Electrical Fixtures Research Articles

Energy-saving strategies to convert existing campus to smart campus: a conservative method analysis

Energy consumption has wide applications in the construction industry. The pattern of energy demand depends on the nature of energy usage in accordance with time. Prominence is given to meet the demand without forfeiture of energy. This paper focuses on the importance of developing a smart campus and energy management. In the present study, a prominent engineering institute located in Karnataka, India, is considered for analysis. The approaches considered here are installing solar roof panels and replacing existing electrical fixtures with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures. The cost and energy consumption analysis before and after the application of these methods will give a strong image of how energy and money can be saved and are useful for society. The initial investment may slightly be high but the payback period is quite early. Results of the study indicate that the initial investment required for solar panel installation and replacement of existing electrical fixtures with LED fixtures for interiors and corridors at the institution has proved worthwhile by various investment criteria used in the project. The study implicates a positive step towards energy-saving strategies, a revolutionary change in the energy sector and the development of the country.

Examining Carbon Emissions in Building Materials: A Case Study of Government Buildings in Pokhara Metropolitan City

Numerous studies placed particular emphasis on reducing carbon emissions from operations, often ignoring the importance of embodied carbon emissions. To evaluate the embodied carbon emissions associated with government buildings in Pokhara Metropolitan City, a systematic process-based approach was used to estimate the total embodied carbon over the lifetime of these structures. The research findings reveal that the cumulative embodied carbon emissions stemming from these buildings contributed a total of1281.56 metric tons (Mt) and 12504540.5 MJ of embodied energy. Furthermore, the study explored the potential for reducing these emissions by adopting alternative construction materials. In particular, the inclusion of AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks, hollow cement concrete blocks, and stabilized soil blocks (8% cement)in the same building demonstrated reductions in total emissions by 5.56%, 4.38%, and 5.16%, respectively. It is crucial to acknowledge that this study primarily focuses on the construction stage of the building and exclusively considers civil construction materials. It did not encompass elements such as sanitary and electrical fixtures or other stages in the building's lifecycle, including operation and maintenance and eventual demolition. Consequently, it is recommended that future research endeavors undertake a more comprehensive analysis, encompassing electrical and sanitary fixtures, as well as all phases of a building's lifecycle, to gain a more holistic understanding of embodied carbon emissions in government buildings

EVALUATING THE PHYSICAL VULNERABILITY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AGAINST FLOODING IN METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Vulnerability analysis has always been an integral part of disaster risk assessment. This study aims to assess the physical vulnerability of public school buildings against flooding. It discusses the vulnerable elements or attributes, the extent of damages incurred during flood events, the damage response, and the future steps that must be taken to increase flood resiliency. The study used empirical data collection using semi-structured interviews to characterize the common types of public schools and to collate the damage responses. Quantity surveying was performed to measure the amount of damages related to different flood depths. Structural damages to public school buildings are not expected for flood heights ranging from ground level up to ten (10) m. However, damages are incurred by building finishes and fixtures. Floors, walls, and septic system are cosmetically damaged. Vulnerable components include wooden elements like doors, cabinets, blackboards and ceiling, and electrical fixtures such as wiring, lighting, outlets, switches, and fire alarm system. Comprehensive vulnerability description of public school buildings were represented as curves of flood depth vs. damage index. The damage ratio decreases as the number of floors increase. Maximum damage to one-story building is 23.6% while at 15.02% for four-story school building. This study is an attempt to promote further research of the subject matter in developing countries towards flood resiliency in the built environment.

Drivers and Challenges for Implementing Sustainability-oriented Upgrading in Social Housing in Brazil

Social housing (SH) development is, in general, triggered by policies and regulations, which stimulate interventions, create financing mechanisms, and designate agents conducive to retrofit processes. European directives for energy efficiency and the recent call for a ‘retrofit wave’ have an evident influence. In Brazil, delivery and management of SH are based on the public offer of housing units and their immediate ownership transfer. National or state housing agencies are responsible for basic maintenance for five years, but other post-delivery interventions depend exclusively on the effort and expenses of the occupant. SH budgets leave little or no margin for extra spending and bringing SH to international sustainability standards is yet not mandatory. The issues that arise to implement upgrading in this context are therefore related to the following questions: What are the priority actions in upgrading processes? What type of financing would be required or is available? What is the project execution model and who are the stakeholders involved? This article focuses on the issue of prioritization of actions for upgrading SH. A systematic literature review examined reported sustainability-related housing improvements. A critical review of a Brazilian building label and two international sustainability assessment methods then supported ranking the upgrading actions according to the relevance assigned in their respective contexts. Finally, a panel of construction professionals provided insights regarding the technical feasibility and intrusiveness of their implementation in both single- and multi-family SH projects. Findings show that minor upgrading actions, such as changing hydraulic or electrical fixtures or landscaping, usually do not cost more than implementing them from the outcome and are equally applicable to single- and multi-family SH projects. But, when high-level (deep upgrading) interventions are on the table, costs rapidly increase due to the need to substantially change existing systems or supporting structures, which makes them often financially and/or technically unfeasible.

