Smart House Technologies have in earlier research been put forward as an effective measure to reduce CO2-emissions. A rebound effect is defined as the change in energy demand caused by changes in consumer behavior. This behavior occurs when energy efficient technology such as Smart House Technology is introduced. Energy efficient technology has been found to stimulate increased usage through the appearance of new services and usage areas. This leads to an increase in overall energy demand, causing a take-back in energy efficiency called a rebound effect. This thesis has conducted an analysis on potential rebound effects from Smart House Technologies. The analysis is based on a constructed case study and interviews with users. This research shows that people tend to react positively to feedback on energy consumption. By incorporating this into business models wanted rebound effects towards increased environmental awareness by the users can be enhanced. Another finding was that measures should be taken by Smart House Technology providers to prevent direct cost-savings to reach the users and cause unwanted rebound effects from wealth maximization. The results have been discussed at micro- and macro-economic levels. A suggestion for a sustainable business model at the micro-level is presented. The suggested business model is an environmentally friendly bonus point scheme. The scheme can be utilized to capture the free cash from energy savings achieved with Smart House Technology. Customer relationships, partner networks and revenue models were identified as the three elements in Osterwalder's business model ontology that considerably influence rebound effects arising from the use of Smart House Technologies.

Smart House Technologies have in earlier research been put forward as an effective measure to reduce CO2-emissions. A rebound effect is defined as the change in energy demand caused by changes in consumer behavior. This behavior occurs when energy efficient technology such as Smart House Technology is introduced. Energy efficient technology has been found to stimulate increased usage through the appearance of new services and usage areas. This leads to an increase in overall energy demand, causing a take-back in energy efficiency called a rebound effect. This thesis has conducted an analysis on potential rebound effects from Smart House Technologies. The analysis is based on a constructed case study and interviews with users. This research shows that people tend to react positively to feedback on energy consumption. By incorporating this into business models wanted rebound effects towards increased environmental awareness by the users can be enhanced. Another finding was that measures should be taken by Smart House Technology providers to prevent direct cost-savings to reach the users and cause unwanted rebound effects from wealth maximization. The results have been discussed at micro- and macro-economic levels. A suggestion for a sustainable business model at the micro-level is presented. The suggested business model is an environmentally friendly bonus point scheme. The scheme can be utilized to capture the free cash from energy savings achieved with Smart House Technology. Customer relationships, partner networks and revenue models were identified as the three elements in Osterwalder's business model ontology that considerably influence rebound effects arising from the use of Smart House Technologies.

In order to look into the small and independent game industry this thesis presents an analysis of the business model of the game Minecraft using the ontology and framework defined in Osterwalders dissertation. The main pillars, product, customer interface, infrastructure management and financial aspects are explained in addition to various common revenue models used by game developers and publishers. The thesis further models the economy of the game and identifies its main cost accounts; storage, bandwidth, office rental, salaries, professional taxes, transactions and miscellaneous costs. Based on this, in addition to the revenues connected to the game, the thesis shows the most important success factors for the developer in regards to peer-production and value creation and shows the most important changes and suggestions for the future of the game.Furthermore, the thesis suggests important traits and effects for independent and small games based on the findings in the case study of Minecraft. Among these are free model effects and network effects in order to attract users and obtain high value networks at low costs and utilizing revenue models based on the value of the network through increased sales of value-added services, advertising and new market acquisition.

