With the increased energy usage and its affect on the environment the European Union (EU) has issued climate and environment goals which will oversee countries energy saving potential. These goals focus on several areas including the energy usage within buildings. The purpose of this thesis is to categorize and analyze the energy saving potential for buildings constructed 1945 or earlier. The building stock in focus consists of 73 apartment buildings in Vasastaden, Linköping. The buildings were all chosen with Boverket’s database within building characteristics GRIPEN. The method consisted of stocktaking via location visits, categorizing and performing simulations on the buildings. The fictive buildings were based on the categorized building stock. They were modelled and simulated with the help of IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA ICE). With the results of the energy usage a greater understanding of energy saving potential was obtained. The result of the categorization displayed that typical buildings in Vasastaden are buildings out of brick, fully detached (no adjoining walls), specifically with 3 floors. The fictive buildings have an calculated energy usage of 102-144 kWh/m2,year and have an energy saving potential within ranges of 17-41% compared to the building regulations set by Boverket (BBR). The building stock obtained an calculated energy usage of 804-3 515 MWh/m2,year. GRIPEN displayed several inaccuracies compared with the collected data from the location visits which proves that more frequent updates in databases such as GRIPEN are of high significance.

I Sverige ställs allt högre krav på nya byggnader genom bestämmelser och lagar som påverkar energianvändningen. Byggnader kan värmas upp med hjälp av olika typer av distributionssystem såsom radiatorer och golvvärme. Värmebehovet hos byggnaden baseras på hur mycket värmeenergi som behövs för att uppnå termisk komfort. För att begränsa energianvändningen används isolering i syfte att minimera värmeförlusterna genom byggnadens klimatskärm. Denna undersökning syftar till att undersöka förluster som sker genom kantbalken vid användning av vattenburet golvvärmesystem och hur dessa förluster påverkas då grundkonstruktionen tilläggsisoleras på olika sätt. Kantbalken är den förstärkta del som finns under markplattan/platta på mark, tar upp krafter från bärande väggar och finns efter sidorna på byggnaden. Golvvärme är en uppvärmningsteknik där slingor placeras i grundkonstruktionen och förser byggnader med dess värmebehov. Golvvärmesystem installeras på olika sätt beroende på byggnaders förutsättningar och är ett energieffektivt uppvärmningssätt i kombination med värmepump. Undersökningen påbörjades genom att skapa en förenklad modell som behandlar en 2-dimensionell kantbalksutformning i COMSOL Multiphysics, som är ett program för modellering där statiska och dynamiska simuleringar genomförs i modeller med hjälp av finita-elementmetoden. Fyra modeller skapades med två olika CC-mått (centrumavstånd) och två olika golvmaterial. Därefter skapades tre fall med förbättrande åtgärder för att öka kantbalkens isolerförmåga. Dynamiska simuleringar genomfördes och hade tidsintervallet 365 dagar med varierande utetemperatur. När utetemperaturen varierade var effektbehovet hos golvvärmen olika vilket ledde till att golvvärmetemperaturen justerades efter utetemperaturen för att upprätthålla samma temperatur på golvytan. Resultaten visar att kantbalken står för cirka 50 % av markkonstruktionsförlusterna med installerat L-element. Vid komplettering av konstruktionen med två fall av tillläggsisolering framkom inga större förändringar i resultaten. Genom att byta ut L-elementet till ett U-element minskar dock värmeförlusterna genom kantbalken till ca 30 %. Markkonstruktionsförluster är de förluster som överförs från byggnaden till närliggande mark. / Through laws and regulations in Sweden, increasing demands regarding energy use are affecting new buildings. A building achieving thermal comfort is attaining its thermal needs and can be done so through several types of distribution systems such as radiators and underfloor heating. Insulation is used to limit the amount of energy lost through the building’s envelope whilst keeping up with the thermal needs. This study is meant to examine the thermal leakage around the edge beam installa-tion when using a waterborne underfloor heating system and different sets of insulation are installed in the ground-related construction. The edge beam is the reinforced part located around the perimeter of the building absorbing forces from supporting walls. The study started with creating and using a simplified model in COMSOL Multiphysics to look at a two-dimensional edge beam formation. COMSOL Multiphysics is a software used for modeling different static and dynamic simulations via the finite element method. Four models were created using two different CC-dimensions (center to center distance) and two different floor materials. After this, three cases were created with improved circumstances regarding the ability to isolate heat around the edge beam. Dynamic simulations were made and calculated a year’s worth of varying outdoor temperatures. When the outdoor temperature changes, the requirements of the underfloor heating output also change which leads to its temperature adapting due to the outdoor temperature. The results indicate the edge beam related heat losses make up of about 50 % of the ground-related construction losses in the model. When completing the design with two instances of additional insulation, no major changes were found in the results. However, replacing the L-shaped insulation around the edge beam with a U-shaped insulation reduces heat losses through the edge beam to about 30 %. Ground-related construction losses are the losses transferred from the building to adjacent ground.

