Search results

Commercial Buildings and complexes are no longer just national heat and power network energy loads, but they are becoming part of a smarter grid by including their own dedicated local heat and power generation. They do this by utilising both heat and power networks/micro-grids. A building integrated approach of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation with photovoltaic power generation (PV) abbreviated as CHPV is emerging as a complementary energy supply solution to conventional (i.e. national grid based) gas and electricity grid supplies in the design of sustainable commercial buildings and communities. The merits for the building user/owner of this approach are: to reduce life time energy running costs; reduce carbon emissions to contribute to UK's 2020/2030 climate change targets; and provide a more flexible and controllable local energy system to act as a dynamic supply and/or load to the central grid infrastructure. The energy efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions achievable by CHP systems are well documented. The merits claimed by these solutions are predicated on the ability of these systems being able to satisfy: perfect matching of heat and power supply and demand; ability at all times to maintain high quality power supply; and to be able to operate with these constraints in a highly dynamic and unpredictable heat and power demand situation. Any circumstance resulting in failure to guarantee power quality or matching of supply and demand will result in a degradation of the achievable energy efficiency and CO2 reduction. CHP based local energy systems cannot rely on large scale diversity of demand to create a relatively easy approach to supply and demand matching (i.e. as in the case of large centralised power grid infrastructures). The diversity of demand in a local energy system is both much greater than the centralised system and is also specific to the local system. It is therefore essential that these systems have robust and high performance control systems to ensure supply and demand matching and high power quality can be achieved at all times. Ideally this same control system should be able to make best use of local energy system energy storage to enable it to be used as a flexible, highly responsive energy supply and/or demand for the centralised infrastructure. In this thesis, a comprehensive literature survey has identified that there is no scientific and rigorous method to assess the controllability or the design of control systems for these local energy systems. Thus, the main challenge of the work described in this thesis is that of a controller design method and modelling approach for CHP based local energy systems. Specifically, the main research challenge for the controller design and modelling methodology was to provide an accurate and stable system performance to deliver a reliable tracking of power drawn/supplied to the centralised infrastructure whilst tracking the require thermal comfort in the local energy systems buildings. In the thesis, the CHPV system has been used as a case study. A CHPV based solution provides all the benefits of CHP combined with the near zero carbon building/local network integrated PV power generation. CHPV needs to be designed to provide energy for the local buildings' heating, dynamic ventilating system and air-conditioning (HVAC) facilities as well as all electrical power demands. The thesis also presents in addition to the controller design and modelling methodology a novel CHPV system design topology for robust, reliable and high-performance control of building temperatures and energy supply from the local energy system. The advanced control system solution aims to achieve desired building temperatures using thermostatic control whilst simultaneously tracking a specified national grid power demand profile. The theory is innovative as it provides a stability criterion as well as guarantees to track a specified dynamic grid connection demand profile. This research also presents: design a dynamic MATLAB simulation model for a 5-building zone commercial building to show the efficacy of the novel control strategy in terms of: delivering accurate thermal comfort and power supply; reducing the amount of CO2 emissions by the entire energy system; reducing running costs verses national rid/conventional approaches. The model was developed by inspecting the functional needs of 3 local energy system case studies which are also described in the thesis. The CHPV system is combined with supplementary gas boiler for additional heating to guarantee simultaneous tracking of all the zones thermal comfort requirements whilst simultaneously tracking a specified national grid power demand using a Photovoltaics array to supply the system with renewable energy to reduce amount of CO2 emission. The local energy system in this research can operate in any of three modes (Exporting, Importing, Island). The emphasise of the thesis modelling method has been verified to be applicable to a wide range of case studies described in the thesis chapter 3. This modelling framework is the platform for creating a generic controlled design methodology that can be applied to all these case studies and beyond, including Local Energy System (LES) in hotter climates that require a cooling network using absorption chillers. In the thesis in chapter 4 this controller design methodology using the modelling framework is applied to just one case study of Copperas Hill. Local energy systems face two types of challenges: technical and nontechnical (such as energy economics and legislation). This thesis concentrates solely on the main technical challenges of a local energy system that has been identified as a gap in knowledge in the literature survey. The gap identified is the need for a controller design methodology to allow high performance and safe integration of the local energy system with the national grid infrastructure and locally installed renewables. This integration requires the system to be able to operate at high performance and safely in all different modes of operation and manage effectively the multi-vector energy supply system (e.g. simultaneous supply of heat and power from a single system).

As the comprehensive summary of a cumulative dissertation in accordance with § 7 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations (Universität Hamburg, Germany), this report provides an overview, overall background and main outcomes of two specific papers within the research area of bioenergy, land use/land use change and climate change. Finally general conclusions are drawn and a scientific outlook for future research needs is illustrated. Two different aspects of influencing i) the climatic impacts of land use change considering non-GHG effects such as albedo and ii) the effects of supporting climate policy instruments such as the introduction of the EU-ETS on biomass for energy purposes are assessed. The impacts of non-GHG effects on climate change benefits of afforestation/reforestation regimes are under debate. The first paper investigates how to incorporate the changes of albedo in an existing carbon accounting tool to show the net effect of land use change on the climate. Applied on a chosen case study area in southern Europe the work combined an atmospheric and carbon accounting tool to convert albedo and carbon sequestration modelling results to a combined radiative forcing balance. The results show that afforestation/reforestation measures as human activities are no longer seen as simply positive actions fighting global warming, because most of the carbon sequestered via photosynthetic CO2 fixation of forest growth (up to 6x10-6 Watts ha-1 at maturity level) is neutralized by the warming effect of albedo changes. However, sensitivity analyses lead to the conclusion that the improvement of input data like measured albedo values from satellite images (e.g. MODIS) could influence the outputs significantly. For this reason the paper points out that counting for GHG units in land use change calculations does not reflect the entire picture. It is highly recommended that in future GHG balances of land use systems and products (e.g. biomass, liquid biofuels) via LCA should also include these additional climatic effects in addition to the C balances of dLUC and iLUC. The second paper assesses possible impacts of changes to the EU-ETS on solid and liquid biomass use in Europe. Based on these assessments, recommendations are outlined for optimising support for solid and liquid biofuels. The European Energy and Climate Package agreement contains fundamental changes to the EU-ETS, which started in 2005. With some exceptions, emissions allowances in the power sector will be auctioned starting with the third trading period of the scheme in 2013. This may have significant impacts on the sector's fuel mix and investment decisions. To the extent to which the EU-ETS results in a price on CO2 emissions, it increases the competitiveness of low carbon fuels. Under current regulations no CO2 emissions are attributed to combustion of biomass, thus it functions as a zero-carbon fuel. The study shows that while the use of biomass is already viable under CO2 prices that have been reached within the EU-ETS, investments in new biomass plants need a higher price level as well as more stable prices, conditions which cannot be predicted with any confidence. The road transport sector, which has significant scope to increase its use of biofuels is currently not part of the EU-ETS, and will not be included in the third trading period starting in 2013. However, the likely consequences of including transportation fuels under the EU-ETS are considered as well as options which involve separate trading schemes for liquid biofuels. Both papers underline that on the one hand looking beyond GHG effects when assessing carbon balances and on the other hand taking into account additional monetary climate policy options in improving bioenergy strategies may complement already established pathways fighting global warming in a significant manner. ; Als zusammenfassender Überbau einer kumulativen Dissertation an der Universität Hamburg, Deutschland enthält diese Arbeit einen generellen Überblick, den naturwissenschaftlich und klimapolitischen Hintergrund, sowie die spezifischen Ergebnisse zweier Veröffentlichungen im Bereich der Bioenergie, der Landnutzung und des Klimawandels. Am Ende werden generelle Schlussfolgerungen gezogen, sowie ein wissenschaftlicher Ausblick gegeben. Zwei Aspekte werden in diesem wissenschaftlichen Umfeld betrachtet: i) zum einen werden die klimatechnischen Auswirkungen von nicht treibhausgasrelevanten Effekten infolge von Landnutzungsänderungen und ii) zum anderen auf die Auswirkungen klimapolitischer Instrumente (z.B. das EU-ETS) auf die Biomassenutzung zur Energieerzeugung eingegangen. Der Betrachtung von nicht treibhausgasrelevanten Effekten durch Aufforstungen und Wiederaufforstungen auf den fortschreitenden Klimawandel werden derzeit diskutiert. Die erste Veröffentlichung untersucht in welcher Form die Veränderung der Albedo auf Grund von Landnutzungsänderungen in ein bestehendes Kohlenstoffmodell eingebaut werden kann, um so den Gesamteffekt auf das Klima besser darstellen zu können. Angewandt auf eine Fallstudie in Südeuropa wird ein atmosphärisches Modell mit einem Kohlenstoffmodell kombiniert, um einerseits die Reflexionsveränderung und andererseits die Änderung der Kohlenstoffspeicherung einer Aufforstungsfläche in einer kombinierten Strahlungsbilanz über die Zeit darzustellen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Maßnahmen wie Aufforstungen und Wiederaufforstungen nicht mehr nur als einfache, positive Aktivitäten gesehen werden können den Klimawandel zu bekämpfen, da die C-Anreicherung durch das Waldwachstum via CO2-Bindung (bis zu 6x10-6 Watts ha-1 zum Ende der Umtriebszeit) durch die Veränderung der Albedo neutralisiert wird. Die Sensitivitätsanlayse zeigt, dass eine Verbesserung der Eingangsparameter, wie z.B. die Anwendung von tatsächlichen, aus Satellitenbildern gemessenen Albedo Daten (z.B. MODIS), die Ergebnisse signifikant beeinflussen können. Schlussfolgernd wird unterstrichen, dass die Berechnung der Kohlenstoffspeicherveränderungen im Zuge einer Landnutzungsänderung alleine nicht ausreicht, um den gesamten Einfluss auf das Klima widerzuspiegeln. Zukünftige Treibhausgasbilanzen von Landnutzungssystemen und Produkten (z.B. Biomasse, Biotreibstoffe) mittels Lebenszyklusanalysen sollten demnach nicht nur die C-Bilanzen der direkten und indirekten Landnutzungsänderung berücksichtigen, sondern auch diese zusätzlichen, nicht treibhausgasrelevanten Effekte inkludieren. Die zweite Veröffentlichung untersucht die möglichen Auswirkungen des Europäischen Emissionshandelssystems (EU-ETS) auf die Nutzung fester und flüssiger Biobrennstoffe in Europa. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen werden Vorschläge zur optimalen Unterstützung einer verstärkten Biomassenutzung herausgearbeitet. Der Beschluss des Europäischen Klima- und Energiepakets beinhaltet fundamentale Änderungen des bestehenden EU-ETS, das im Jahr 2005 startete. Mit wenigen Ausnahmen werden Emissionsrechte im Stromerzeugungssektor ab dem Beginn der dritten Handelsperiode in 2013 versteigert werden. Dieser Umstand wird sowohl einen signifikanten Einfluss auf den Brennstoffeinsatz zur Stromerzeugung, als auch auf künftige Investitionsentscheidungen haben. Je höher der CO2 Preis innerhalb des EU-ETS gehandelt werden wird, desto höher wird auch die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit kohlenstoffarmer Energieträger werden. Unter den derzeitigen Bestimmungen gilt die Verbrennung von Biomasse als CO2-neutral und stellt daher rechnerisch einen klimaneutralen Brennstoff dar. Die Arbeit zeigt, dass die Biomassenutzung selbst unter den derzeit niedrigen CO2 Preisen vorangetrieben wird, allerdings werden hinsichtlich neuer Investitionen in den Ausbau von Biomassekraftwerken höhere und stabilere CO2-Preise nötig sein. Vorrausetzungen, die derzeit allerdings nur sehr schwer abschätzbar sind. Der Transportsektor, der über großes Potential zur Steigerung seiner Biotreibstoffnutzung verfügt ist derzeit aus dem EU-ETS ausgeschlossen und wird auch nicht innerhalb der dritten Handelsperiode als zusätzlicher Sektor aufgenommen werden. Dennoch werden in dieser Arbeit eine Abschätzung der möglichen Aufnahmevarianten des Transportsektors in das bestehende EU-ETS bzw. in eine eigenes, separates Handelssystems untersucht und dessen Auswirkungen auf flüssige Biotreibstoffe beschrieben. Beide Arbeiten unterstreichen auf der einen Seite die Notwendigkeit über die derzeit angewandten Methoden zur Treibhausgasbilanzierung von Landnutzungssystemen und Produkten hinauszugehen und auf der anderen Seite zusätzliche monetäre, klimapolitische Maßnahmen in nationalen Bioenergiestrategien anzudenken, um sinnvolle und wirksame Lösungen zur Stärkung der Biomassenutzung und zur Bekämpfung des Klimawandels voranzutreiben.

