Thermal energy storage(TES) air-conditioning system is a electrical load management technology with great potential to shift load from peak to off-peak utility periods. TES is now in widespread use for electric rate structures and energy policies and becomes a great contribution to energy conservation. However, TES is more complicated than conventional air-conditioning system in design and control strategies. According to practical field operation, the control of dynamic characters is especially difficult, and so are storage capacity design , discharging rate and charging capacity selection. This study set an example how to improve the energy performance of a retrofitted thermal energy storage air-conditioning system of a marine museum. Through full-scale experiment, historical air-conditioning operation data and computer simulation, the solution is provided on condition of unchanging major water pipe and equipment. This example can be a good demonstration for upping performance of TES. After testing and recording data for one year, this case indicates the investigation is effective and valuable to electric power management and green technology.

The first essay tests whether Chapter 11 restructuring outcomes are affected by time constraints in busy bankruptcy courts. Using the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005 as an exogenous shock to court caseloads, I estimate the impact of bankruptcy caseload changes on the outcomes of firms in Chapter 11. I find that as bankruptcy judges become busier they tend to allow more firms to reorganize. Firms that reorganize in busy courts spend longer in bankruptcy, while firms that are dismissed from busy courts are more likely to re-file for bankruptcy within three years of their original filing. In addition, busy courts impose costs on local banks, which report higher charge-offs on business lending when caseload increases. Using novel data that has complete coverage of claims for 136 Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filings and that includes detailed information on claims transfers, in the second essay we provide the first empirical insight on how a firm's ownership changes during the bankruptcy process and how these changes impact bankruptcy outcomes. Pre-bankruptcy ownership concentration is important for the coordination of a prearranged bankruptcy filing and is associated with a faster bankruptcy resolution and a higher likelihood of a successful reorganization. However, as the trading of claims in bankruptcy concentrates ownership further, the probability of liquidation increases and recovery rates decrease. The third essay studies whether prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts, which offer random, lottery-like payouts to account holders in lieu of risk-free interest, can aid individuals in increasing savings levels by adding the chance to "win big." Using micro-level data, we show that PLS is attractive to a broad group of individuals across all age, race, and income levels. We find that financially constrained individuals and those with no other deposit accounts are particularly likely to open a PLS account. Participants in the PLS program increased their total savings on average by 1.1% of annual income, a 31% increase form the mean level of savings. Deposits in PLS do not cannibalize savings in standard savings products. Instead, PLS appears to act as a substitute for lottery gambling.

The analyzed building in this project is located in Valbo, 9016 Stiftelsev 6. This house is a property of Gavlegårdarna, and it is being used as a house for disabled people. The building consists on five apartments, with one patient in each apartment. Some social workers help those patients in everything they need, making their living in the house as easy as possible. The aim of this project is to find out the best option of reducing the energy consumption in this house. There are some alternatives to reduce the energy or the energy costs as; efficiency measures, load management and energy conversion. This project is focused on the energy conversion for reducing the energy consumption. As it is the best option for obtaining a considerable reduction in the annual costs. First of all the energy balance of the house is analyzed. By studying the energy balance it is possible to find out how the energy consumption of the house is divided. On one hand there is the heat supplied and on the other hand the heat losses. As it was said before this project is focused in the reduction of the energy consumption by means of converting to another energy supplying method. Two alternatives have been studied: the installation of a heat pump and the connection to the district heating of Gävle.

The object of analysis in the present document is a residential house in Sätra. This building has a hydronic space heating system with radiators spread around the house and a heating recovery system ventilation which also use water for reheating. Water for space heating, ventilation and hot tap water is nowadays heated in an electric boiler.The aim of this project is to make a diagnosis of the current situation, evaluate different alternatives for supplying hot water to the house, and to study costs and possible savings by comparing the actual facilities with the proposals done.

Energy security is probably one of the most challenging issues around the world. Therefore, the focus on methods of decreasing energy consumption and consequently its associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is intensified by policy decision makers. Residential buildings are one of the potential sectors that can reduce its energy consumption in various ways, such as: improving thermal characteristics of the building, using more energy efficient appliances and using renewable energy resources. Among these methods, integration of solar technologies to buildings provides one of the substantial opportunities for reducing energy consumption and the associated GHG emissions in Canada’s residential sector. Therefore, this research work was conducted to assess the impact of solar technologies and solar technology integration strategies on the end-use energy consumption and the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canadian residential sector by using a new state-of-the-art end-use energy and GHG emissions model of the Canadian residential housing stock. The new Canadian residential end-use energy and emissions model that is used in this project incorporates a 17,000 house database developed using the latest data available from the Energuide for Houses database, Statistics Canada housing surveys, and other available housing databases, and utilizes an advanced building energy simulation program as its simulation engine. A new neural network methodology is incorporated into the model to estimate the socio-economic and demographic dependencies of the energy consumption of discretionary end-uses such as appliances, lighting and domestic hot water, while a new approach is used to incorporate occupancy, appliance, lighting and domestic hot water load profiles into the model. A new method is used to calculate the GHG emissions from electricity consumption used in the residential sector based on the actual electrical generation fuel mix and the marginal fuel used in each province as a function of time of the year. Each solar technology is added to the eligible houses to examine the interrelated effects of integrated solar technologies and practices on the housing stock. The objective is to conduct realistic assessments of the cost effectiveness, energy savings and GHG emission reduction benefits of integrated solar technologies for the entire Canadian housing stock (CHS) as well as for different regions, house type, and fuel types. The integrated solar technologies and practices that are assessed include passive solar with added thermal storage and motorized blinds, solar DHW system, and photovoltaic electricity and heat generation systems. This project provides a comprehensive techno-economic and emissions assessment of integrated solar technologies and practices, and will be useful for developing national and regional policies and strategies related with integrating solar energy into the residential sector.

The paper examines effects of individual characteristics, household characteristics and impact of having a child in a household on usage of formal savings services in Malawi. The result of the paper suggests that individuals with certain characteristics do increase their chance of having at least one formal savings account and total amount in the saving account. Typically, males and household head have positive correlation. In addition, having a stable income occupation increases individuals’ usage of formal savings services. Lastly, there is negative effect on formal savings account if an individual has a child under 3 in the household. Data used in this paper is collected through field experiment in over 320 villages in Malawi.

No description available.

Licentiat-uppsats Uppsala : Univ., 2002.

Diss. Uppsala : Univ., 2003.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. William D. Berry, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of Political Science. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 9, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains x, 198 pages. Includes bibliographical references.