In the development of society towards renewable energy sources, the target in Sweden is 100% energy supply from renewable energy sources by the year 2040. This requires increased energy production from renewable, but also energy optimization of existing buildings. The housing and service sector which includes households and the public services account for about 40 % of Sweden’s total energy use. It is estimated that preschools and schools have an area of 35 million m² which have an energy savings potentials of 0,7-1 TWh in the electricity consumption and 0,9 TWh in energy use for heating. With regard to energy optimization, it is not only interesting to investigate a buildings total energy use on an annual or monthly basis, but also on shorter time intervals such hourly energy use, because of the uneven energy production of some renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The purpose of this work is to study the energy usage for some of Västerås preschools and schools, and on the basis of it propose some energy optimization actions. To achieve this a literature study has been carried out to get knowledge about how energy usage is at preschools and schools, as well as to gain insight into what actions are appropriate to perform and how they savings look like. Other than that four objects has been studied, two preschools and two schools, one of each kind were chosen amongst those with the highest energy usage among Västerås city’s preschools and schools and one of each kind amongst those with the lowest usage. The annual energy usage have been calculated and been compared to the actual usage, and the monthly and hourly energy usage for district heating have been studied as well as the electricity usage along the day for different periods. The studied periods and energy usage shows that the energy usage, both for the monthly and hourly,  for the district heating moves with regards to the outdoor temperature with some exceptions. As for the electricity usage it shows that the energy usage is even with some exceptions and there is a difference between different outdoor temperature intervals. Some conclusions could be drawn among others that the objects with higher energy usage where older buildings and the objects with lower energy usage where newer ones. There are some energy optimizations actions for the objects which would lower the energy consumption, both for district heating and electricity usage.

Indoor ice rinks use 1091 MWh per annum for ice hockey based on statistics from over 100 Swedish ice rinks (Stoppsladd, 2011).The refrigeration system contributes 35 to75%( (Rogstam, 2010) of total energy usage in ice rinks with average value of 43% (Stoppsladd, 2010) for indoor to 75% for outdoor ice rinks. The basic aim of project is to reduce energy consumption in Swedish ice rinks and scope is for indoor and outdoor ice rinks in cold and mild summer climatic conditions like Sweden. To achieve target of energy reduction in ice rinks actual heat loads on outdoor bandy ice rink are being estimated along with performance analysis of refrigeration machine. The refrigeration system, heat loads on ice surface and their correlation is studied and analyzed in detail for Norrtälje Outdoor bandy ice rink for four warm days and whole season 2010-2011. The tricky and significant task of validation of input climate data for accurate heat loads calculations is completed with Swedish Metrological & Hydrological (SMHI) climate model data, correlations and related web based geographical data. The heat loads (conductive, convective and radiant) on outdoor bandy ice rink are calculated through thermodynamic relations with validated input climate data and measurements where as refrigeration system performance is monitored and analyzed with ClimaCheck(CC) instrumentation. The average cooling capacity is calculated for four warm days by CC internal method and actual cooling energy produced is obtained by practically assumed COP of system with aid of MYCOM compressor software. The cooling capacity and heat loads on ice surface are compared and analyzed considering energy usage affecting parameters and weather parameters like temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and solar load. The convection and condensation are contributing 75%, radiation 18%, ice resurfacing 4% and ground and header heat gain 3% to total heat loads on ice sheet for whole season. The deviation between total cooling energy produced by refrigeration machine and total heat load energy is found 19% and 27% for four warm days and whole season 2010-2011.The deviation is due to overestimation of heat losses from compressor’s body, compressor’s on and off operations, overestimated radiation heat load due to unmeasured negative radiation and lack of actual ice resurfacing heat load evaluation. The developed model in MS Excel allows comparison of field climate data with SMHI model data, indoor and outdoor ice rinks in terms of predicted energy usage by refrigeration system and in total and acts as decision tool to choose for building an indoor/outdoor ice rink.