For the first time — and it is rather remarkable that this is the first time — the United Nations COP28 climate summit beginning this week in Dubai will include a "Global Stocktake" of progress made in achieving the goals set out and commitments made by global agreements since the 2015 Paris climate accords. If this stocktaking is honest, it will also be extremely depressing.In order to prevent the rise in global temperatures since pre-industrial times from exceeding the reasonably safe limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), COP26 in Glasgow established a goal of reducing fossil fuel emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Those goals are now unachievable. Based on present trajectories, emissions will actually rise nine percent above 2010 levels by that date. Since carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years, this means that a rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius is now inevitable and cannot subsequently be reversed, at least with any technology now available to us.The inevitable result will be an intensification of the heat waves, droughts, forest fires and floods that have plagued large parts of the world — including the United States — over the past year. Without a radical change of course, however, much worse lies ahead. If emissions continue to rise until 2030, it is almost impossible to imagine how "net zero" (whereby carbon extracted from the atmosphere equals that put into it) can be achieved by 2050. Even with the commitments made by states under the Paris agreement — hailed as a radical breakthrough in climate change action — it has been estimated that by the end of this century global temperatures will rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius. This would bring us into quite unknown territory. The negative impacts of natural disasters and on agricultural yields in key parts of the world will rise exponentially. Perhaps new crops genetically modified to withstand heat will ward off mass famines, or perhaps not. Apart from anything else, hundreds of millions of agricultural workers in Asia and elsewhere cannot be genetically modified to withstand sustained exposure to temperatures that are lethal to human beings.This will happen even if this rise in temperatures occurs, as it has until now, in a linear and gradual fashion (gradual by the standards of humanity, not of the Earth). There is however a real, albeit unquantifiable, risk that such an increase will lead to "tipping points" and "feedback loops," whereby a rise of two degrees will lead to three degrees and three degrees to four degrees over a short period of time. If so, civilization as we know it will be destroyed. No organized society on Earth could withstand both the physical disruption involved and the immense movements of desperate people that would result.This danger of feedback loops exists primarily in the Arctic, where the melting of sea ice reduces the reflectivity of sunlight back into space, and the melting of the Arctic permafrost risks releasing enormous quantities of methane from frozen rotted plants. Although methane is far less long-lived than carbon dioxide, it is almost 40 times more powerful in terms of its greenhouse effect. And the Arctic is warming at almost three times the rate of the planetary average.This is why the approach of the U.S. security establishment to the warming of the Arctic is so bitterly indicative. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of papers, briefings and articles have concentrated on the supposed threat that the melting of the Arctic sea ice will allow Russia and China to sail more ships through the region. To this, the only sensible answer must be: So what? Russia and China cannot invade Alaska or Canada through the Arctic, and the danger posed by nuclear missiles or bombers overflying the region has existed for more than sixty years and is completely unaffected by climate change. Meanwhile, these writers appear completely indifferent to the likelihood that climate change in the Arctic will drown American cities, wreck much of U.S. agriculture, and inflict grievous harm on the lives and health of hundreds of millions of U.S. citizens. We are suffering from a severe case of "residual elites;" foreign policy and security establishments that grew up to deal with one kind of challenge — in the U.S. case, World War II and the Cold War — but whose structures, ideologies and economic interests render them incapable of meeting a wholly different set of challenges. A parallel might be made with the "Confucian" elites of 19th-century China. They represented by far the oldest and most successful governing tradition in history; but it was one that was wholly unprepared to meet the completely new challenge of Western imperial capitalism.It must be said of course that this criticism applies just as much or more to the security elites of other major powers, including the Indians and Chinese, who are also focused on geopolitical ambitions and risks at the expense of action against climate change. Indeed, they can be considered even more foolish. While, for a long time to come, developed societies in the West will be able to withstand or adapt to the direct physical effects of climate change, parts of Asia are far more immediately threatened. This is especially true of South Asia, where even fairly limited increases in temperatures are projected to have potentially disastrous impacts on agricultural production. Yet too much of the Indian approach to COP28 seems to consist of diplomatic grandstanding intended to boost India's status and prestige by acting as the leader of the "Global South" in demanding reparations and vastly increased aid from Western countries to compensate for their emissions since the Industrial Revolution. This may be just. But it misses the point that the duty of Indian officials today is to do everything possible to minimize damage to India, above all by reducing India's own steeply rising emissions from coal.The other issue exemplified by South Asia is the prospect that rapid climate change will radically increase migration. It is natural that Western commentators and analysts should concentrate on illegal migration to Europe and America and both the human suffering and the political dangers involved. Yet one of the two most ferociously defended anti-immigrant borders in the world is India's with Bangladesh, a line on which more than 1100 Bangladeshis have been shot dead by Indian security forces over the past decade. Indian worries about Bangladeshi migration have been amplified by the fact that Bangladesh is one of the countries both most over-populated and most endangered by climate change and consequent sea level rise. Moreover, mass Bengali migration into the surrounding hill country has sparked numerous bloody instances of ethnic strife in eastern India over the past decades, and contributed to Burmese hostility to the Bengali-speaking Rohingya minority in Myanmar.After a long series of record-breaking years, 2023 is now set to be the hottest since records began. Across the U.S., local heat records have been shattered. Massive forest fires have devastated areas of northern Canada where such events would have been unthinkable in the past. U.S. neighbors in Central America, already under severe social, economic, criminal and ecological stress, are facing a future when the additional effects of climate change will render their governments completely unable to cope. These are threats to American society and ordinary Americans that dwarf anything China and Russia can do (short of nuclear war). While the Biden administration has declared rhetorically that climate change is an "existential threat," the country's security establishment has still failed to reorder its priorities accordingly. If U.S. elites truly believe that America is the "indispensable nation," they should feel compelled to do so. For if we continue with one international "agreement" after another that fails to meet its own stated goals, then historians of the future will consider that U.S. global leadership failed at its most important test.Sophia Ampgkarian contributed to the research for this article.Dear RS readers: It has been an extraordinary year and our editing team has been working overtime to make sure that we are covering the current conflicts with quality, fresh analysis that doesn't cleave to the mainstream orthodoxy or take official Washington and the commentariat at face value. Our staff reporters, experts, and outside writers offer top-notch, independent work, daily. Please consider making a tax-exempt, year-end contribution to Responsible Statecraft so that we can continue this quality coverage — which you will find nowhere else — into 2024. Happy Holidays!

