place on the operational facade analysed in this work, very soon. This new facade model will be used as a tool to evaluate the proposed changes to the building prior to this development work being undertaken.

<p> Due to the increased demand for reliable and resilient controls in advanced power generation systems, new control methods are required to tackle traditional problems within these systems. This work discusses a control method and an estimation method for advanced control systems. The control method is sliding mode controls of a higher order, which is used to control the nonlinear wind energy conversion system while lessening the chattering phenomena that causes mechanical wear when using first order sliding mode controls. The super-twisting algorithm is used to create a second order sliding mode control. The estimation method is the derivation of a Resilient Extended Kalman filter, which can estimate and control the system through sensor undergoing failures with a binomial distribution rate and known mean value. Simulations on these dynamical systems are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control methods; the former is applied to a wind energy conversion system and the latter is applied to an single machine infinite bus. Both methods are also compared with more traditional methods in their respective applications, those being first order sliding mode controls and the Extended Kalman filter. </p><p>

Sustainable energy is a core concern worldwide for the foreseeable future. Technologically, its key trends are distributed and renewable energy resources and smart grid capabilities. At the same time, a global need for sustainable energy is meeting increasingly diverse energy policy and economics. To plan with such complex contexts and systems, a novel distributed energy software tool and its initial implementation is presented: the Energy Systems Evaluator Online (ESEO). Its contributions include: (1) A flexible model framework that can simulate current and expected distributed energy systems; (2) An architecture specifying the modular design needed for distributed energy planning software in general; (3) A working implementation as the first general energy planning tool deployed via the Internet with collaborative capabilities.

Includes bibliographical references. / In this thesis, the energy sector of the Central Africa region is investigated with a special attention to Zaire. The region's political trends, economic performance, demographic and social patterns as well as their implications in the development of the energy sector are presented. For each country of the region the resource potential and the ability to produce, distribute and use these energy resources, are analyzed. The potential for the development of energy resources of the region is examined and its future energy demand forecast. The scope for energy interchange inside and outside the region is analyzed and regional integration in the energy sector discussed. The findings of this thesis are: * there is an abundance of energy resources though not evenly distributed throughout the region, * there is a heavy reliance on woodfuel, and * there are many problems constraining the development of the energy sector. The principal issues facing the energy sector are: *the shortage of woodfuel due to the non-sustainability of supply, *the low reliability of power supply and the existence of surplus capacity in some countries, *the high supply cost of petroleum products, *the limited size of the local commercial fuel market and the lack of finance to develop domestic energy resources, *the low level of management and financial autonomy for energy utilities, *the lack of energy trade because of political instability, and institutional shortcomings. Forecasts of future energy consumption in the region indicate that woodfuel will continue to be the dominant energy form, followed by oil and electricity, and that electricity will play an increasing role. Recommendations for the woodfuel subsector relates to improving the production and utilization efficiency - valid also for the other energy carriers, increasing the supply through reforestation programmes and accelerating electrification. Other recommendations to improve the development of the energy sector include: * recovering energy supply cost through adequate pricing and improved collection practices, * reducing government interference and introducing private participation in the energy sector with the subsequent benefit of the transfer of new technology and managerial competence, and * strengthening energy institutions to enable them to improve planning, implementations, operations, and ensure the integration of traditional and commercial energy structures . The possibilities of energy interchange are large for oil and electricity, and energy trade could improve energy utilization, lower supply costs, etc. Under prevailing socio-economic conditions, regional integration is thought to be the only realistic strategy leading to the economic exploitation of energy resources and the adequate supply of energy to support industrial development of the region and to meet the social needs of its people. In this connection, major efforts should be directed towards the establishment of appropriate regional energy institutions, but political stability is a prerequisite to any effective energy integration.