Energy-nutrient conversion ratios, as a measure of relative agricultural efficiency for Mexico, India, in the United States, and Japan between 1951 and 1974, were calculated for protein, B-vitamins, calcium, iron and food energy production. Estimates from the different nutrient ratios showed a range in percent change of production efficiency over the twenty-four year period. Indian estimates were the most consistent with only a 7 percent variability. Japan (23 percent), United States (42 percent), and Mexico (43 percent) each showed greater variability in their efficiency estimate ranges from aggregate energy-nutrient conversion ratios. Japan was the only country for which negative trends in efficiency were observed, as estimated from calcium and iron data. There did not appear to be any pattern in the relationship of one estimate to another in the countries studied. The variability of different nutrient efficiencies suggested that conventional methods of efficiency estimation based on a conversion ratio for a single nutrient may be inappropriate. There were significant differences in mean production efficiency estimates between countries but there was no uniformity among the determinations from different nutrients. The relative rank of efficiency for the countries changed for each of the efficiency estimates, except B-vitamins, over the time period studied. Diminishing returns in energy efficiency occurred as useful energy inputs increased. In addition, individual crops displayed tendencies toward diminishing returns. Plant foods were shown to be more efficient than animal sources of food. Efficiency increases appear to be related to increased use of effective energy inputs such as fertilizers.

Energy efficiency in the building sector is crucial for many countries in succeeding with the completion of goals regarding energy efficiency. This study has investigated if there are any possible and reasonable solutions for Attefallshus in Sweden to meet the demands of the National Board of Housing regarding energy performance in houses. By building a model and calculating the annual energy usage for a specific Attefallshus, through simulations with the software IDA ICE and general input, an energy audit has been obtained. By comparing the specific energy usage for the studied case with the requirement the conclusion that it is possible for this small building to achieve a low enough energy usage to meet the demand. Solar cells are the key to accomplish the target of a low specific energy usage and by combining this with an effective system for heating it possible to get under the limit. The usage of domestic hot water is a very large part of the building specific energy usage and alone almost reaches the set bounds which is why it is of great importance to carefully design systems and to regain heat with effective ventilation. A large part of the energy usage in Attefallshus is related to the user why awareness and careful usage of energy is a significant factor in reaching a low specific energy usage.

Thesis (M.COM. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study examines the effect of board characteristics on environmental and social sustainability performance. Companies‟ sustainability performance is affected by many factors such as board composition of companies, lack of knowledge, policies and resources of companies, competition from other companies and market trends. The King IV Code of Corporate Governance recommends that the governing body should comprise a balance of diversity being race and gender and independence. Moreover, the Code states that the board of directors of companies should have a balance of both independent members and non-independent members who should act in the best interest of the companies. The study used a quantitative approach, and secondary data from Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Socially Responsible Index (SRI) listed banking and retail companies for 11 years from 2007-2017. The study tests the relationship between board characteristics (the number of females on board of directors); firm size (market capitalisation); board independence; and environmental (energy usage) and social (skills development expenditure) sustainability of JSE SRI listed firms. Results show that there is a negative and insignificant relationship between females on board and energy usage. A positive and a significant relationship between energy usage and board independence a positive and an insignificant relationship between firm size (market capitalisation) and energy usage. There is also a positive but an insignificant relationship between skills development expenditure and female board members and a positive and significant relationship between skills development expenditure and board independence and a positive and an insignificant relationship between skills development and firm size (market capitalisation). The study suggests that for companies improve their sustainable business practices; they should consider increasing the number of v | P a ge females on their board since they have a positive influence on sustainability performance. / Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre of the University of Limpopo

Aus der Einführung: "Werbung für elektrische Haushaltsgroßgeräte spielte für die Durchsetzung und breite Akzeptanz von Elektrizität in den Privathaushalten der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts eine wichtige Rolle. Diese ist in zahlreichen Studien zur Technisierung des Haushaltes beschrieben worden.1 Im Zeichen einerbreitenwirksamen Ökologisierung von Politik und Alltag seit den 1970er Jahren entwickelte sich in den darauf folgenden Jahrzehnten eine neue Verbindung von Energieversorgung und Hausgerätekonsum. Standen bis 1970 Argumente der Arbeitserleichterung und Zeitersparnis durch elektrische Hausgeräte im Vordergrund von Werbebemühungen, so wurde dies in einem bis zur Gegenwart andauernden Prozess durch Hinweise auf einen besonders geringen Stromverbrauch von Kühlschränken oder Waschmaschinen ergänzt. Das Fortschrittsversprechen eines vollelektrischen Haushaltes sollte unter ökologischen Vorzeichen neu verhandelt werden und im Fortschrittsversprechen eines energieeffizienten Haushaltes seinen heutigen Ausdruck finden."

