Monitoring Energy Use Research Articles

Synthesizing a System for Remote Energy Monitoring in Manufacturing

The main problems encountered in the remote monitoring of energy use in metals production and other industries are identified. Such monitoring entails long-term observation of energy parameters along with production data, in addition to vectorial representation of the criteria chosen to assess energy use. A new approach is proposed to the synthesis of a web-oriented system based on theoretical-multivariate, parametric, and structural modeling of remote energy monitoring. The structure of the system is detailed by employing a modular multipurpose hardware-software complex that includes open interfaces, the original source code, and licenses for free dissemination of the software. Results are presented from the practical use of specialized elements of the remote energy monitoring system and the synthesized structure in accordance with the above-described approach. Also, a method is proposed for evaluating the effectiveness of the monitoring systems that are created.

Unravelling the unintended consequences of home energy improvements

Purpose – This paper aims to, using a systematic mixed-methods based monitoring and evaluation approach, investigate the unintended consequences of physical and technical home improvements on energy use, indoor environmental conditions and occupant behaviour in community-led retrofits. The study is part of a UK Research Council funded research project on evaluating the impacts and effectiveness of low carbon communities on energy behaviours. Design/methodology/approach – A graduated measurement, monitoring and evaluation framework has been developed and applied to gather quantitative and qualitative data on energy use and behaviours has been developed and applied to 88 households across the UK. A mixed-methods approach is used, including occupant interviews, questionnaires, activity diaries and continuous physical monitoring of energy use, environmental conditions and low-carbon technologies. Findings – The study has uncovered a number of unintended consequences associated with home energy improvements, both beneficial and detrimental, including improved comfort levels in retrofitted dwellings and reduction in energy use but also an increased likelihood of overheating following fabric improvements, potential under-performance of low-carbon systems due to lack of understanding and inadequate installation and commissioning, along with adaptive energy behaviours leading to increased energy use and a widening gap between predicted and actual savings. Research limitations/implications – Although 63 case study households are involved, it is difficult to provide statistical analysis from the emerging findings. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the unintended consequences of home energy improvements. It aims to bring awareness of these issues to various sectors and stakeholders involved in delivering community retrofit programmes or the National Green Deal programme. Originality/value – The paper fulfils an identified need to study the impacts of home energy improvements within existing homes through a robust, comprehensive M&E approach.

The use of intelligent systems for monitoring energy use and occupancy in existing homes

In the UK, carbon dioxide emissions from existing domestic building stock account for a significant percentage. The UK Government has set ambitious targets for reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050. These targets will require significant changes to the existing buildings. To understand and quantify the benefits of refurbishment solutions, it is vital to monitor exemplar buildings and bring them to an energy efficiency standard with lower associated carbon emissions, by finding the most efficient way to refurbish them. The case study considered is a 1930s replica three-bed semi-detached house located in the University of Nottingham campus. The house is fully monitored, including monitoring of the occupants' patterns, environmental monitoring, electricity use and energy associated with space and hot-water heating. The results presented in this article show that energy consumption profiles are related to the occupants. The study shows that it is not enough just to improve building performance in order to improve energy efficiency; it is also important to understand and influence occupant behaviour because in domestic buildings occupants exert complete control of the appliances, lights, heating and ventilation. General behavioural trends and patterns can be extracted from long-term collected data.

Assessment of monitored energy use and thermal comfort conditions in mosques in hot-humid climates

In harsh climatic regions, buildings require air-conditioning in order to provide an acceptable level of thermal comfort. In many situations buildings are over cooled or the HVAC system is kept running for a much longer time than needed. In some other situations thermal comfort is not achieved due to improper operation practices coupled with poor maintenance and even lack it, and consequently inefficient air-conditioning systems. Mosques represent one type of building that is characterized by their unique intermittent operating schedule determined by prayer times, which vary continuously according to the local solar time. This paper presents the results of a study designed to monitor energy use and thermal comfort conditions of a number of mosques in a hot-humid climate so that both energy efficiency and the quality of thermal comfort conditions especially during occupancy periods in such intermittently operated buildings can be assessed accurately.

The heating system as a distributed sensor network

The conventional method of obtaining a detailed picture of the energy performance of a building is by the installation of a dense network of air temperature sensors. The data from all the sensors is accumulated at a central point for analysis. However, it is argued that air temperature measurement is merely a secondary indicator of energy use and a more direct method of tracking energy flow is preferable. Focussing on the types of heating system where heat is produced at a central source and pumped around the building (for example, hydronic systems), it is suggested the heating system itself can function as a low-cost distributed sensor network to directly monitor energy use, although the information retrieved is mixed in a complex way that is dependent on the topology of the distribution system. It is claimed that high-resolution information can nevertheless be extracted by mapping the acquired data to the geometry of the system and by the use of adequate computer processing power to run the physical model. A method of testing the concept in a domestic context is described as a precursor to more extensive deployment.

The uses of energy in the domestic sector

Abstract Energy consumption in the domestic sector is influenced by the level of the user’s living standards. Moreover, the general ignorance of the energy services that make up most of the energy bill does not permit concerted action to rationalize energy use. In order to contribute to a better understanding of energy consumption and use in the domestic sector, three households were monitored. This paper sets out the results of this study and discusses these results produced from the monitoring of energy use over a period of 1 year of household use.

