This thesis compares the variability of commissioning savings and the persistence of savings from the Normalized Annual Consumption (NAC) and standard International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) weather normalization approaches and from Option C and Option D of the IPMVP. Twenty-nine different weather years were used to obtain a set of savings results under each method. Variability of savings was quantified by the average standard deviation of the 29 percent savings results across all post-commissioning periods for each method. For the combined chilled and hot water savings, the average standard deviation is 0.39% savings for Option D using the NAC weather normalization approach, 0.57% savings for Option D using the standard IPMVP weather normalization approach, 0.71% savings for Option C with regression models using the NAC weather normalization approach, and 0.98% savings for Option C with regression models using the standard IPMVP weather normalization approach. The variability of savings persistence results deviate a little from variability of savings results. For the combined chilled and hot water persistence of savings, the average standard deviation across all post-commissioning periods is 0.48% persistence for Option D using the NAC weather normalization approach, 0.55% persistence for Option D using the standard IPMVP weather normalization approach, 0.52% persistence for Option C with regression models using the NAC weather normalization approach, and 1.26% persistence for Option C with regression models using the standard IPMVP weather normalization approach. Overall, the NAC weather normalization approach shows less variability in savings and persistence than the standard IPMVP weather normalization approach. Additionally, Option D of the IPMVP generally shows less variability in savings and persistence of savings than Option C with regression models. This thesis also determines the savings and persistence of savings from commissioning for three Texas A&M University buildings. Aggregate site savings averaged 11.4%, 16.5%, and 19.0% for the three buildings over differing periods of available data. Persistence results for the three buildings are quite favorable, as each building shows an increase in aggregate site savings between the first and last post-commissioning periods. Follow-up commissioning restored and prevented degradation of savings in two of the buildings.

This study investigates the use of the consumer buying club concept in the savings and loan industry. The major purposes of the study were to determine the effectiveness of savings and loan clubs as promotional tools and to reveal some broader marketing implications of the savings and loan club concept. The study's findings provided support for the following hypotheses: I. If savings and loan clubs were independent business operations in the channels of distribution for the goods and services they offer members, these clubs, based upon the marketing functions they perform, would be classified as two or more different types of distinct marketing institutions. II. Rather than being temporary promotional tools, savings and loan clubs are permanent organizational units of some savings and loan associations. III. Savings and loan clubs offer access to a large market for manufacturers and middlemen of certain goods and services. Primary data on the operations and activities of savings and loan clubs were collected in semi-structured interviews with executives of ten clubs that are believed to represent every type of club program existing in the fall of 1973. A mail survey of selected regulatory authorities provided information about the present and future regulatory environment in which clubs operate. Analyses of the data suggest that there are qualitative and quantitative differences in club programs based upon the geographic scope of a club's operation and the size of the sponsoring savings and loan association; however, the club concept appears to be an effective and relatively inexpensive promotional tool when matters of club objectives and design are carefully considered. The regulatory environment for club operations may be described as a passive one, and the findings indicate that this environment will not change in the near future. Savings and loan clubs are consumer-oriented and service-oriented promotional tools indicative of a recent marketing awareness in the savings and loan industry. Clubs both require and facilitate the planning of marketing strategies and objectives, including the use of market segmentation and product differentiation. The study's findings suggest the club concept is growing in popularity in the savings and loan industry, and the use of clubs as promotional tools will continue to grow in the future. Savings and loan clubs function as facilitating agencies in the marketing process by arranging for members to receive special discounts from established sellers of a wide variety of consumer goods and services. Some clubs function as merchant middlemen, either as retail stores or as mail order retail establishments, based upon their practices of buying merchandise to be sold to club members at cost. Savings and loan clubs are not profit-making organizations, with the exception of franchising activities by some national clubs. A functional analysis of club operations suggests that these clubs may be more effective than American consumer cooperatives have been. The savings and loan club market is a large and growing one offering manufacturers and middlemen, particularly retailers, access to an affluent market. The findings indicate that merchandise offers, involving buying and re-selling items to members, is an unpopular and unsuccessful type of club benefit. For this reason, manufacturers and wholesale middlemen derive indirect benefit from the club market through increased sales that established retailers may obtain by participating in a club's discount program.

Problem: This study aims to examine the factors that influence the individual's different choice of risk level. Demographic characteristics are the underlying factors being analyzed in the study with a special emphasis on geographic factors – this in order to analyze and explain the Swedish individual’s approach to risk. Based on certified private advisers’ perspective, the study will also examine their approach to manage individuals’ risk. Purpose: Studying the differences in risk aversion among individuals when making investment decisions, based on demographic factors and geographical areas. Theory: The essay’s theoretical framework deals with theories covering behavioral finance, the risk appetite development in individuals at a demographic and geographic way, and an overview of previous research on the subject. Method: We conducted a quantitative study in which 340 respondents were asked to answer a survey. We also interviewed three certified counselors from three different banks in Sweden. Conclusions: In line with behavioral finance theory, people are not rational when making investment decisions. The study concludes that people in big cities tend to be more risk-averse than people in smaller cities. Sex is shown to be a differentiating factor with men having a higher risk-aversion than women. A higher income and level of education leads to a higher risk attitude and marital status affects the risk appetite where a married person has a higher risk appetite than a person who is single. Age and education, showed to have no relationship to the level of risk.