Increasing concern about global climate change has led to a growing interest in energy usage and water consumption. It is well known that changes in consumption habits lead to more efficient use of energy and water sources. Nowadays, globalization, environmental concerns, and the shortage of resources have led to an increase of stakeholder pressure on companies to expand their focus to sustainability. Also, the high impact that the savings can have in the financial status of the company. It is encouraging the headboards to study and improve the ways water and energy are being used within the processes. Significant economic savings and benefits for the environment could be achieved with slight changes in the company. As an overview, this project starts with the extraction of data from a platform for energy management in an industrial company. Then, it goes through the understanding of the energy and water usage data set. Later, a methodology to handle and process the data will be set. It is intending to extract relevant information using clustering. The idea is to compare the usage profiles between different factories, using key performance indicators and reducing the initial data set. Once the benchmarking is performed, some critical parameters will be selected to support the decision-making process related to investments to reduce the energy usage and water consumption in a specific location. Finally, the case of study will be implemented with the measurements from Alfa Laval. We will study how, from daily measurements with a very low investment and using the proper algorithms and methodologies, the main behaviours and features in an industrial location can be extracted from the utilization data. These characteristics can be used to develop strategies or productions schemes based on the interests of the energy manager and the company.

Den globala situationen för person- och godstransporter visar att energianvändningen inom transportsektorn stadigt ökar och prognoser tyder på att den kommer att fördubblas till 2050. Den största ökningen förväntas ske i Asien där, Kina kommer att stå för över 12 % av den globala energianvändningen år 2050. Inom EU, Europeiska Unionen, stod personbilarna 2012 för över 81 % av passagerartransporterna räknat i antal passagerarkilometrar. Nya energieffektiva och miljövänliga transportlösningar behöver utvecklas. En lösning med spårtaxi kombinerar fördelarna med konventionella vägtransportsystem (flexibilitet, tillgänglighet och attraktivitet) och spårtransportsystem (säkerhet, kapacitet och miljövänlighet). I detta examensarbete undersöks energianvändningen för spårtaxi. Detta sker i form av en fallstudie. Spårtaxi är en automatiserad transporttjänst för direktresor utan väntetider (likt taxiservice) i ett nätverk med banor som kompletterar masstransportsystem. Fokus i studien ligger på att utvärdera fordonens energianvändning i drift. Målet är att identifiera relevanta parametrar som avgör energianvändningen samt deras bidrag till denna. Frågan om effektiv energianvändning besvaras med hjälp av en simuleringsmodell. Denna baseras på konceptet SkyCab och en bedömning av fordonets parametrar. En beräkning är utförd som utgör en referens för att sedan jämföras med 16 variationer av nyckelparametrar. Relationen till växhusgaser undersöks och utsläppen beräknas för olika elektricitetsblandningar. Ett andragradspolynom är framtaget för att beskriva fordonets gångmotstånd som inkluderar uppskattningar av vagnens rullmotstånd för små, pneumatiska däck på en raksträcka samt i doserade kurvor. Hjälpkraftens energianvändning uppskattas säsom motsvarande en liten elektrisk bil och är starkt beroende av passagerarnas komfortbehov och yttre (väder)förhållanden. Ett resultat är att rullmotståndet står för cirka 44 % av energianvändningen och hjälpkraften för 33 %. Båda är potentiella mål för effektivitetsförbättringar. Ändringar av accelerationsnivåer har liten betydelse för energianvändningen då det är en mindre del av energin som regenereras. En ökning av topphastigheten är ett effektivt sätt att minska restiden med förhållanderis liten ökning av energianvändningen. Förslag lämnas i studien hur man kan minska energianvändningen genom att förbättra fordonets och banans nyckelegenskaper. / he global situation of personal and freight transport shows that the energy demand for transportation steadily increases, and prognoses indicate that the energy usage will double until 2050. The largest growth rates are expected in Asia, and China in particular will account for over 12 % of global transport energy usage in 2050. Over 81 % of passenger transport in passenger kilometre was produced by passenger cars in 2012 in the European Union, and new energy