I oppgaven vurderes det om autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet å bruke i videosamtaler.Bruk av 3D-teknikker for å forbedre den opplevde kvaliteten av video er i dag mer aktuelt enn noen gang før, og 3D får stadig nye bruksområder. I telepresence-systemer er målet å gjøre illusjonen av at menneskene du snakker med sitter i samme rom så realistisk som mulig. Viktigheten av øyenkontakt gjør samtidig bruk av 3D-briller ganske uaktuelt. Det har derfor vært naturlig å se på om bruk av autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet til å forbedre den opplevde kvaliteten og realismen i en videosamtale. For å vurdere dette har vi gjennom å etablere matematiske sammenhenger og gjøre praktiske forsøk kommet fram til hvilke faktorer som er viktige for å lage autostereoskopisk 3D av god kvalitet. Gjennom erfaringene med å lage 3D har vi kommet fram til hvilke muligheter og begrensninger denne 3D-teknikken har, og vi har vurdert i hvilken grad autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet for ulike scenarier. Vi har også gjort en direkte sammenligning av opplevelsen av en 2D-video og 3D-video ved hjelp av kvalitative metoder.Gjennom erfaringene vi har fått og resultatet av forsøk vi har gjort, har vi kommet fram til at autostereoskopisk 3D kan øke den opplevde kvaliteten av videosamtaler. Dybdeeffekten gjør at ansiktsuttrykk og kroppsspråk blir tydeligere, samtidig som brukeren opplever større innlevelse. Illusjonen av at personen på skjermen faktisk sitter der i virkeligheten forsterkes. Samtidig har autostereoskopisk 3D noen klare begrensninger, og er preget av å være en umoden teknologi. Begrenset innsynsvinkel, dårlige overganger mellom visningsvinduer og lang optimal avstand begrenser friheten til seeren mye. På kamerasiden er det utfordrende å finne kameraoppsett som er egnet på både kort og lang avstand og det er vanskelig å synkronisere kameraene.Vi har likevel tro på at ettersom teknologien utvikler seg, utfordringer blir løst og begrensningene i autostereoskopisk 3D blir mindre, vil dette bli en veldig aktuell teknologi å bruke i telepresence-systemer.

I oppgaven vurderes det om autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet å bruke i videosamtaler.Bruk av 3D-teknikker for å forbedre den opplevde kvaliteten av video er i dag mer aktuelt enn noen gang før, og 3D får stadig nye bruksområder. I telepresence-systemer er målet å gjøre illusjonen av at menneskene du snakker med sitter i samme rom så realistisk som mulig. Viktigheten av øyenkontakt gjør samtidig bruk av 3D-briller ganske uaktuelt. Det har derfor vært naturlig å se på om bruk av autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet til å forbedre den opplevde kvaliteten og realismen i en videosamtale. For å vurdere dette har vi gjennom å etablere matematiske sammenhenger og gjøre praktiske forsøk kommet fram til hvilke faktorer som er viktige for å lage autostereoskopisk 3D av god kvalitet. Gjennom erfaringene med å lage 3D har vi kommet fram til hvilke muligheter og begrensninger denne 3D-teknikken har, og vi har vurdert i hvilken grad autostereoskopisk 3D er egnet for ulike scenarier. Vi har også gjort en direkte sammenligning av opplevelsen av en 2D-video og 3D-video ved hjelp av kvalitative metoder.Gjennom erfaringene vi har fått og resultatet av forsøk vi har gjort, har vi kommet fram til at autostereoskopisk 3D kan øke den opplevde kvaliteten av videosamtaler. Dybdeeffekten gjør at ansiktsuttrykk og kroppsspråk blir tydeligere, samtidig som brukeren opplever større innlevelse. Illusjonen av at personen på skjermen faktisk sitter der i virkeligheten forsterkes. Samtidig har autostereoskopisk 3D noen klare begrensninger, og er preget av å være en umoden teknologi. Begrenset innsynsvinkel, dårlige overganger mellom visningsvinduer og lang optimal avstand begrenser friheten til seeren mye. På kamerasiden er det utfordrende å finne kameraoppsett som er egnet på både kort og lang avstand og det er vanskelig å synkronisere kameraene.Vi har likevel tro på at ettersom teknologien utvikler seg, utfordringer blir løst og begrensningene i autostereoskopisk 3D blir mindre, vil dette bli en veldig aktuell teknologi å bruke i telepresence-systemer.