With roughly about half of the energy used in buildings attributed to Heating, Ventilation, and Air conditioning (HVAC) systems, there is clearly great potential for energy saving through improved building operations. Accurate knowledge of localised and real-time occupancy numbers can have compelling control applications for HVAC systems. However, existing technologies applied for building occupancy measurements are limited, such that a precise and reliable occupant count is difficult to obtain. For example, passive infrared (PIR) sensors commonly used for occupancy sensing in lighting control applications cannot differentiate between occupants grouped together, video sensing is often limited by privacy concerns, atmospheric gas sensors (such as CO2 sensors) may be affected by the presence of electromagnetic (EMI) interference, and may not show clear links between occupancy and sensor values. Past studies have indicated the need for a heterogeneous multi-sensory fusion approach for occupancy detection to address the short-comings of existing occupancy detection systems. The aim of this research is to develop an advanced instrumentation strategy to monitor occupancy levels in non-domestic buildings, whilst facilitating the lowering of energy use and also maintaining an acceptable indoor climate. Accordingly, a novel multi-sensor based approach for occupancy detection in open-plan office spaces is proposed. The approach combined information from various low-cost and non-intrusive indoor environmental sensors, with the aim to merge advantages of various sensors, whilst minimising their weaknesses. The proposed approach offered the potential for explicit information indicating occupancy levels to be captured. The proposed occupancy monitoring strategy has two main components; hardware system implementation and data processing. The hardware system implementation included a custom made sound sensor and refinement of CO2 sensors for EMI mitigation. Two test beds were designed and implemented for supporting the research studies, including proof-of-concept, and experimental studies. Data processing was carried out in several stages with the ultimate goal being to detect occupancy levels. Firstly, interested features were extracted from all sensory data collected, and then a symmetrical uncertainty analysis was applied to determine the predictive strength of individual sensor features. Thirdly, a candidate features subset was determined using a genetic based search. Finally, a back-propagation neural network model was adopted to fuse candidate multi-sensory features for estimation of occupancy levels. Several test cases were implemented to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed occupancy detection approach. Results have shown the potential of the proposed heterogeneous multi-sensor fusion based approach as an advanced strategy for the development of reliable occupancy detection systems in open-plan office buildings, which can be capable of facilitating improved control of building services. In summary, the proposed approach has the potential to: (1) Detect occupancy levels with an accuracy reaching 84.59% during occupied instances (2) capable of maintaining average occupancy detection accuracy of 61.01%, in the event of sensor failure or drop-off (such as CO2 sensors drop-off), (3) capable of utilising just sound and motion sensors for occupancy levels monitoring in a naturally ventilated space, (4) capable of facilitating potential daily energy savings reaching 53%, if implemented for occupancy-driven ventilation control.

This project consists on the Energy audit carried out on a residential building in Skutskär, property of the company Älvkarlebyhus, which is placed in the Älvkarleby municipality, belonging to Uppsala County in Sweden. The aim of the Energy audit is to obtain how much Energy is used, when is it used and how is it used. As well as the costs of the Energy use. The aim of the Energy audit also consists in reduces the Energy use applying efficiency measures. The audit carried out consist on identifying the heat losses and heat gains of the building, thus establishing an Energy balance that will reflect the Energy state of the building and finally propose some efficiency measures that could be applied. With this purpose, a strong method was developed in order to obtain as accurate results as possible. This method studies separately each component of the balance in order to get a better approach. The idea when working and present the results is to manage all the information in an easy way and present it in an easily understandable way for everyone, thus was used a spreadsheet. The expected results have been achieved; the difference between the heat losses and gains is of 0 MWh, which represents the balance 0 and all the values obtained are according to the experience values, which achieve the expected results. The total heat gain of the balance accounts for 1575,23 MWh. It is compounded by the District heating consumption which accounts 742,22 MWh that represents the 47 % of the heat gain and by the free heating which accounts for 832,79 MWh that represents the 53 %. The free heating is compounded by solar radiation which accounts for 643,36 MWh representing 41 % and for Internal heating which accounts for 189,43 MWh that represents 12 %. The total heat loss of the balance accounts for 1575,23 MWh. It is compounded by transmission losses which accounts for 875,46 MWh that represents 56 %, mechanical ventilation which accounts for 369,89 MWh that represents the 23 %, natural ventilation which account for 182,88 MWh that represents 12 % and hot tap water which account for 147 and represents 9 %. The efficiency measures will improve the Energy use in the buildings; especially in the cases were the Energy usage is too high, as in the case of transmission losses. Thus, the efficiency measures will be proposed mainly to alleviate the high values but also to improve other inefficient uses of the Energy. There are some efficiency measures proposed for every component of the balance and there is also some recommendation for the company in order to implement the most attractive ones, taking into account its profitability. These measures are only proposed and not studied deeply because of the main limitation of this thesis. Therefore, it is recommended to continue the study in order to examine and analyse deeply each measure, according to the energetic survey already done.