One of the top priorities of European countries is to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the built environment. To reach this goal, urban renewal processes are seen as a core strategy towards a sustainable built fabric, given the fact that a large proportion of the cities of tomorrow is already standing. Indeed, there are still considerable potential energy savings to be made in European countries in general, and in Spain in particular, a country in which most residential buildings were constructed before 2001 based on very low thermal regulations compared to the current ones. Therefore, these buildings require large amounts of energy to ensure a minimum indoor comfort. Considering the global context of the country and the current economic crisis, which is particularly affecting the construction sector, the future lies in the renewal process of the built environment, responsible for 40% of the primary energy consumption in the country. The originality of this research is to apply the cost-optimal methodology at the territorial scale, using statistical and population census data and taking into account the 12 climatic zones of the Spanish territory. Initially, the cost-optimal methodology was proposed by the European Union to study different building retrofitting scenarios. It consists in a multi-criteria assessment that allows comparing various levels of intervention under different macro-economic scenarios, in terms of the cost- effectiveness of the strategies, and energy and environmental savings. This thesis presents the application of the cost-optimal methodology at the territorial scale in order to estimate the energy saving potential of residential buildings constructed before 2001. The assessment methodology is implemented in an Excel- based strategic decision-making tool, aiming to help select the best strategy for achieving the European requirements according to the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standard. Moreover, this research proposes a new systematic approach linking the different scales (regional, city / district and building) through energy simulations based on different levels of detail (LoD). Starting from the representation of the existing building stock using Archetypes, a bottom-up extrapolation (also known as scaled-up methodology) is applied, using the results obtained from the energy simulations performed by the parameterization of each Archetype. The application of Excel-based strategic decision-making tool allows the user to make two types of studies: (I) At the building scale, a comparison of different improvement package strategies, for one type of housing in a particular climatic zone. (II) At the territory-scale, a comparison of different improvement package strategies to have an overview of all types of buildings and all climatic zones simultaneously. The results include economic and financial aspects, consumption and energy savings, associated GHG equivalent emissions, and the results of the life-cycle analysis (LCA) and cost (LCC). These outcomes allow verifying if the proposed scenarios could reach the objectives for nZEBs. Ultimately, this research shall contribute to helping firms in the construction sector adapt their business plans towards the promotion of urban renewal projects by improving existing buildings, while also supporting stakeholders of urban planning in making strategic decisions at medium/long -term towards a sustainable urban renewal process of the building stock. ; Una de las principales prioridades de los países europeos es la reducción del consumo de energía y las emisiones de gas a efecto invernadero (GEI) causadas por el entorno construido. En relación a este objetivo, y ya que las ciudades del futuro están en gran parte construidas, la mayoría de estrategias hacen hincapié en la importancia de los procesos de renovación urbana para lograr alcanzar los objetivos de sostenibilidad en términos económicos, sociales y medioambientales. De hecho, en los países europeos en general y en España en particular, existe un gran potencial de ahorro de energía y de emisiones de GEI. En España, la mayoría de los edificios de viviendas que están en pie hoy en día, se construyeron antes de 2001 en base a reglamentaciones térmicas muy poco exigente en comparación con las actuales, como consecuencia, estos edificios necesitan grandes cantidades de energía para satisfacer un confort interior adecuado. Teniendo en cuenta el contexto global del país y la crisis económico financiera que está afectando especialmente al sector de la construcción, el futuro del sector está en la rehabilitación del entorno ya construido, el cual es el responsable del 40% del consumo de energía primaria del país. La originalidad de esta investigación radica en la aplicación de la metodología de coste-óptimo a escala territorial, a partir de datos estadísticos y del censo de la población, teniendo en cuenta las 12 zonas clim áticas del territorio español para ofrecer la posibilidad de llevar a cabo una evaluación multicriterio que va a permite comparar diferentes escenarios de intervención según diversos escenarios macroeconómicos. En esta tesis se presenta la aplicación de la metodología de coste-óptimo a escala territorial con el objetivo de estimar el potencial de ahorro de energía de los edificios de viviendas construidas hasta 2001. As í mismo, se propone la implementación de la metodología de evaluación en una herramienta de ayuda a la toma de decisiones estratégicas, programada en MS Excel®. Esta herramienta va a permitir ayudar a seleccionar las estrategias de intervención más idóneas en cada caso, permitiendo comparar los resultados con los objetivos europeos en base al estándar nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB). Así mismo, este trabajo de investigación propone un nuevo enfoque sistemático que permite relacionar las diferentes escalas de intervención (territorial, ciudad/barrio y edificio) a través de simulaciones de energía basadas en diferentes niveles de detalle (LoD), partiendo de la representación del stock de edificios existentes a partir de Arquetipos y del m étodo de extrapolación botom-up conocido como scaled-up, usando los resultados obtenidos de las simulaciones energéticas realizadas mediante la parametrización de cada Arquetipo. La aplicación de la metodología propuesta por este trabajo va permite llevar a cabo dos tipos de estudios: (I) A escala del edificio, comparando diferentes paquetes de mejora, teniendo en cuenta un solo tipo de edificio para una zona clim ática determinada. (II) A escala territorial, comparando diferentes escenarios de intervención y obteniendo una visión global teniendo en cuenta al mismo tiempo todos los tipos de edificio y zonas clim áticas. Además, los resultados incluyen aspectos económico-financieros, consumo y ahorro de energía, emisiones asociadas y el resultado del análisis del ciclo de vida (ACV) y costes (ACC); verificando en todo momento si los escenarios propuestos alcanzarían los objetivos fijados para los edificios nZEB. Los resultados de esta tesis tienen como objetivo apoyar el proceso de renovación urbana sostenible del parque de viviendas existentes en España, ayudando a las empresas del sector de la construcción a adaptar sus planes de negocio hacia la promoción de proyectos de rehabilitación urbana. Así como, a los principales actores de la planificación urbana encargados de la toma de decisiones estratégicas a medio/largo plazo ; Postprint (published version)

One of the top priorities of European countries is to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the built environment. To reach this goal, urban renewal processes are seen as a core strategy towards a sustainable built fabric, given the fact that a large proportion of the cities of tomorrow is already standing. Indeed, there are still considerable potential energy savings to be made in European countries in general, and in Spain in particular, a country in which most residential buildings were constructed before 2001 based on very low thermal regulations compared to the current ones. Therefore, these buildings require large amounts of energy to ensure a minimum indoor comfort. Considering the global context of the country and the current economic crisis, which is particularly affecting the construction sector, the future lies in the renewal process of the built environment, responsible for 40% of the primary energy consumption in the country. The originality of this research is to apply the cost-optimal methodology at the territorial scale, using statistical and population census data and taking into account the 12 climatic zones of the Spanish territory. Initially, the cost-optimal methodology was proposed by the European Union to study different building retrofitting scenarios. It consists in a multi-criteria assessment that allows comparing various levels of intervention under different macro-economic scenarios, in terms of the cost- effectiveness of the strategies, and energy and environmental savings. This thesis presents the application of the cost-optimal methodology at the territorial scale in order to estimate the energy saving potential of residential buildings constructed before 2001. The assessment methodology is implemented in an Excel- based strategic decision-making tool, aiming to help select the best strategy for achieving the European requirements according to the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standard. Moreover, this research proposes a new systematic approach linking the different scales (regional, city / district and building) through energy simulations based on different levels of detail (LoD). Starting from the representation of the existing building stock using Archetypes, a bottom-up extrapolation (also known as scaled-up methodology) is applied, using the results obtained from the energy simulations performed by the parameterization of each Archetype. The application of Excel-based strategic decision-making tool allows the user to make two types of studies: (I) At the building scale, a comparison of different improvement package strategies, for one type of housing in a particular climatic zone. (II) At the territory-scale, a comparison of different improvement package strategies to have an overview of all types of buildings and all climatic zones simultaneously. The results include economic and financial aspects, consumption and energy savings, associated GHG equivalent emissions, and the results of the life-cycle analysis (LCA) and cost (LCC). These outcomes allow verifying if the proposed scenarios could reach the objectives for nZEBs. Ultimately, this research shall contribute to helping firms in the construction sector adapt their business plans towards the promotion of urban renewal projects by improving existing buildings, while also supporting stakeholders of urban planning in making strategic decisions at medium/long -term towards a sustainable urban renewal process of the building stock. ; Una de las principales prioridades de los países europeos es la reducción del consumo de energía y las emisiones de gas a efecto invernadero (GEI) causadas por el entorno construido. En relación a este objetivo, y ya que las ciudades del futuro están en gran parte construidas, la mayoría de estrategias hacen hincapié en la importancia de los procesos de renovación urbana para lograr alcanzar los objetivos de sostenibilidad en términos económicos, sociales y medioambientales. De hecho, en los países europeos en general y en España en particular, existe un gran potencial de ahorro de energía y de emisiones de GEI. En España, la mayoría de los edificios de viviendas que están en pie hoy en día, se construyeron antes de 2001 en base a reglamentaciones térmicas muy poco exigente en comparación con las actuales, como consecuencia, estos edificios necesitan grandes cantidades de energía para satisfacer un confort interior adecuado. Teniendo en cuenta el contexto global del país y la crisis económico financiera que está afectando especialmente al sector de la construcción, el futuro del sector está en la rehabilitación del entorno ya construido, el cual es el responsable del 40% del consumo de energía primaria del país. La originalidad de esta investigación radica en la aplicación de la metodología de coste-óptimo a escala territorial, a partir de datos estadísticos y del censo de la población, teniendo en cuenta las 12 zonas clim áticas del territorio español para ofrecer la posibilidad de llevar a cabo una evaluación multicriterio que va a permite comparar diferentes escenarios de intervención según diversos escenarios macroeconómicos. En esta tesis se presenta la aplicación de la metodología de coste-óptimo a escala territorial con el objetivo de estimar el potencial de ahorro de energía de los edificios de viviendas construidas hasta 2001. As í mismo, se propone la implementación de la metodología de evaluación en una herramienta de ayuda a la toma de decisiones estratégicas, programada en MS Excel®. Esta herramienta va a permitir ayudar a seleccionar las estrategias de intervención más idóneas en cada caso, permitiendo comparar los resultados con los objetivos europeos en base al estándar nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB). Así mismo, este trabajo de investigación propone un nuevo enfoque sistemático que permite relacionar las diferentes escalas de intervención (territorial, ciudad/barrio y edificio) a través de simulaciones de energía basadas en diferentes niveles de detalle (LoD), partiendo de la representación del stock de edificios existentes a partir de Arquetipos y del m étodo de extrapolación botom-up conocido como scaled-up, usando los resultados obtenidos de las simulaciones energéticas realizadas mediante la parametrización de cada Arquetipo. La aplicación de la metodología propuesta por este trabajo va permite llevar a cabo dos tipos de estudios: (I) A escala del edificio, comparando diferentes paquetes de mejora, teniendo en cuenta un solo tipo de edificio para una zona clim ática determinada. (II) A escala territorial, comparando diferentes escenarios de intervención y obteniendo una visión global teniendo en cuenta al mismo tiempo todos los tipos de edificio y zonas clim áticas. Además, los resultados incluyen aspectos económico-financieros, consumo y ahorro de energía, emisiones asociadas y el resultado del análisis del ciclo de vida (ACV) y costes (ACC); verificando en todo momento si los escenarios propuestos alcanzarían los objetivos fijados para los edificios nZEB. Los resultados de esta tesis tienen como objetivo apoyar el proceso de renovación urbana sostenible del parque de viviendas existentes en España, ayudando a las empresas del sector de la construcción a adaptar sus planes de negocio hacia la promoción de proyectos de rehabilitación urbana. Así como, a los principales actores de la planificación urbana encargados de la toma de decisiones estratégicas a medio/largo plazo ; Postprint (published version)