This thesis assesses several value chains for bioenergy production in Norway and combines these representing two Norwegian scenarios. The environmental impacts are assessed using the methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA). A complete assessment of climate change impact has been a core task, and biogenic CO2 emissions are accounted for throughout the value chains investigated. Surface albedo effects are included in the assessment of forest resources. In addition to global warming potential, the value chains are assessed for three other impact categories; acidification potential, particulate matter formation potential and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential. Life cycle inventories are constructed for a set of six feedstocks, seven treatment options, ten energy conversion options and three energy distribution choices. The different options are then combined to 80 feasible value chains. Transport is included throughout all the value chains. All inventories are assembled to represent Norwegian conditions. Energy flows for the different value chains investigated are found to represent the current bioenergy system, with a potential increase for each value chain towards 2020 - representing the alternative scenario. Results are generated for the individual value chains, the reference scenario and the alternative scenario. The results show large differences between the different value chains. Energy wood and waste wood are the most beneficial feedstocks for bioenergy production, highly dependent on both the GWPbio factors utilised and inclusion of surface albedo effects. Pelletising is the pre-treatment option resulting in the lowest GWP, while integrated torrefaction and pelletising results in the highest GWP. Overall, a CHP plant with electricity demand is the most advantageous conversion route. A stand-alone thermal electricity plant has the definite highest impact, mainly because of low conversion efficiency. Heat distribution shows high impacts compared to electricity and steam distribution, and the resources resulting in lower impacts is therefore recommended as inputs for such units. Generally, handling of biogenic CO2 emissions is of high importance. The same is the case for surface albedo effects, changing the GWP for forest resources considerably. CHP plants are recommended for electricity production from biomass, and use of TOP, forest residues and stemwood are recommended to take place in the same conversion technology. The environmental impacts from a CHP plant is low, and TOP, forest residues and stemwood show high GWP. The GWP from energy wood, wood waste and pellets are low, and are therefore recommended for use in district heating plants. As stand-alone electricity production is not recommended, the GWP from a district heating plant is limited with the use of the mentioned resources. Pelletising is recommended for pre-treatment of Norwegian biomass because of low climate change impacts. The Norwegian Government has put forth ambitious goals to reduce the GHG emissions substantially towards 2020 and become climate neutral by 2030. The reference scenario assessed show a GWP of 134 grams CO2-equivalents per kWh, while the scenario for 2020 results in a climate change impact of 136 grams CO2-equivalents per kWh. Based on this, Norwegian bioenergy can offer a means to reduce the GHG emissions towards 2020, but because of considerable GWP from biogenic CO2 emissions, bioenergy should not be pursued for a goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030.

Carbon Capture and Storage has large a potential to mitigating the CO2 emissions caused by fossil fuel powered power plants. CCS reduces the energy efficiency of the plant and increases the demand on chemicals and infrastructure. It is though not only the direct emissions from the power plants that have an impact on the environment. The entire supply chain of the power plant has an impact, and it is therefore necessary to evaluate the entire life cycle of the plant. This thesis consists of a full process LCA of post-combustion absorption based carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for both coal power plants and natural gas power plants. The assessed CCS technologies are based on the solvents MEA, MDEA and chilled ammonia. MEA is the most commonly used solvent in post-combustion capture, while MDEA and chilled ammonia represents novel CCS technologies that are still under development. It was shown that a 90% capture rate was possible for all of the assessed capture technologies. It was further shown that the total global warming potential (GWP) could be decreased with above 60%. 90% reduction is not possible because of indirect emissions in the supply chain. The reduction in GWP comes at a cost of decreasing energy efficiency, which further leads to an increase in consumption of materials and infrastructure. This causes the non-GHG related impacts to increase, compared to a base scenario without CCS. CCS technology based on MDEA was calculated to be the technology with the lowest impact, mainly because it has the lowest energy requirement. Chilled ammonia was assessed as the technology with the largest impacts. The reason for this is that the chilling process is very energy intensive and therefore decreases the efficiency more, compared to the other technologies assessed. Also the large emissions of ammonia have a large impact on the acidification potential and the marine eutrophication potential.