Developing Theoretical Sustainable Building Material Selection Framework for Ethiopia

The construction industry regarded as one of the pivotal aspects of achieving the objectives of sustainable development in communities. In this regard, the choice of building materials is one of the challenges in order to improve program performance with respect to sustainable development, and the use of sustainable materials is an effective step towards achieving sustainable construction. Selection of sustainable building materials represents an important strategy in the design and construction of buildings in Ethiopia. One of the principal challenges is the process of prioritizing and aggregating relevant criteria into a selection framework. Therefore, the purpose of this framework in building projects is to look at the complexity of the interactions between sustainability building materials and architects and to set up a knowledge-based decision support system. After conducting a thorough literature review, case study (BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, LBC, and G-SEED), questionnaire, and discussion with selected experts, 27 sustainable building material selection criteria items identified based on the sustainable triple bottom line. A survey of Ethiopian architectural firms was conducted to capture their awareness of sustainable building materials. A total of 199 registered offices, based on Ethiopia's construction ministry in 2021. From among these, 51 offices chosen, as a sample size randomly. One of the study's limitations is that it excludes other stakeholders, such as the client, who may have an influence on material selection. Another drawback is that since elements are used to organize materials and components, Ratings are thus based solely on product performance within each constituent group. On the other hand, this study excluded several items. For example, "products" such as lighting, water fixtures, HVAC, and electrical fixtures are not included.

Iot Based Smart Home Security System with Face Recognition and Weapon Detection Using Computer Vision

Today home automation systems are popular in households. The control of electric fixtures like fans and lights is possible with the help of Internet of Things (IOT). The problem arises due to intrusion of burglars. The security of such systems has been done using computer vision and IOT. Here we aim to enhance this system by use of image processing for object detection. The system uses cameras at the door for face recognition as access control. Also, vibration and door magnet sensors are installed at the entry points to detect when the burglar tries to barge inside. PIR sensors are employed to detect human presence. A vibration sensor is also used to give alert if any shock nearby is detected. The system allows entry only if authorized person like owner or person registered on the database arrives. The person may be identified through valid proof of identity. It sends a message to the owner in case it doesn’t recognize the person within 20 seconds and the owner can monitor the activities via live feed from the camera. All sensor signals are checked and status of the system is updated continuously. In case the burglar tries to break inside, siren is activated and alert messages are redirected to the owner and the police.

Challenges and prospects for implementation of community health volunteers\u2019 digital health solutions in Kenya: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe value of digital health technologies in delivering vital health care interventions, especially in low resource settings is increasingly appreciated. We co-developed and tested a decision support mobile health (m-Health) application (app);with some of the forms used by Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in Kenya to collect data and connected to health facilities. This paper explores the experiences of CHVs, health workers and members of Sub-County Health Management Teams following implementation of the project.MethodsData were collected in December 2017 through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with CHVs and key informant interviews with health care workers and health managers in Kamukunji sub-County of Nairobi, Kenya. Data coding and analysis was performed in NVivo 12.ResultsRegarding users and health managers’ perceptions towards the system; three main themes were identified: 1) variations in use, 2) barriers to use and 3) recommendations to improve use. Health workers at the private facility and some CHVs used the system more than health workers at the public facilities. Four sub-themes under barriers to use were socio-political environment, attitudes and behaviour, issues related to the system and poor infrastructure. A prolonged health workers’ strike, the contentious presidential election in the year of implementation, interrupted electricity supply and lack of basic electric fixtures were major barriers to use. Suggestions to improve usage were: 1) integration of the system with others in use and making it available on users’ regular phones, and 2) explore sustainable motivation models to users as well as performance based remuneration.ConclusionsThe findings reveal the importance of considering the readiness of information and communication technologies (ICT) users before rollout of ICT solutions. The political and sociocultural environment in which the innovation is to be implemented and integration of new solutions into existing ones is critical for success. As more healthcare delivery models are developed, harnessing the potential of digital technologies, strengthening health systems is critical as this provides the backbone on which such innovations draw support.