This could be the script for an episode of Tomorrow's World: Automated floating factories that manufacture green versions of petrol or diesel could soon be in operation thanks to pioneering work at the University of Cambridge. The revolutionary system would produce a net-zero fuel that would burn without creating fossil-derived emissions of carbon dioxide, say researchers.The Cambridge project is based on a floating artificial leaf which has been developed at the university and which can turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into synthetic fuel. The group believe these thin, flexible devices could one day be exploited on a industrial scale.As with everything that did appear on the late lamented Tomorrow's World we'll all look back in two decades and wonder what the heck happened to that idea? This particular and specific version of the general idea we're not sure about that is. But this part we're near certain is right:Floated on water, the artificial leaf produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide. "Crucially, we use sunlight to power these transformations," said Reisner. "And the chemicals that we make this way have already been used to manufacture feedstocks, though it is fuel – like diesel or petrol – that we really want to target. One goal would be to make green sustainable kerosene for the aviation market."Aviation is a grand human boon. People like flying. So, if we are to beat climate change we need to do one of four things. Fly less or not at all (and so be measurably poorer ), find some different way of powering airplanes, say the heck with it and fly but have more climate change or, perhaps, find a different way of fuelling jet 'planes. The actual answer will, we think, involve some part of all of these. But as we've said before we think that new way to make jet fuel is the one that is going to be utility maximising.As it happens we think that aviation is going to get solved an entirely different way. The renewables to green hydrogen to synthfuel route has promise. The current infrastructure and activities using it would thereby be carbon neutral. Which we think would be a double victory. Solving the climate change impact while preserving maximal human utility has its attractions. But right royally annoying all those who would impose sumptuary laws is even better.As we say, we're not sure about this very specific method. Nor are we about Porsche and their turning Roaring Forties wind into petrol down in Tierra del Fuego. The chemistry here is not difficult, if we've got either hydrogen or this syngas then it's well known in fact. Therefore that's what we expect will happen. Which does lead to what the policy response should be - nothing. Leave the scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to battle it out in the market. We here in the UK already tax aviation appropriately for climate effects - APD is a carbon tax. So, in terms of policy we're done, we've set the system up and the correct answer will be what markets produce through market processes. That is, to policy makers - don't do anything, just stand there.

La Química Analítica es pot dividir en dos tipus d'anàlisis, l'anàlisi quantitativa i l'anàlisi qualitativa. La gran part de la química analítica moderna és quantitativa i fins i tot els govern fan ús d'aquesta ciència per establir regulacions que controlen, per exemple, nivells d'exposició a substàncies tòxiques que poden afectar la salut pública. El concepte de mínima quantitat d'un analit o component que es pot detectar apareix en moltes d'aquestes regulacions, en general com una part de la validació dels mètodes per tal de garantir la qualitat i la validesa dels resultats.La mínima quantitat d'una substància que pot ser diferenciada de l'absència d'aquesta substància (el que es coneix com un blanc) s'anomena límit de detecció (limit of detection, LOD). En procediments on es treballa amb mesures analítiques que són degudes només a la quantitat d'analit present a la mostra (situació d'ordre zero) el LOD es pot calcular com un múltiple de la mesura del blanc (tradicionalment, 3 vegades la desviació d'aquesta mesura). Tanmateix, l'evolució dels instruments analítics i la complexitat creixent de les dades que generen, porta a situacions en les que el LOD no es pot calcular fiablement d'una forma tan senzilla. Les mesures, els instruments i els models de calibratge es poden classificar en funció del tipus de dades que utilitzen. La Teoria Tensorial s'ha utilitzat en aquesta tesi per fer aquesta classificació amb un llenguatge útil i unificat. Els instruments que generen dades en dues dimensions s'anomenen instruments de segon ordre i un exemple típic és l'espectrofluorímetre d'excitació-emissió, que proporciona un conjunt d'espectres d'emissió obtinguts a diferents longituds d'ona d'excitació.Els mètodes de calibratge emprats amb cada tipus de dades tenen diferents caract ; Analytical chemistry can be split into two main types, qualitative and quantitative. Most modern analytical chemistry is quantitative. Popular sensitivity to health issues is aroused by the mountains of government regulations that use science to, for instance, provide public health information to prevent disease caused by harmful exposure to toxic substances. The concept of the minimum amount of an analyte or compound that can be detected or analysed appears in many of these regulations (for example, to discard the presence of traces of toxic substances in foodstuffs) generally as a part of method validation aimed at reliably evaluating the validity of the measurements.The lowest quantity of a substance that can be distinguished from the absence of that substance (a blank value) is called the detection limit or limit of detection (LOD). Traditionally, in the context of simple measurements where the instrumental signal only depends on the amount of analyte, a multiple of the blank value is taken to calculate the LOD (traditionally, the blank value plus three times the standard deviation of the measurement). However, the increasing complexity of the data that analytical instruments can provide for incoming samples leads to situations in which the LOD cannot be calculated as reliably as before.Measurements, instruments and mathematical models can be classified according to the type of data they use. Tensorial theory provides a unified language that is useful for describing the chemical measurements, analytical instruments and calibration methods. Instruments that generate two-dimensional arrays of data are second-order instruments. A typical example is a spectrofluorometer, which provides a set of emission spectra obtained at different excitation wavelengths.The calibratio