Most European stained glass windows have no protection to reduce the damage due to environmental exposure, and this is the case of the great gothic windows in the Uppsala Cathedral. Currently, the implementation of protective glazing systems is being carried out in order to reduce the damage of the stained glass. In this connection, an analysis of the energy saving potential of the protective system is of great interest. The main obstacle in the implementation of this kind of systems is a social rejection based on the fact that the additional panes perturb the appearance of the historic building. Thus, demonstrating that there would actually be an energy saving, with the corresponding economic saving, would help approving the implementation of the protective glazing system. Measurement data needed for the analysis were available since they were used in condensation studies for the damaging analysis. However, the fact that this data was not gathered thinking of the energy saving analysis and its difficulties, some limitations have appeared in the present study. Accordingly, the needed simplifications imply some uncertainty in the results. However, the reliability of the results and the conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis are contrasted with previous similar studies. Different methods of calculation and analysis will be discussed, and finally results for the heat transfer coefficients through the open air gap and through the whole double paned system will be obtained. Furthermore, an energy saving analysis will be carried out with the winter data for both the case of the case of the Sonens fönster and the case of also implementing a similar system in the rosette of the cathedral. As a result, the conclusions drawn will be that the implemented protective glazing system reduces the heat losses through the windows to less than a third and that savings of about 8700 kWh/year and 13000 kWh/year are achieved in the case of the system being implemented only in Sonenes fönster and also in the rosette respectively. Finally, a rough study of the condensation problem will be exposed and possible matters, along with some advices, of further studies regarding more accurate analysis of both the condensation and the energy saving analysis will be presented. / Church project

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In this thesis I contribute to the applied study of households' consumption and saving behaviour. In the first chapter I introduce and explain why it is relevant to understand how households react to income shocks in terms of their consumption and saving decisions. The second chapter is inspired by a recent paper by Krueger and Perri (2011), who argue that the observed response of household wealth to income shocks, which is smaller over long periods, provides evidence in favour of the classic permanent-income model with perfect financial markets. Whether a model with financial market imperfections, however, such as the standard incomplete-markets model with liquidity constraints, can also generate such a wealth response crucially depends on the importance of precautionary wealth accumulation. I structurally estimate a model with a precautionary- savings motive and show that it can generate the observed wealth responses in the data. I further show that the wealth responses to income shocks do not allow us to rule out financial market imperfections. In the third chapter I extend the analysis, studying empirically what can be learned from international evidence on the way in which households react to income. I use detailed panel data from newly available surveys of Chile, Spain and the United States. Although it compares three different countries with dissimilar levels of development in their financial markets, the evidence suggests that the amount of precautionary savings in these economies is low and that household behaviour is not strongly influenced by the presence of borrowing constraints. The structural estimation for all countries suggests a low target level of wealth resulting from high levels of impatience or low levels of risk aversion. In the fourth chapter I extend the analysis to the real estate properties owned by the households. I revisit the Italian data, building on Kaplan and Violante (2014) who have argued that a substantial fraction of wealthy households with illiquid wealth, such as real estate, behave as hand-to-mouth consumers. In exploring the data, I find that, in the Italian sample, households which adjust their illiquid wealth show responses to income shocks like permanent-income consumers. Instead households which do not adjust their illiquid wealth, and whose behaviour in general can thus not be characterised by the first order conditions, show responses to income shocks which suggest a stronger precautionary-saving motive, such as wealthy hand-to-mouth consumers might be expected to show. The fifth chapter provides the conclusions of the thesis.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Ecology-Personal Financial Planning / Maurice M. MacDonald / The 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances was used to investigate the impact of scarcity on the savings motives and debt of middle-class, non-retired households. This project adds to financial planning literature by incorporating previously unobserved variables, financial and time scarcity, in financial decision-making. Its use of the scarcity lens has also provided new insights for serving the middle-class with financial planning. Middle-class household decision-making was impacted by financial and time scarcity. Objective financial scarcity was related to increased odds of saving for basic needs and negatively related to saving for retirement. Objective financial scarcity was negatively associated with household debt, which can be attributed to credit constraints lenders want. Subjective financial scarcity was negatively associated with saving for retirement and at the same time positively associated with saving for esteem or luxury. Objective time scarcity was positively related to higher levels of household debt. Subjective time scarcity had a significant but mixed relationship with household debt. Financial planners and financial counselors working with the middle-class should consider the impact of scarcity for managing debt and shaping goals that will influence saving for retirement.