Wireless electric appliance control for smart buildings using indoor location tracking and BIM-based virtual environments

Abstract Smart home environments are becoming increasingly popular due to the emerging application of Internet of Things (IoT) in the built environment. However, user interaction with connected devices suffers from numerous disadvantages such as complex and cumbersome user interfaces, unreliable voice and gesture interfaces, and the requirement for prior knowledge of the environment. This paper presents an intuitive point-and-click framework to control electrical fixtures in a smart built environment. This functionality is enabled by coupling an ultra-wideband (UWB)-based indoor positioning system and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to retrieve contextual information of the user with respect to the built environment when the user performs the pointing action. This information is then input into a building information model (BIM)-based virtual environment wherein the appliance of interest to the user is determined. The subsequent clicking action of the user then turns the devices on or off based on its prior state via the IoT infrastructure in the building. Initial prototype testing through a case study yielded promising results that prove the effectiveness of the framework. Apart from the provision of a novel user-interaction mechanism for controlling electrical fixtures, the proposed framework provides a means of extending the utility of building information models (BIM) to the operation phase of a facility and provides a means for its integration with IoT and smart devices.

Investigation on the use of cold formed perforated steel sections as columns and purlins

Perforations are required in columns and purlins of a trussed building for making connections, for fixing electrical fixtures etc. An inves- tigation was undertaken to study the effect of perforations in cold-formed C and Z sections used as columns and purlins. For this purpose, finite element model was developed using ANSYS software. Six different shapes of perforations were considered to investigate the shape that gives maximum buckling load. The perforation pattern which is optimum for the individual section was applied to frames and then to the building and optimum type of perforation is suggested. Buckling loads of frames and building with and without perforation was done separately and results were compared. By considering perforations with equal area, linear buckling analysis was done and stress pattern around perforation was studied. Even though the area reduction was equal, differently shaped perforations gave different buckling load. In this case, stress concentration has an important role; buckling load is higher for the shape with least stress concentration.

A Theoretic Study on Cam-Clamping Device

A theoretical study has been made on the cam-clamping device. In this article, we consider specifically the calculations of cam geometry, calculations of clamping force and clamping torque, conditions for self-locking, and conditions for contact strength. Machine fixtures are essential in the process of mechanical manufacturing. There are many different types of fixtures, such as manual jig, pneumatic clamps, hydraulic fixtures, electric fixtures, etc. There are also many ways of clamping, such as incline clamp, screw clamp, eccentric circle clamp, hinge clamp [1], among which the eccentric circle clamp finds wide applications, especially in fast-clamping devices. Although the circular eccentric fixture possesses the advantages of simple structure, convenient manufacturing, and low cost, it suffers the drawbacks of small clamping force, short clamping-surface travel distance, and unreliable self-locking mechanism. The cam-clamping device discussesed in this article involves replaceing the eccentric circle with a cam, as shown in Fig. 1. The cam profile curve can be designed according to any requirements. The advantages of this replacement are obvious, in addition to preserving the advantages of the circular eccentric fixture, the cam-clamping can be designed according to the actual needs of clamping paths and selection of the appropriate cam profile to improve the self-locking.

SU‐E‐T‐302: Modular Technology as a Tool to Streamline the Construction and Clinical Readiness of a New Radiotherapy Clinic

Purpose: In February 2011, the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, Washington opened a new 4000 square foot radiation therapy facility incorporating a Tomotherapy Hi‐Art treatment unit. A key differentiator of this clinic is the use of modular construction techniques for both the radiation therapy vault and the clinic. In this work, we report on our experience with shielding design, construction, and clinical operations when utilizing modular technology. Methods: The radiation therapy vault was constructed using 10 steel modules that were filled on site with washed silica based sand from local quarries. The clinic modules were constructed offsite including all plumbing, duct work, and electrical fixtures along with the acceleratorˈs base frame. Results: The use of modular construction techniques made it possible to accelerate the construction timeline. Within 60 days, the vault and the clinic were erected on site, the Tomotherapy Hi‐Art treatment system was installed, acceptance testing and commissioning were completed, and the first patient was treated. Our shielding calculations predicted weekly doses for nine locations in the range of 0.01% to 3% of the allowable weekly dose, and radiation surveys have validated these predictions. The facility was constructed in conformance with the U.S. Green Building Councilˈs Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and incorporates green features such as heating the clinic using heat recovered from the cooling of the Tomotherapy Hi‐Art system. While the vault was prepped for the Tomotherapy unit, it can be easily converted for use with any gantry based machine with a swappable base frame system and adjustable shielding. Conclusions: Modular construction provides a rapid path to clinical operation along with the flexibility to move the vault at a later date. Shielding design can be customized to the selected delivery technology and has proven more than adequate for our Tomotherapy Hi‐Art system.