The research materials represent a theoretical reflection on the strategies of the leading actors of world politics for the development of the hydrogen economy and the transformation of global fuel and energy complex in the context of the tasks voiced at the Summit of Climate Leaders on April 22-23, 2021 ("reducing emissions during this critical decade", "mobilizing public and private sector finances to ensure zero transition to a new clean energy economy", "promoting transformational technologies of pure zero by 2050"). The article examines a numer of state strategies: 1) dialectical balance between the operational concepts of the methodical "matryoshka (triple) doll" (biosphere - human life - technosphere) in the European Green Deal, Alternative Energy and Hydrogen Economy projects; 2) achieving synergy of components in the quadrangle of economic and legal relations "Lex Mercatoria - Democratia Carboneum - Lex Petroleа - European Green Deal" when applying new technologies; 3) filling the national and international legal gap to ensure innovation in the field of energy at all stages (extraction, production, supply, transportation, transfer, storage of energy resources, design, construction, operation of energy facilities); 4) resource self-sufficiency and technological capabilities of using hydrogen, choosing the best option for the hydrogen value chain; 5) development of fuel and energy complexes of the European Union, the Republic of Korea, and Japan in terms of prospects for hydrogen energy and building a hydrogen economy based on a combination of national industrial traditions with innovative technologies. The article also deals with a set of institutional factors and legal norms for regulating the relationship between the subjects of national and global fuel and energy complexes in the context of the dynamics of demand for hydrogen and other types of fuel and energy resources in local and world markets. It gives the analysis of the effectiveness of government strategies to reduce dependence on imports of traditional types of energy sources and the development of "green" energy. The authors attempted to identify the priority tasks of energy diplomacy. ; Материалы исследования представляют собой теоретическую рефлексию в отношении стратегий ведущих акторов мировой политики по развитию водородной экономики, по трансформации глобального топливно-энергетического комплекса в контексте задач, озвученных на Саммите лидеров по вопросам климата 22-23 апреля 2021 года («сокращение выбросов в течение текущего критического десятилетия», «мобилизация финансов государственного и частного секторов для обеспечения нулевого перехода к новой экономике чистой энергии», «содействие трансформационным технологиям чистого нуля до 2050 года»). В статье рассматриваются государственные стратегии: 1) диалектического равновесия между операционными понятиями методической «матрёшки» (биосфера – жизнедеятельность человека – техносфера) в проектах European Green Deal, Alternative Energy и Нydrogen Economy; 2) достижения синергии компонентов в четырехугольнике экономико-правовых отношений «Lex Mercatoria – Democratia Carboneum – Lex Petroleа – European Green Deal» при применении новых технологий; 3) заполнения национально- и международно-правового пробела в области обеспечения инновационной деятельности в сфере энергетики на всех стадиях (добыча, производство, поставка, транспортировка, передача, хранение энергетических ресурсов, проектирование, строительство, эксплуатация энергетических объектов); 4) ресурсного самообеспечения и технологических возможностей использования водорода, выбора оптимального варианта цепочки создания стоимости; 5) развития топливно-энергетических комплексов Европейского Союза, Республики Корея, Японии с точки зрения перспектив водородной энергетики, построения водородной экономики на основе сочетания национальных промышленных традиций с инновационными технологиями. Исследуются в совокупности институциональные факторы и правовые нормы регулирования взаимоотношений субъектов национальных и глобального топливно-энергетических комплексов в контексте динамики спроса на водород и другие виды топливно-энергетических ресурсов. Анализируется эффективность государственных стратегий по ослаблению зависимости от импорта традиционных видов энергоносителей и развитию «зеленой» энергетики. Определяются приоритетные задачи энергетической дипломатии. ; У світовій енергетиці спостерігається процес глобальної трансформації – «енергетичний перехід» – пов'язаний, у першу чергу, з декарбонізацією та низьковуглецевим розвитком. У зв'язку з цим висувається гіпотеза про подальше посилення міждержавної конкуренції за першість в «енергетичному переході». Деякими державами декларується мета забезпечити до 2030 року обмеження викидів на 25-40% у порівнянні з рівнем 1990 року. Окрему увагу в таких планах приділяється водневим технологіям. Сплеск інтересу до водню викликаний наступними факторами: 1) вартість лужних електролізерів за період 2015-2019 років знизилася на 40%; 2) значно скоротилася вартість низки водневих елементів; 3) вимальовується перспектива регулювання цін на вуглець шляхом міжурядових переговорів. Проблемним залишається питання конкурентоспроможності водню порівняно з традиційними енергоносіями навіть за умови, що «зелений» водень стане дешевшим за «синій». Протягом 2019-2020 років 19держав і понад 50 корпорацій ухвалили довгострокові програми розвитку, що передбачають: 1) узгодження концепцій побудови водневої економіки; 2) перебудову за період 2030-2050 років світової енергетичної системи; 3) симетрію понять методичної «матрьошки» (біосфера – життєдіяльність людини – техносфера) у проектах водневої енергії, які охоплюють аспекти upstream (видобутку) та downstream (транспортування, переробки, використання енергії); 4) ефективне застосування відомих джерел енергії, підвищення ефективності їхнього використання або одержання інших переваг; 5) синергію проектів European Green Deal, Alternative Energy та Нydrogen Economy; 6) досягнення у процесі «енергетичного переходу» нормативності у чотирикутнику правовідносин Lex Mercatoria –Democratia Carboneum – Lex Petroleа – European Green Deal. Прогнозується, що майбутнє світової політики та економіки, зокрема її енергетичної складової, визначатиметься у значній мірі такими тенденціями, як балансування між глобалізацією та регіоналізацією, загроза енергетичного дефіциту при одночасному профіциті енергоресурсів, завершення епохи вуглеводнів, розвиток інноваційної безвуглецевої енергетики.

El uso de papel reciclado es mejor para el cuidado del medio ambiente, que el papel virgen. Lo cual ayuda a preservar los bosques, reduciendo la demanda de madera y conserva los recursos naturales, al generar menos contaminación durante el proceso de fabricación, ya que el papel reciclado ha sido utilizado una vez lo cual reduce la generación residuos con un enfoque de "residuos cero" evitando que este residuo de papel vaya a parar al botadero El Milagro. Esta investigación indica los beneficios que tiene el papel reciclado en las instituciones gubernamentales y la empresa privada, para que adopten políticas de reutilización, reciclaje y valorización, con una gestión integral de los residuos sólidos, bajo un enfoque de sostenibilidad. La empresa INPETFA utiliza dentro del proceso materia prima como el papel y cartón reciclado, lo cual contribuye a la disminución de impactos negativos sobre el ambiente, como resultado del muestreo por 24 días con un promedio semanal en kilogramos: 319.67 cintas adhesivas, 262.87 botellas y bolsas de plástico, 217.39 latas, 168.33 picadillo de papel, 132.43 retazos textiles, 97.93 materia orgánica, y 74.28 residuos de tierra, luego de la compra de una maquina desfibradora y la implementación de segregación en la fuente obtenemos los resultados siguiente en kilogramos: 99.53 cintas adhesivas, 77.45 botellas y bolsas de plásticos, 43.42 latas, 30.66 picadillo de papel, 22.19 retazos textiles, 13.98 materia orgánica, y 11.59 residuos de tierra, teniendo una minimización de residuos de 100% a 23.21%. Para lo cual se aplica políticas nacionales e internacionales, en ella se enmarca el principio general de la Producción Más Limpia (P+L), la cual es una estrategia de gestión empresarial preventiva aplicada a productos, procesos y organización del trabajo, cuyo objetivo es minimizar emisiones y/o descargas en la fuente, reduciendo riesgos para la salud humana y el ambiente. ; The use of recycled paper is better for environment care than virgin paper. This helps to preserve forests, reducing demand wood and conserving natural resources, because it generates less pollution during the manufacturing process, since recycled paper has been used once which reduces waste generation with a focus of "zero waste" avoiding that this paper waste goes to The Miracle dump. This research proposes the benefits of recycled paper in government institutions and private companies, which have adopted policies for reuse, recycling and recovery, with integrated management of solid waste, with a sustainability focus. The INPETFA Company uses raw material such as recycled paper and cardboard in its process, it contributes to the reduction of negative impacts on the environment. As a result of sampling for 24 days with a weekly average in kilograms: 319.67 adhesive tapes, 262.87 plastic bottles and bags, 217.39 tins, 168.33 minced paper, 132.43 textile scraps, 97.93 organic matter and 74.28 earth waste, after the purchase of a shredding machine and the implementation of segregation at the source it was obtained follow results: 99.53 adhesive tapes, 77.45 plastic bottles and bags, 43.42 tins, 30.66 minced paper, 22.19 textile scraps, 13.98 organic matter and 11.59 earth waste, having a decrease of waste in 300%. For which national and international policies are applied, it is part of the general principle of Cleaner Production (P+L), which is a preventive business management strategy applied to products, processes and work organization, whose objective is to minimize emissions and / or discharges at the source, reducing risks to human health and the environment.

This thesis focuses on a kind of problems thoroughly studied in operational research, in particular in Vehicle Routing Problems. Despite there are a lot of studies about them, the most basic are still difficult to solve optimally, even for small size and the lacking practical use. Because of that, this thesis develops exact and heuristic algorithms to solve a particular problem known as The split-demand one-commodity pickup-and-delivery travelling salesman problem (SD1PDTSP). This combines three vehicle routing problems. The first one is the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), aiming at designing the routes for a vehicle fleet to deliver a commodity from the depot to a set of customers. Each route starts and ends at the depot, and the load of a vehicle through a route should never exceed the vehicle capacity. A fundamental assumption is that each customer cannot be visited more than once. The aim of the CVRP is to satisfy the demand of each customer while minimizing the total distance travelled by the fleet. The second problem is the Split Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem (SDVRP), which allows a customer to be visited more than once. The third problem still moves one commodity while it allows more than one pickup location. It is the One Commodity Pickup-and-Delivery Travelling Salesman Problem (1-PDTSP). Using the elements of these three problems, the SD1PDTSP is defined as follows. Let us consider a finite set of locations. The travel distances (or costs) between the locations are assumed to be known. Each location is related to a customer, with a known positive or negative demand of a commodity (e.g. bicycles). We assume that the sum of all demands is equal to zero. Customers with negative demands correspond to pickup locations, and customers with positive demands correspond to delivery locations. It is assumed that there is one vehicle with a given capacity that must visit each location at least once through a route to move the commodity and satisfy all the customer demands. Each visit may partially satisfy a customer, and all the visits to that customer must end up with exactly its full demand. The SD1PDTSP consists of finding a minimum-cost route for the vehicle such that it satisfies the demand of all customers. Note that such a route may not exist, and in general checking whether a feasible solution exists is a NP-complete problem due to the limitation in the number of visits to each location and the vehicle capacity. The importance of these kind of problems is not due to the computational complexity only, but also the variety of practical applications. In fact, the idea of Operational Research appears formally in 1938 in the SecondWorldWar, in the frame in collaborative researches between soldiers and scientists about planning of fight military operations. A part of the most obvious examples in logistic (distribution of commodities, scholar routes,etc.), there are more examples as operational control of traffic light, those that can be found in robotic systems that allow to solve production problems, in genetic, etc. Other kind of practical applications arise due to the growing worry about environment. This thesis studies the case of the management of bicycle sharing systems. These are increasingly in demand due to the need of space, the high traffic density and the high emission of noise and CO2.

