Search results for "SUSTAINABLE DESIGN"
showing 10 items of 23 documents
Concepts for medium-high to high temperature thermoelectric heat-to-electricity conversion: a review of selected materials and basic considerations o…
2015
Within the last decade, novel materials concepts and nanotechnology have resulted in a great increase of the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials. Despite this, a mass market for thermoelectric heat-to-electricity conversion is yet to be opened up. One reason for this is that the transfer of the lab records into fabrication techniques which enable thermoelectric generator modules is very challenging. By closing the gap between record lab values and modules, broad industrial applications may become feasible. In this review, we compare three classes of materials, all designed for medium-high to high temperature applications in the field of waste heat recovery: skutterudites, half…
Building green covering for a sustainable use of energy
2013
Nowadays the growth of the cities increased built and paved areas, energy use and heat generation. The phenomenon of urban warming, called urban heat island, influences negatively outdoor comfort conditions, pollutants concentration, energy demand for air conditioning, as well as increases environmental impact due to the demand of energy generation. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of green roofs and walls in order to reduce the energy consumption for conditioning in summer and improve the thermal insulation in winter. The use of green roofs and walls can contribute to mitigate the phenomenon of heat island, the emissions of greenhouse gas…
Materiali e Tecniche Innovative per l'Edilizia Sostenibile
2021
Il cambiamento climatico e la necessità di ridurre il consumo energetico degli edifici sono argomenti chiave del dibattito politico, scientifico, economico e culturale. Un dibattito al quale si è voluto dare il proprio contributo sin dall’anno accademico 2010-2011 con la prima edizione del Master in Materiali e Tecniche Innovative per l’Edilizia Sostenibile (MeTIES) dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo insieme al Consorzio Universitario per l’Ateneo della Sicilia Occidentale e del Bacino del Mediterraneo (UNISOM), perseguendo il preciso obiettivo di formare una generazione di professionisti che sappiano padroneggiare le nuove tecnologie per ripensare il modo di “costruire”. Tutti gli stud…
Measure the Embodied Energy in Building Materials: An Eco-Sustainable Approach for Construction
2019
This paper highlights how the use of materials and building components often implicates the growth of embodied energy necessary to their construction, which is not always adequately compensated by a decrease of operational energy because incorporated energy can be almost half of the total energy used in a building’s life cycle and, sometimes, it even exceeds operational energy. The paper highlights how searching only for “operational” energy efficiency does not sufficiently guarantee environmental sustainability of the intervention. The intervention is heavily influenced by embodied energy whose knowledge must drive, since the beginning, the decision-making process towards more sustainable …
Incorporating Sustainability and Green Design Concepts into Engineering and Technology Curricula
2016
Human society is facing an uncertain future due to the present day unsustainable use of natural resources and the growing imbalance with our natural environment. Sustainability is an endeavour with uncertain outcomes requiring collaboration, teamwork, and abilities to work with respect and learn from other disciplines and professions, as well as with governments, local communities, political and civic organizations. The creation of a sustainable society is a complex and multi-stage endeavour that will dominate twenty first century. Sustainability has four basic aspects: environment, technology, economy, and societal organization. Schools with undergraduate engineering or engineering techno…
ARCHITETTURA E FOTOVOLTAICO: STRATEGIE E CRITERI D’INTEGRAZIONE. ARCHITECTURE AND PHOTOVOLTAICS: STRATEGIES AND INTEGRATION CRITERIA
2016
Nonostante i numerosi esempi positivi offerti dal panorama architettonico degli ultimi due decenni, alcuni studi hanno dimostrato come esistano ancora delle barriere che limitano l’impiego del fotovoltaico (FV) negli edifici e come spesso queste riguardino aspetti legati all’accettazione delle soluzioni utilizzate, specialmente sul piano della qualità architettonica. Il presente lavoro descrive e analizza alcuni dei numerosi esempi di nuova costruzione o retrofit, nei quali il FV diventa parte integrante del processo progettuale, non solo per gli aspetti concernenti la produzione di energia ma anche per quelli propriamente legati alla funzionalità dell’involucro edilizio, all’efficienza ene…
SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE: THE ECO-EFFICIENCY EARTH CONSTRUCTION
2017
The appropriate choice of building materials can contribute decisively to reduce the energy consumption of the building sector. The increasing worries for the environmental impact of construction materials is witnessed by a lot of studies The mentioned worries has brought again the attention towards natural materials. The use of more sustainable construction materials and construction techniques represent a major contribution to the eco-efficiency of the construction industry and thus to a more sustainable development. Within this frame the renewed interest for a natural material such as the rammed earth is included; the interest has been in continuous growth from the 80s till today. The ra…
SUP R DSS: A sustainability-based decision support & system for road pavements
2019
Road pavement community members are increasingly becoming aware of the need to incorporating the principles of sustainable development into the sector. Policies are also going in this direction and as a consequence in the recent years researchers and practitioners are coming up with new materials, technologies and practices designed to reduce the negative impacts of their activities in the surroundings. Within this framework the road pavements sector is witnessing a paradigm shift towards the development of pavement technologies incorporating high-content of recycled materials, as well as best practices to decrease the overall carbon footprint. These are all promising solutions that to the …
Il BIM nella Progettazione Sostenibile
2017
Il Building Information Modeling (BIM) è un sistema di progettazione integrata che usa tecniche di modellazione parametrica, associando a ogni elemento costruttivo una descrizione delle caratteristiche geometriche, dei materiali impiegati, dei costi di produzione, ecc. Ma è anche un’attività umana, che sta determinando consistenti modificazioni dei processi nel settore delle costruzioni. L’articolo presenterà i risultati di uno studio che si sta conducendo nell’ambito del Corso di Laurea in Ingegneria Edile –Architettura dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo, sulle potenzialità e i limiti che il BIM può determinare per il risparmio energetico. Attraverso l’approfondimento di un caso studio…
Technologies for green radio communication networks
2011
Since the introduction of cellular communications in the early '80s, the demand for two-way mobile communication services has increased tremendously. Today there are over 4 billion mobile users and 4.6 million radio base station sites worldwide. This rapid growth of the cellular mobile industry has been at the price of increased energy consumption and a sizable carbon footprint.