Switch On the Night: Policies for Smarter Lighting

It was an August afternoon in 2003 when the lights went out on Broadway, and for that matter, throughout most of the Northeast, Midwest, and Ontario—a power blackout left 50 million customers in the dark overnight. Despite complaints about the inconveniences, the stranded commuters, and the food spoilage in restaurants and markets, many city dwellers were also awed; as evening came on, they gazed upward, and between the dark skyscrapers they could see something amazing—the starry night sky. The New York Times reported spontaneous stargazing gatherings in the usually electrified cities of the Northeast.

Daylighting as a passive solar design strategy in tropical buildings: a case study of Malaysia

The use of daylighting in buildings and architecture is not new. Natural lighting became out of vogue due to the availability of cheap electricity, the predictability and the ability to control illumination levels due to artificial lighting. However, the alarm over rapid depletion of energy resources and the environmental effects of their applications have led designers to reuse daylighting strategies in buildings in order to minimise energy use for lighting and air conditioning as a result of heat gains from the daylight sources and the electrical fixtures. This paper describes a study on the savings achieved by using daylight in passive solar design of buildings and, in this case, the size of windows. Simulated exterior illuminance levels based on long term measured solar irradiation and cloud cover data were used to estimate interior illumination on normal working planes using simple building configurations. Illumination on these planes decreases the need for artificial lighting, thus energy can be saved. A simple algorithm was then used to calculate the overall cooling load to ascertain that the daylighting strategies used do not invoke an increase in thermal gains through walls and glazings. The findings from this study show that at least 10% savings can be produced from simple daylighting strategies.

Evaluation of Freezing To Control Wood-Destroying Insects (Isoptera, Coleoptera)

Structural insect pests may be killed by exposure to freezing temperatures. The critical thermal minimum (CTmin) is the threshold low temperature at which an insect succumbs from momentary exposure to temperatures decreasing at 1°C/min. The CTmin was —21.3°C for the western drywood termite, lncisitermes minor (Hagen); —17.2°C for workers of lncisitermes snyderi (Light); and —13.9°C for workers of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. The CTmin for the southern lyctus beetle, Lyctus planicollis LeConte, was —35.6°C for eggs, —26.2°C for small larvae, —30.0°C for medium larvae, and —24.3°C for large larvae. The effectiveness of liquid nitrogen (N2) to chill wall voids below the CTmin values for these structural pests was tested in a mock-up wall. The time to the CTmin was affected by the rate at which liquid N2 was released into the void and the vertical location of the release point. Fiberglass insulation in the wall affected the pattern of cooling by deflecting the liquid N2 around the insulation. Plumbing and electrical fixtures in the wall were not damaged by liquid N2, even though they were exposed to temperatures as low as —50°C. However, liquid N2 cracked vinyl floor tiles adjacent to the wall. The oxygen level in confined spaces where liquid N2 was released rapidly dropped below 19.5%, the minimum acceptable level for worker safety. Consequently, fans probably should be used to circulate fresh air into the areas where liquid N2 is used, and electronic monitoring should be done to ensure safe oxygen level. Because insects survive if they are not exposed to at least their CTmin it is important to monitor accurately the internal temperature of target wood with thermocouples to ensure that the CTmin has been reached where the insect actually occurs. To achieve an effective low temperature throughout a structure, virtually every void would need to be treated. Otherwise, it is unlikely that isolated pockets of termites could survive by escaping exposure to the CTmin Proper placement of thermocouples could be extremely important.

Baseline Studies of Asbestos Exposure During Operations and Maintenance Activities

Abstract Eight simulations of installation, repair, remodeling, and maintenance tasks in buildings with asbestos-containing material (ACM) were conducted to investigate worker exposure to airborne asbestos. Since the tasks were performed using typical custodial and maintenance procedures without regard to the presence of ACM, the results contribute to establishing exposure baselines for custodial and maintenance workers. These baselines can also be used to judge the effectiveness of special operations and maintenance programs designed to minimize asbestos exposure in buildings which contain asbestos materials. Six different types of tasks (moving an office wall, cleaning a storage area, replacing ceiling tile, repairing/installing electrical fixtures, repairing plaster, and removing carpet) and two types of ACM (fireproofing and acoustical plaster) were included in the eight simulations. Exposure was measured by monitoring levels of airborne asbestos before, during, and after the task (and for two simulat...

Styles and tendencies in luminaire design: Impression from the annual lighting fixture market, Milwaukee

Several hundred prominent manufacturers of interior lighting devices exhibited in February 1922, in Milwaukee, the newest things in electric fixtures and glassware. Thousands of units were on display, presumably representing the best average home, store, and office lighting equipment that has been developed during the past year.