Building industry represents nearly 40 % of primary energy consumption in most countries registered in the International Energy Agency. This makes the building sector the highest energy consuming sector in industry worldwide. To fulfil energy reduction objectives, European Union (EU) countries and companies are looking for solutions to lower the energy demands from the building sector. Therefore, ambitious targets for energy consumption of new buildings are being implemented, and by the year 2020 nearly zero energy buildings will become a requirement in the EU. As a consequence of these requirements as well as general requirements for increased efficiency and sustainability, the building sector is experiencing a growing demand for modular, lightweight building elements having a high degree of insulation, a long life time, a low CO2 emission, a low consumption of raw material, and an attractive surface with minimum maintenance. The need for improvement, innovative structures and production methods therefore grows. In this challenging environment, precast thin-walled High Performance Concrete (HPC) Sandwich Panels offer an interesting solution to all actors involved in the value chain of the building, from the architects and the manufacturers to the end owners. However, the literature available with respect to analysis and/or design of thin-walled HPC sandwich panels is scarce. The goal of this work was to develop a framework for analysis and optimization of the precast thin-walled High Performance Concrete Sandwich Panels. The present framework was led at three levels. The first level experimentally investigated material and mechanical properties of shear connectors, insulation layer and HPC. Material characterization included assessment of time dependent strength, fracture properties, stiffness and shrinkage for HPC. In a second stage, the structural level was described to study the influence of the various constituents of the sandwich panel on the behaviour of the panel under shear and bending loading. The experimental investigations focused on using the metallic, Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) connecting systems in combination with rigid foam. The experimental program included testing of small-scale specimens by applying shear (push-off) loading and semi-full scale specimens by flexural loading. Further, two full-scale thin-walled HPC sandwich panels were exposed to flexural loading. Both the material level and the structural level were described through experimental and numerical investigations. A non-linear 3-D FEM model was developed using commercial programme Diana. Results of FEM analysis were found in good agreement with the experimental results. The FEM model was capable predicting behaviour of HPC sandwich panel exposed to shear and flexural loading with reasonable accuracy. Further, numerical study was performed to assess the risk of early age cracking and to analyse the robustness of thin-walled sandwich panels at early ages. The approach investigates the constrained shrinkage that the external HPC plate is subjected to. The modelling approach studied crack propagation in dependence on the stiffness of the restraints as well as distance between the restraints. The analysis predicts when cracking occurs and, if it occurs, how severe the consequences are. Finally, the third level was concerned about structural and cost optimization of the proposed sandwich system. The optimization procedure was performed to find the structurally and thermally efficient design of load-carrying thin-walled precast HPC sandwich panels with an optimal economical solution. The optimization approach was based on the selection of material's performances and panel's geometrical parameters as well as on material cost functions in the sandwich panel design. The strength based design of sandwich panels is in competence with the format of Eurocode 2. The optimization process outcomes in complex of design recommendations, which fulfil the requirement of minimum cost for those elements.

James Freeman's always excellent "best of the web" WSJ column today covers a Manhattan Institute report by Mark Mills itself referencing material deep in side an International Energy Agency report on battery powered electric cars. Like corn ethanol, this enthusiasm may also pass. The economic and environmental costs of batteries are slowly seeping out. One of my pet peeves in all of our command-and-control climate policy is that any comprehensive quantification of costs and benefits seems so rare, or at least so hidden. How many dollars for how many tons of carbon -- and especially the latter: how many tons of carbon, really, all in, including making the cars? (California only counts tailpipe emissions!) I have seen guesstimates that electric cars only breakeven in their carbon emissions at 50,000-70,000 miles. And, the point of the article, those estimates are likely undercounts especially if there is a huge expansion.  Parts I found interesting and novel: For all of history, the costs of a metal in both dollar and environmental terms are dictated primarily by ore grades, i.e., the share of the rock dug up that contains the metal sought... Ore grade is what accounts for the differences in the cost per pound of gold, $15,000, and iron, $0.05. The former ore grades are typically below 0.001% and the latter over 50%.... Average nickel ore grade is under 2% and for copper below 1%, ... Such geological realities determine the amount of energy used by big machines to do the digging, moving, grinding, refining, etc.The global mining industry today already accounts for about 40% of all industrial energy use, and that's before an epic expansion that will be needed to meet green plans. Petroleum itself typically accounts for half of mining-sector energy use.Thus, estimating future EV energy emissions requires including the trajectory for ore grades. There is no evidence that any study is doing so. [My emphasis] Every metal exhibits a long-run and significant decline in ore grades. [The International Energy Agency] acknowledges this, even if it tendentiously understates the reality: "Future [minerals] production is likely to gravitate towards more energy-intensive pathways." The word "likely" dodges the fact that the data and the trends are clear. Copper is typical and is one metal for which there are no substitutes for building EVs or wind and solar hardware. As a National Renewable Energy Laboratory paper pointed out, "a decrease in copper ore grade between 0.2% and 0.4%, will require seven times more energy than present-day operations." And copper ore grades are forecast to continue the long-run decline...Mr. Mills cites an IEA report showing a trend of increasingly energy-intensive mining to collect a number of other minerals needed for EVs and adds:All the trends for declining ore grades are visible, even if they are ignored. [my emphasis]Now any economist of a certain era like me remembers the resource limits arguments of the 1970s, and the fact that raw materials prices keep going down over time. How does this square with the above? Simple: over time energy prices go down, and a bit the cost of machinery goes down, so we can mine lower and lower quality ore at the same or lower price.  This is how we overcome the laws of thermodynamics. As the thing you want is more and more needle in a haystack of rubble, it takes more and more energy to pull it out. We could make copper from sea water with enough free energy. We could make copper from other elements in particle accelerators with enough free energy. Energy abundance drives declining resource prices. And, of course, current policy is driving us to more and more expensive energy.  So perhaps the resource limited crowd might be right after all, though only because of our self-imposed energy policies. (I don't see how one can use nuclear or solar power to run a mine. Maybe, which would at least help the carbon issue if not all the other externalities of mining.)Some of the environmental question around carbon is nicely stated as, what kind of earth do we want to leave our great grandchildren? A hotter earth is not a pleasant choice. But an earth with all of its high grade minerals removed, and only a tenth of a degree cooler, is not a great choice either. I recall from somewhere a speculation about whether industrial civilization could revive after a social collapse. The answer is no. We can't even have a new Bronze Age. All the easily accessible deposits are gone.  Second, an interesting forecast that our regulators will give up -- i.e. give up on the idea that replacing ICE vehicles with batteries and continuing as we do now will work: . . . Consumers are also to be persuaded, or forced, to drive less in general and travel more by bus, bicycle, rail, ride-share, or on foot, and to own fewer cars in the first place. As stated in the IEA net zero goal: the number of global households without a car needs to rise from 45% today to 70% by 2050, reversing a century-long trend of rising ownership. One researcher simply stated: "There is therefore a need for a wide range of policies that include measures to reduce vehicle ownership and usage." As usual, California regulators are ahead of the proverbial curve in admitting that the state's emissions goals will require citizens of that state—on top of being forced into EVs—to drive 25% fewer miles than they did 30 years ago . . . Reversing Americans' entire residential locations to something like a Manhattan where non-car transport can work is hard enough.  Carbon emissions in the next century means China, India and Africa. Do they join the modern world? Reducing "global" car ownership means, no. You walk. Not in the article, my own pet peeve about electric car mandates, current policy, and the coming total ban on ICE vehicles: Economics teaches you the wonder of tremendous variety in our economy. Lots of people use cars and trucks for lots of different things. If electrification saves carbon at all -- a big if, and the central point of this report -- but is expensive or range limited, then it makes sense to do it first where it's least costly and most beneficial, and leave the most high value and hard to substitute uses of gas power alone. For example, the natural first use for electric cars is a second or shared small car with small battery for around town. Most families have two cars. Or, you could own a small limited range car for daily driving and rent a Chevy Tahoe for a long road trip. Privately owned cars sit idle most of the time, and are not a great first use for expensive and environmentally costly batteries anyway. A fire truck that operates one month of the year in the middle of nowhere off the grid should probably stay gas powered forever. The earth does not require 100% elimination of ICE, 90% will do! Yet our policy makers see only one vision: each family has one car, Chevy Chase's family truckster, and must take that car on a long road trip. So the car needs to be huge, have a huge battery, and have a network of charging stations. All at once. Moonshot, not bit by bit. The pressure on materials will not just come from cars either. The current policy plan is to move home heating, AC, stoves, and industry to electricity, and to move electric production to solar panels and windmills. But those only work during the day. The current plan -- dream -- is battery powered grid scale electric storage. To obviate the need for backup fossil plants -- i.e. doubling the fixed cost -- we then need something like a week's worth of battery backup for the whole current electrical output, all the cars, houses, and industry that are going to be forced to move to electricity, and new economic growth. A total ban on gas power, a forced move to huge cars with huge batteries, and no clear quantitative understanding that this actually saves any carbon at all, let alone the other environmental consequences of massively increasing resource extraction, will obviously end badly. Freeman says "they're coming for your cars." They may, but we are still a democracy. More likely, this will join corn ethanol, switchgrass, high speed trains, urban mass transit, and a hundred other enthusiasms in a pile of eternal subsidies while the chattering classes move on to the next great enthusiasm. I can bet what will happen in California. The ban will take effect, but there will be a mechanism to plead for exemptions. Once again large well connected people and companies will get exemptions, smaller businesses will shut down, and everything gets more expensive.  The sad effect of all of this is that slow diffusion of sensible electric cars may be stalled, along with development of the technology--whatever it is--that will eventually win out 20 or 30 years from now.  