An integrated approach to climate and energy policy is required to meet the challenges associated with climate changes caused by anthropogenic emissions. At the same time, the demand for electricity is increasing. Wind power is considered as part of the solution in solving these challenges, as this is renewable energy. By relocating wind power production offshore, stronger winds are achieved that increases electricity production without having emissions of GHG during power production. Europe's ambitious goals and plans for development of offshore wind power development in the North Sea have also raised questions about how to integrate wind power into existing power systems in Europe. In this study the environmental impacts of offshore wind power production and development of an offshore grid in the North Sea, have been considered. To quantify the environmental impacts associated with offshore wind power generation and power transmission in the North Sea, several LCA’s have been carried out. Four LCA's were conducted, whereof three of them were analyses of various submarine cables used either in offshore wind farms or long-distance power transmission. The cables studied were; 33 kV HVAC cables used internally in offshore wind farms, 132 kV HVAC cables used to transmit power from a wind farm to the grid onshore and 450 kV HVDC cables used for long-distance power transmission between for instance countries. A fourth LCA was conducted of an entire offshore wind farm, including the inventories of the 33 kV and 132 kV cables. The emissions from a 390 MW offshore wind farm with bottom-fixed windmills, were calculated to be 20.6 g CO2 -equivalents/kWhel. Cabling constituted only 1.5 % of the total impacts to climate change from the wind farm. A larger wind farm of 9000 MW had lower estimated emissions of 19.8 g CO2 -equivalents/kWhel due to a higher electricity production. The LCA results of the 450 kV cables were used in estimating the environmental impact caused by different designs of offshore power grids in the North Sea. Several alternative grids were investigated, both with and without wind farms. For instance, a power grid in the North Sea where the two wind farms above were implemented, had estimated emissions of 84 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents throughout lifetime. This represents approximately 2% of the EU-27 countries' total GHG emissions from 2007. In addition to the quantification of environmental impacts, a qualitative discussion was conducted of the various environmental costs and benefits associated with large-scale development of power generation and transmission in the North Sea. The results from this study indicate that the expected environmental impacts from developing offshore wind farms and power grids in the North Sea are not insignificant. The positive environmental effects are large because the increased transmission capacity between power markets allows for increased development of electricity generation from intermittent renewable energy sources like wind power. Increased share of renewable energy reduces the need for power generation from fossil fuels, thus there will be an environmental gain. The study seeks to emphasize the complexity and the important aspects of the assessment of environmental impacts associated with large power systems.

Energy from wood biomass is one of the prioritized areas of focus in current Norwegian energy politics. The prevailing perception of bioenergy is that it is climate neutral, making this strategy appear to be an effective measure in combating climate change. Furthermore, bioenergy is considered to be relatively source of energy, and steadily increasing Norwegian forests imply huge amounts of wood available. However, not all of this wood is easily accessible with current technology and market situations (i.e. prices). As wood also is used for many other purposes, mainly construction and paper production, the bioenergy industry will have to compete with these other industries for the access to raw materials. A change in current utilization of our wood resources is in this thesis assessed in an environmental perspective in order to better understand how such a shift would influence the overall environmental impacts. First, a wood flow mapping of the current (2006) situation was carried out and applied in a ‘hybrid life cycle assessment’ model utilizing life cycle inventories which represent the industries within the Norwegian wood products sector. Then, an alternative wood flow scenario where more wood were used for bioenergy purposes, at the expense of reduced domestic paper- and wood panel production, was studied. Besides from being highly representative for Norwegian conditions, the model was developed with the intention of being able to show the breakdown of environmental impacts for both for entire sector as well as for specific products and industries. Furthermore, in contrast to the current dominant perception, recent research has pointed to the fact that the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of biomass will have a significant climate change impact even if new biomass is replanted immediately, as the gases will spend a considerable time in the atmosphere before being absorbed. This new insight may seriously influence the perceived effectiveness of bioenergy in climate change mitigation efforts. Consequently, it was considered valuable to include estimated climate change impact potentials of biogenic carbon emissions (CO2 and CH4) in this assessment. Although the developed model probably should be further refined before ultimate conclusions are made based on the assessment results, some important observations can be commented. First of all, it was clearly shown that whether or not climate change impacts from biogenic carbon emissions are considered is highly relevant to the overall climate change mitigation effect of bioenergy. Still, even when these are included there are considerable environmental gains when e.g. substituting fossil energy with wood-based bioenergy. Secondly, the results illustrate how impacts from different environmental impact categories are distributed within the wood products sector (pulp & paper production clearly being the dominant industry), within the products’ value chains and for the overall system (characterized by the impacts from paper- and heat production as well as the use of transportation fuels).