eÿcient and environmental friendly solutions have to be developed.PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) systems combine the benefits of traditional road systems (flexibility, accessibility, attractiveness) and rail systems (safety, capacity, environmental friendliness). This MSc thesis investigates a concept by SkyCab AB as a case study, which o˙ers an automated, non-stop and on-demand transportation service in a dedicated network and is supposed to fill a gap between personal cars and public transport. The focus is put on the energy usage of the vehicles in the operational phase.The objective is to identify the relevant parameters that determine the energy usage and their contributions. This request is addressed by setting up a simulation model, based on the SkyCab concept and estimations of vehicle parameters. A reference calculation and 16 variations of key parameters are conducted. The relation to greenhouse gas emissions is investigated and emissions are calculated for di˙erent electricity mixes.A second-order polynomial of running resistance for the vehicle is determined, includ-ing estimations of rolling resistance of small pneumatic tyres on straight track and in superelevated curves. The auxiliary power is estimated for the SkyCab vehicle on basis of a small electric passenger car.For the reference case the energy for rolling resistance is approx. 44 % of the energy usage, and auxiliary energy contributes by 33 %. Both o˙er potential for eÿciency im-provement. The auxiliary power is strongly dependent on the passengers’ comfort needs and the ambient conditions. Changes of acceleration rates have low impact on the energy usage, since a smaller proportion of energy is regenerated. An increase in top speed is a suÿcient measure to reduce trip time with comparably low increase in energy usage. Finally, suggestions are proposed to reduce the energy usage by improving key properties of the vehicle and guideway. / Der weltweite Energiebedarf des Personen- und Gütertransports zeigt einen kontinuier-lichen Anstieg, und der Ausblick bis 2050 zeigt eine Verdopplung des gesamten Ener-giebedarfs. Die größten Zuwachsraten werden in Asien erwartet, und insbesondere China allein wird in 2050 über 12 % des weltweiten Energiebedarfs verzeichnen. Über 81 % aller Personenkilometer in der Europäischen Union in 2012 wurden mit dem persönlichen Auto-mobil durchgeführt, und ein Bedarf für energieeÿziente und umweltfreundliche Transport-möglichkeiten wird deutlich.PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) Systeme vereinen die Vorzüge von traditionellen straßenge-bundenen Transportsystemen (Flexibilität, Zugänglichkeit, Attraktivität) und Schien-ensystemen (Sicherheit, Kapazität, Umweltfreundlichkeit). Diese MSc Thesis untersucht das Transportkonzept von SkyCab AB als Fallstudie. Es bietet einen automatisierten, un-unterbrochenen und bedarfsgesteuerten Transportdienst auf einem exklusiven Netzwerk und soll so die Lücke zwischen dem persönlichen Automobil und ö˙entlichen Transport-mitteln schließen. Der Fokus wird dabei auf den Energieverbrauch des Fahrzeugs in der operativen Phase gelegt.Die Zielsetzung besteht in der Identifizierung und Quantifizierung der relevanten Para-meter, die den Energieverbrauch bestimmen. Zu diesem Zweck wird ein Simulationsmodell konfiguriert welches auf dem Konzept von SkyCab basiert und zusätzlich Abschätzungen von Fahrzeugparametern enthält. Eine Referenzberechnung und 16 Parametervariationen werden durchgeführt. Der Bezug zur Emission von Treibhausgasen wird für verschiedene Energiemixe hergestellt.Das Polynom zweiter Ordnung für den Fahrwiderstand wird aufgestellt, wobei Abschätzun-gen bezüglich des Rollwiderstands kleiner pneumatischer Reifen auf gerader Strecke und in überhöhten Kurven berücksichtigt werden. Die Zusatzleistung für das Konzeptfahrzeug wird auf Basis eines kleinen rein elektrischen Fahrzeugs abgeschätzt.Der Energieverbrauch in der Referenzsimulation für den Rollwiderstand beträgt ca. 44 % des Gesamtenergieverbrauchs, und die Zusatzenergie beläuft sich auf ca. 33 %. Beide Anteile bieten Potential zur Optimierung, und die Zusatzenergie ist stark abhängig von den Komfortbedürfnissen der Passagiere und den Umgebungsbedingungen. Variationen der Beschleunigungs- und Bremsraten haben einen geringen Einfluss auf den Energiever-brauch, da gleichzeitig ein kleinerer Anteil regeneriert wird. Eine Zunahme der Höchst-geschwindigkeit wirkt sich durch mehr regenerierte Energie vergleichsweise gering auf den bezogenen Energieverbrauch aus, reduziert jedoch die Fahrzeit merklich. Abschließend werden Potentiale von Schlüsselparametern zur Reduktion des Energieverbrauchs des Fahrzeugs und der Fahrbahn aufgedeckt.