The decade 2009-2019 was particularly intense in rhetoric about efforts to tackle the climate crisis, such as the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21. However, the carbon dioxide emissions at the world scale increased constantly from 29.7 (GtCO2) in 2009 to 34.2 in 2019. The current gap between rhetoric and reality on emissions was and is still huge. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change proposed different mitigation strategies to achieve the net emissions reductions that would be required to follow a pathway that limits global warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot. There are still pathways to reach net-zero by 2050. Several reports propose detailed scenarios and strategies to achieve these targets. They remain narrow and highly challenging, requiring all stakeholders, governments, businesses, investors, and citizens to take action this year and every year after so that the goal does not slip out of reach. In most of these trajectories, electrification and an increased share of renewables are some of the key pillars. The transition towards a carbon-free society goes through an inevitable increase in the share of renewable generation in the energy mix and a drastic decrease in the total consumption of fossil fuels. In contrast to conventional power plants, renewable energy is subject to uncertainty. Most of the generation technologies based on renewable sources are non-dispatchable, and their production is stochastic and complex to predict in advance. A high share of renewables is challenging for power systems that have been designed and sized for dispatchable units. Therefore, this thesis studies the integration of renewables in power systems by investigating forecasting and decision-making tools. Since variable generation and electricity demand both fluctuate, they must be forecast ahead of time to inform real-time electricity scheduling and longer-term system planning. Better short-term forecasts enable system operators to reduce reliance on polluting standby plants and proactively manage increasing amounts of variable sources. Better long-term forecasts help system operators and investors to decide where and when to build variable plants. In this context, probabilistic forecasts, which aim at modeling the distribution of all possible future realizations, have become a vital tool to equip decision-makers, hopefully leading to better decisions in energy applications. When balancing electricity systems, system operators use scheduling and dispatch to determine how much power every controllable generator should produce. This process is slow and complex, governed by NP-hard optimization problems such as unit commitment and optimal power flow. Scheduling becomes even more complex as electricity systems include more storage, variable generators, and flexible demand. Thus, scheduling must improve significantly, allowing operators to rely on variable sources to manage systems. Therefore, stochastic or robust optimization strategies have been developed along with decomposition techniques to make the optimization problems tractable and efficient. These two challenges raise two central research questions studied in this thesis: (1) How to produce reliable probabilistic renewable generation forecasts, consumption, and electricity prices? (2) How to make decisions with uncertainty using probabilistic forecasts to improve scheduling? The thesis perimeter is the energy management of "small" systems such as microgrids at a residential scale on a day-ahead basis. The manuscript is divided into two main parts to propose directions to address both research questions: (1) a forecasting part; (2) a planning and control part. The forecasting part presents several techniques and strategies to produce and evaluate probabilistic forecasts. We provide the forecasting basics by introducing the different types of forecasts to characterize the behavior of stochastic variables, such as renewable generation, and the tools to assess the different types of forecasts. An example of forecast quality evaluation is given by assessing PV and electrical consumption point forecasts computed by standard deep-learning models such as recurrent neural networks. Then, the following Chapters investigate the quantile forecasts, scenarios, and density forecasts on several case studies. First, more advanced deep-learning models such as the encoder-decoder architecture produce PV quantile forecasts. Second, a density forecast-based approach computes probabilistic forecasts of imbalance prices on the Belgian case. Finally, a recent class of deep generative models, normalizing flows, generates renewable production and electrical consumption scenarios. Using an energy retailer case study, this technique is extensively compared to state-of-the-art generative models, the variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks. The planning and control part proposes approaches and methodologies based on optimization for decision-making under uncertainty using probabilistic forecasts on several case studies. We introduce the basics of decision-making under uncertainty using optimization strategies: stochastic programming and robust optimization. Then, we investigate these strategies in several case studies in the following Chapters. First, we propose a value function-based approach to propagate information from operational planning to real-time optimization in a deterministic framework. Second, three Chapters focus on the energy management of a grid-connected renewable generation plant coupled with a battery energy storage device in the capacity firming market. This framework promotes renewable power generation facilities in small non-interconnected grids. The day-ahead planning of the system uses either a stochastic or a robust approach. Furthermore, a sizing methodology of the system is proposed. Finally, we consider the day-ahead market scheduling of an energy retailer to evaluate the forecast value of the deep learning generative models introduced in the forecasting part. (1) Forecasting techniques of the future. The development of new machine learning models that take advantage of the underlying physical process opens a new way of research. For instance, new forecasting techniques that take advantage of the power system characteristics, such as the graphical normalizing flows capable of learning the power network structure, could be applied to hierarchical forecasting. (2) Machine learning for optimization. Models that simplify optimization planning problems by learning a sub-optimal space. For instance, a deep learning model can partially learn the sizing space to provide a fast and efficient tool. A neural network can also emulate the behavior of a physics solver that solves electricity differential equations to compute electricity flow in power grids. Furthermore, such proxies could evaluate if a given operation planning decision would lead to acceptable trajectories where the reliability criterion is met in real-time. (3) Modelling and simulation of energy systems. New flexible and open-source optimization modeling tools are required to capture the growing complexity of such future energy systems. To this end, in the past few years, several open-source models for the strategic energy planning of urban and regional energy systems have been developed. EnergyScope TD and E4CLIM are two of them where we think it may be relevant to implement and test the forecasting techniques and scheduling strategies developed in this thesis. (4) Psychology and machine learning. Achieving sustainability goals requires as much the use of relevant technology as psychology. Therefore, one of the main challenges is not designing relevant technological tools but changing how we consume and behave in our society. Thus, machine learning and psychology could help to identify appropriate behaviors to reduce carbon footprint. Then, inform individuals, and provide constructive opportunities by modeling individual behavior.

La principal motivación para la investigación que justifica esta tesis es la realidad energética y ambiental que estamos viviendo y específicamente, la necesidad urgente de dar una respuesta a este problema desde el sector de la edificación. Dado el gran potencial de ahorro energético del sector de la edificación, la Unión Europea en sus directivas resalta la necesidad de mejorar la eficiencia energética de los edificios y por ende la contaminación que produce. Añadiendo la obligatoriedad de construir edificios de "energía casi nula", cuya exigencia es tener un muy alto rendimiento energético. En España los edificios son responsables del 30% aproximadamente, del consumo de energía primaria. La mayor parte de esta energía se relaciona con la utilización de los sistemas de climatización y acondicionamiento. Una medida efectiva para reducir la demanda energética es mejorar la envolvente y disponer de elementos pasivos que consigan la mejora de la eficiencia energética de los edificios. Por ello la investigación tiene como objetivo principal la búsqueda de soluciones pasivas que ayuden a la reducción del consumo energético y por consiguiente minimizar las emisiones de CO2 de los edificios. En este caso edificios que tienen todas sus fachadas resueltas con vidrio, pues se confirma en la bibliografía, que los huecos son elementos importantes para el análisis de la demanda energética. Otro objetivo de la tesis es comprobar la viabilidad de los modelos a escala como metodología de estudio del comportamiento térmico y lumínico de los edificios. La metodología seguida para el alcance de los objetivos ha sido: por una parte, una búsqueda bibliográfica para estudiar los distintos ejemplos de edificios acristalados y finalmente seleccionar la casa Farnsworth, que servirá como edificio de referencia. Después, a través de simulaciones previas y de la bibliografía consultada, se han seleccionado los sistemas pasivos a instalar para de este modo poder realizar el estudio de la eficiencia energética de los sistemas pasivos a través de dos métodos. Por un lado, a través de un análisis experimental, se han estudiado los resultados térmicos y lumínicos obtenidos en la etapa de monitorización. Y por otro lado, el estudio computacional a través de un software de simulación, que previamente se valida con los datos recabados en la parte experimental, para poder recrear diferentes escenarios y analizar con detalle las demandas y consumos del edificio. Una vez obtenidos los parámetros energéticos, se analiza el ahorro de energía, de costes de inversión y de emisiones de CO2 emitidas a la atmosfera, en cada uno de los escenarios que se plantean. La conclusión de esta tesis es que estos elementos pasivos deben ser tenidos en cuenta en el diseño inicial del edificio y deben ser analizados inicialmente e instalados según los parámetros energéticos, demostrando ser estrategias adecuadas para lograr el alto desempeño energético requerido para los edificios de energía casi nula. En el análisis térmico se demuestra que la lámina de control solar aporta grandes beneficios a lo largo de todo el año, sin embargo, la incorporación de voladizo obtiene buenos resultados en verano pero es perjudicial para las estaciones frías. En cuanto al análisis lumínico se manifiesta que la lámina de control solar, es aconsejable en este tipo de edificaciones de vidrio, debido a que minora en gran medida la iluminancia en el interior de los espacios. Además, la utilización de modelos a escala conlleva tener una visión más exacta en los parámetros relativos a la transferencia de calor. El poder combinar estos resultados con las simulaciones computacionales, nos aportan datos detallados sobre la capacidad de los sistemas de climatización, consumos energéticos, así como emisiones de CO2. ; The main motivation for the research that justifies this thesis is the energy and environmental reality that we are experiencing and specifically, the urgent need to give an answer to this problem from the building sector. Given the great potential for energy saving in the building sector, the European Union in its directives highlights the need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and therefore the pollution it produces. Adding the obligation to build buildings with "almost zero energy", whose requirement is to have a very high energy performance. In Spain, buildings are responsible for approximately 30% of primary energy consumption. Most of this energy is related to the use of air conditioning and conditioning systems. An effective measure to reduce energy demand is to improve the envelope and have passive elements that improve the energy efficiency of buildings. For this reason the main objective of the research is to search for passive solutions that help reduce energy consumption and therefore minimize CO2 emissions from buildings. In this case buildings that have all their facades resolved with glass, as it is confirmed in the bibliography that the gaps are important elements for the analysis of energy demand. Another objective of the thesis is to verify the viability of scale models as a methodology for studying the thermal and light behavior of buildings. The methodology followed to achieve the objectives has been: on the one hand, a bibliographic search to study the different examples of glass buildings and finally select the Farnsworth house, which will serve as a reference building. Then, through previous simulations and the consulted bibliography, the passive systems to be installed have been selected in order to carry out the study of the energy efficiency of passive systems through two methods. On the one hand, through an experimental analysis, the thermal and light results obtained in the monitoring stage have been studied. And on the other hand, the computational study through simulation software, which is previously validated with the data collected in the experimental part, in order to recreate different scenarios and analyze in detail the demands and consumption of the building. Once the energy parameters have been obtained, energy savings, investment costs and CO2 emissions emitted into the atmosphere are analyzed in each of the scenarios that are proposed. The conclusion of this thesis is that these passive elements must be taken into account in the initial design of the building and must be initially analyzed and installed according to the energy parameters, proving to be adequate strategies to achieve the high energy performance required for almost energy buildings. null. In the thermal analysis it is shown that the solar control sheet provides great benefits throughout the year, however, the incorporation of the cantilever obtains good results in summer but is detrimental for the cold seasons. Regarding the light analysis, it is stated that the solar control sheet is advisable in this type of glass buildings, because it greatly reduces the illuminance inside the spaces. In addition, the use of scale models leads to a more accurate view of the parameters related to heat transfer. Being able to combine these results with computer simulations provides us with detailed data on the capacity of the air conditioning systems, energy consumption, as well as CO2 emissions.