Hovudmålet med denne rapporten har vore å evaluera moglege løysingar for energieffektive tørkesystem basert på solenergi. Gjennom litteraturstudiet vert det funne at opne system for soltørking har ei rekkje generelle problem: Store avlingstap kjem som følgje av utilstrekkeleg tørking, sopp, insekt, fuglar, gnagarar, støv og søppel, samt uventa nedbør og andre uforutsette værforhold. Lukka soltørker kan eliminera eller redusera mange av desse problema, men dei har alle det til felles at dei baserer seg på tørketemperaturar over omgjevnadstemperatur. Tørking ved relativt låge temperaturar kan vera med å bevara ei rekkje ønska kvalitetar til fersk mat. Lukka varmepumpetørker kan operera uavhengig av værforhold, gjeva tørketemperaturar under omgjevnadstemperatur, og tilbyr slik ein attraktiv moglegheit for å auka produktkvalitet og redusera øydelegging gjennom god kontroll over, og regulering av tørkebetingelsane. For å levera tørkeluft med tilstrekkeleg låg luftfuktighet, og ved temperaturar under omgjevnadstemperatur trengst det kjøling. Eit litteraturstudium er gjort kring solkjølingsteknologiar. For ei tørke med solbasert energiforsyning, vil ein naturleg konsekvens vera tidsvarierande energitilgang, og dermed tidsvarierande drift. Eit tenkt tørkesystem er difor planlagt slik at tørka går om dagen, og står stille om natta. Det er utført eksperiment med tørking av fisk, med mål om å kartlegga korleis ein slik døgnsyklus vil påverka tørkeforløpet. Hovudkonklusjonen er at ein slik syklus vil vera energisparande, men meir tidkrevjande enn tilsvarande tørking med kontinuerlig drift. Det vert også vist at tørkeprosessen går fortare ved 20°C/26%RH enn ved 10°C/50°RH.Ei tørke basert på ein standard 40-fots isolert ISO-container vert dimensjonert til å kunna tørka 122 tonn fisk (fersk vekt) årleg ved tørketemperatur 15°C, relativ fuktighet 40%, og 10 timars dagleg drift. Tørka krev 56,2kW kjøleeffekt ved 0°C, og vifteeffekt 16,3kW. Med effektbehovet kartlagt vert ulike solbaserte energiforsyningssystem vurdert. Litteraturstudiet resulterer i at ein del solkjølingsteknologiar, blant anna ejektorkjøling med CO2 som arbeidsmedium, vert vurdert som lite aktuelle for det tenkte systemet. Dei gjenverande kjøleteknologiane som vert grundigare undersøkt er dei termisk drivne teknologiane ejektorkjøling (med arbeidsmedium R134a/R11/H2O) og absorpsjonskjøling (med LiBr-vatn som arbeidspar), samt konvensjonell elektrisk driven dampkompresjon med R717-ammoniakk som arbeidsmedium. For anskaffelse av naudsynt termisk energi vert uisolerte flatplatesolfangarar, isolerte flatplatesolfangarar og vakuumrøyrsolfangarar vurdert. For anskaffelse av elektrisk energi vert solcellepanel vurdert mot termisk solfangar + varmemotor og generator. Ulike systemløysingar for å levera kjøleenergi til tørka vert så samanlikna på grunnlag av naudsynt solfangarareal, solfangarkostnad, og kjølarkostnad. Solfangarkostnaden er om lag 10 gongar høgare enn kjølarkostnaden for alle systemløysingar. Av dei undersøkte løysingane vert solcelledriven dampkompresjonskjøling funne å vera den minst kostbare og minst arealkrevjande løysinga. Ved 10 timars drift i døgnet, kan tørka drivast utelukkande frå solenergi frå 512 m2 solcellepanel til ein estimert kostnad €255.800. Vifta i tørka står for over halvparten av energibruken. Alle andre systemløysingar innebar høgare solfangarkostnader og større solfangarareal. Nest etter solcelledriven dampkompresjon ser eitt- eller to-trinns absorpsjonskjøling, driven av vakuumrøyrsolfangarar, ut til å vera det mest interessante alternativet. To-trinnsløysinga inneber litt mindre solfangarareal og –kostnader, men krev til gjengjeld eit system som tåler 145°C i forhold til eitt-trinnssystemet som går ved 90°C. Høgare temperaturar kan gjere det meir komplisert med termisk energilagring. Ved nytting av konsentrerande solfangerar kan solfangararealet i fleire av systemløysingane meir enn halverast.For klimatiske forhold og tilgjengeleg solinnstråling er det teke utgangspunkt i Mumbai, India.