Energie˙ektiviseringer og de resulterende energibesparelser bidrager til at reducere det endelige energiforbrug. For at lykkes med overgangen til energisystemer med netto-nuludledninger af CO2 og for at nå de globale klimamål, der er fastsat i Paris-aftalen fra 2015, skal energiforbruget reduceres. Der findes dog fortsat forskellige barrierer, som hæmmer energie˙ektiviseringer og forhindrer udnyttelsen af hele potentialet for energie˙ektiviseringer. At realisere dette potentiale vil være gavnligt for slutbrugere og samfundet som helhed. Denne afhandling fokuserer på, hvordan forbedringer i energie˙ektivitetspolitik kan føre til en stigning i energie˙ektiviseringer og energibesparelser på slutbruger-niveau. Vi arbejder specifikt med mulige forbedringer i udformningen og implementeringen af politiske instrumenter, der er rettet mod at øge energie˙ektivitetsforanstaltninger i hus-holdningssektoren. Vi analyserer de faktorer der driver husholdningernes investeringer i energie˙ektivitets-foranstaltninger og muligheden for at udforme politiske instrumenter, der er rettet mod individuelle husstande baseret på de observerbare husstandskarakteristika indkomst, alder af husstandens hoved, uddannelsesniveau og hjem ejerskab status. At målrette politiske instrumenter mod husholdninger, der ikke investerer i energie˙ektivitetsforan-staltninger, ville være mere e˙ektive end at målrette politiske instrumenter mod alle husholdninger. Vi opdager dertil, at kun nogle af de analyserede husstandskarakteris-tika har en betydelig e˙ekt på husholdningernes investeringer i energie˙ektivitetsforan-staltninger, og e˙ekterne er generelt små. Indkomst og hjem ejerskab status viser den klareste tendens til at forklare husholdningernes investeringsbeslutninger. I en model, som beskriver Danmarks økonomi og Danmarks energisystem, simulerer vi e˙ekten af energie˙ektivitetspolitik på husholdningernes adfærd med hensyn til in-vesteringer og energiefterspørgsel. Simuleringen af husholdningernes adfærd er påkrævet for ex-ante evalueringer af politiske instrumenter for energie˙ektiviseringer. Vi demon-strerer en omfattende metode til ex-ante evalueringer af politiske instrumenter med fokus på modellering af husholdningernes adfærd. Vi simulerer specifikt husholdningernes investeringer i eftermontering af eksisterende bygninger for at gøre dem energie˙ek-tive. Modelresultaterne tyder på, at Danmark's ambitioner om betydelige reduktioner i varmeforbruget, sandsynligvis vil kræve en bred blanding af politiske instrumenter, der adresserer forskellige barrierer, der hæmmer husholdningerne i at investere i eftermon-teringer. Med hensyn til blandinger af politiske instrumenter for energie˙ektiviseringer disku-terer vi potentialet for interaktionse˙ekter mellem instrumentkombinationer, som kan være afbødende og forstærkende. Vi opdager, at styringsmekanismen for et politisk instrument, omfanget og tidspunktet for implementeringen bestemmer interaktionsre-sultatet. Disse faktorer kan tages i betragtning ved udformningen og implementeringen af kombinationer af politiske instrumenter for energie˙ektiviseringer for at undgå afbø-dende e˙ekter og optimere forstærkende e˙ekter. Desuden vurderer vi potentialet for, at medlemsstater af Den Europæiske Union kan bruge deres auktionsindtægter fra det Europæiske emissionshandelssystem til finansier-ing af nationale energie˙ektivitetspolitikker, for eksempel i husholdningssektoren. På grund af de seneste ændringer i rammerne af emissionshandelssystemet er auktions-indtægter en stigende indkomst for medlemsstaterne. Strategiske investeringer af disse indtægter i nationale energie˙ektivitetspolitikker kan føre til fordele såsom yderligere og omkostningse˙ektive reduktioner i drivhusgasudledninger og støtte til den politiske proces for at stramme emissionshandelssystemet i fremtiden. De forskellige forskningsmetoder og forskningsbidrag fra denne afhandling kan give relevante indsigter til beslutningstager om, hvordan man kan øge investeringer i en-ergie˙ektivitetsforanstaltninger i husholdningssektoren. Denne afhandling kan dermed bidrage til at finde svar om, hvordan man understøtter overgangen til et lavemissions-samfund og bekæmpelsen af klimaforandringer. ; Energy efficiency improvements and the resulting energy savings can help to reduce final energy demand. Energy demand reductions are needed to facilitate the transition to energy systems with net-zero CO2 emissions and to achieve the global climate targets set in the Paris Agreement from 2015. Various barriers, however, inhibit energy efficiency improvements and explain the existence of untapped energy efficiency potential. Realising this potential would be beneficial for energy end-users and society as a whole. This thesis focuses on how progress in energy efficiency policy can lead to an increase in energy efficiency improvements and energy savings at the end-use level. We specifically consider potential progress in the design and implementation of policy instruments that aim at increasing the adoption of energy efficiency measures in the residential sector. We analyse the determinants of households' investments in energy efficiency measures and the practicality to design policies that target individual households based on the observable household characteristics income, age of the household head, education, household size and the home ownership status. Directly targeting households that fail to adopt energy efficiency measures would be more effective and efficient than broadly targeting all households. We find that only some of the analysed household characteristics have a significant effect on households' investments in energy efficiency measures and the magnitude of effects is generally small. Income and home ownership status show the clearest trends in explaining households' investment decisions. In a Danish energy-economy model, we simulate the effect of energy efficiency policies on households' investment and energy demand behaviour. The simulation of household behaviour is required in ex-ante evaluations of energy efficiency policy instruments. We demonstrate a comprehensive methodology for ex-ante evaluations of energy efficiency policies with a focus on the modelling of end-user behaviour where we specifically simulate households' investment decision for energy efficiency retrofits in Denmark. The model results suggest that if Denmark aims at achieving substantial energy savings in residential heating, it would likely require a broad mix of policy instruments, which ad-dress various barriers that keep households from investing in energy efficiency retrofits. With respect to energy efficiency policy mixes, we review the potential existence of interaction effects between instrument combinations, which can be mitigating and reinforcing. We find that the steering mechanism of a policy instrument, the scope and the timing of implementation determine the interaction outcome. These factors could be taken into account when designing and implementing combinations of policy instruments for energy efficiency improvements in order to avoid mitigating effects and optimise reinforcing effects. Furthermore, we assess the potential for Member States of the European Union to use their revenues from the auctioning of allowances in the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to finance national energy efficiency policies, e.g. in the residential sector. Due to recent changes to the EU ETS framework, auctioning revenues are an increasing income stream for Member States. Strategically investing these revenues in energy efficiency policies could lead to various benefits such as additional and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and support for the political process to further tighten the cap-and-trade scheme in the future. The diverse research methods and research contributions of this thesis may provide relevant insights for energy efficiency policy-makers on how to increase the adoption of energy efficiency measures in the residential sector. It may thereby shed some light on the questions on how to support the transition of energy systems and to mitigate climate change.