The uses of energy in the domestic sector

Energy consumption in the domestic sector is influenced by the level of the user’s living standards. Moreover, the general ignorance of the energy services that make up most of the energy bill does not permit concerted action to rationalize energy use. In order to contribute to a better understanding of energy consumption and use in the domestic sector, three households were monitored. This paper sets out the results of this study and discusses these results produced from the monitoring of energy use over a period of 1 year of household use.

Corporate Energy Management: A Survey of Large Manufacturing Companies

ABSTRACT Corporate practices regarding energy management vary substantially from one company to another. Some companies pay close attention to energy use throughout the corporation while others pay scant attention. This article first describes what we call best energy management practice-practices exhibited by those companies that make strong commitments to reducing energy use and cost as evidenced by top-level goal setting and monitoring of energy use and savings achievement. Second, the article describes the results of a survey on corporate energy management practices that was sent to the largest manufacturing companies on the Fortune 1,000 list—410 companies in all. Third, the article concludes with some observations about the state of corporate energy management in the United States.

Corporate Energy Management: A Survey of Large Manufacturing Companies

ABSTRACT Corporate practices regarding energy management vary substantially from one company to another. Some companies pay close attention to energy use throughout the corporation while others pay scant attention. This article first describes what we call best energy management practice-practices exhibited by those companies that make strong commitments to reducing energy use and cost as evidenced by top-level goal setting and monitoring of energy use and savings achievement. Second, the article describes the results of a survey on corporate energy management practices that was sent to the largest manufacturing companies on the Fortune 1,000 list—410 companies in all. Third, the article concludes with some observations about the state of corporate energy management in the United States.

Mapping and Naming the Moon: A History of Lunar Cartography and Nomenclature

Remote sensing of night light emissions in the visible band offers a unique opportunity to directly observe human activity from space. This has allowed a host of applications including mapping urban areas, estimating population and GDP, monitoring disasters and conflicts. More recently, remotely sensed night lights data have found use in understanding the environmental impacts of light emissions (light pollution), including their impacts on human health. In this review, we outline the historical development of night-time optical sensors up to the current state of the art sensors, highlight various applications of night light data, discuss the special challenges associated with remote sensing of night lights with a focus on the limitations of current sensors, and provide an outlook for the future of remote sensing of night lights. While the paper mainly focuses on space borne remote sensing, ground based sensing of night-time brightness for studies on astronomical and ecological light pollution, as well as for calibration and validation of space borne data, are also discussed. Although the development of night light sensors lags behind day-time sensors, we demonstrate that the field is in a stage of rapid development. The worldwide transition to LED lights poses a particular challenge for remote sensing of night lights, and strongly highlights the need for a new generation of space borne night lights instruments. This work shows that future sensors are needed to monitor temporal changes during the night (for example from a geostationary platform or constellation of satellites), and to better understand the angular patterns of light emission (roughly analogous to the BRDF in daylight sensing). Perhaps most importantly, we make the case that higher spatial resolution and multispectral sensors covering the range from blue to NIR are needed to more effectively identify lighting technologies, map urban functions, and monitor energy use.

The Functional Basis of Steady-State Thermal Energy Use in Air-Side HVAC Equipment

A proper understanding of the functional basis of energy use in residences has been crucial in spurring energy conservation in such building stock. In commercial buildings, however, such understanding is lacking, partly because there are numerous possible HVAC system types and control strategies, and partly because the detailed algorithms available to simulate energy use in various types of HVAC systems provide little insight into identifying ways of saving energy in existing buildings. The objective of this paper is to derive closed-form steady-state functional relations for air-side cooling and heating thermal energy use for four of the most widespread HVAC system types, namely terminal reheat and dual-duct, both under constant air volume and under variable air volume operation. Expressions are derived for hourly energy use as a function of climatic variables, building characteristics, and system parameters. The effects of economizer cycle and deck reset schedules are also treated. The expressions derived could be utilized to develop functionally accurate regression models of monitored energy use for retrofit savings determination and to ascertain whether the HVAC system is operating properly, as well as for parameter estimation from either short-term or long-term monitoring and for sensitivity analyses of how various physical and operating parameters affect energy use.

Influence of human muscle length on energy transduction studied by 31P-NMR

Muscle contractions at lengths below the optimum for force development were previously found to cause less fatigue than contractions at the optimum length (Lo). Decreased fatigability was suggested to arise from fewer cross-bridge interactions in shortened sarcomeres. In the present study, this suggestion was tested by monitoring energy use of human ankle dorsiflexor muscles during and after contractions at Lo and shortened lengths (Ls) with phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The nuclear magnetic resonance spectra indicated similar rates of ATP use during contractions at Lo and Ls. Phosphocreatine, at an initial concentration of 37 mM, was reduced to an equivalent extent by 2 min of ischemic exercise at Lo (to 2.3 mM) and Ls (to 4.7 mM). Changes in pH (indicating glycolytic ATP production) were also equivalent at Lo and Ls. Exercise caused pH to fall from an initial level of 7.07 to 6.5 at Lo and to 6.53 at Ls. In relation to previous experiments performed under similar conditions on human ankle dorsiflexor muscles, the present experiments suggest that in shortened muscle the decreased force found in this and previous studies and the decreased fatigability that was previously found may not be simply due to fewer cross-bridge interactions in shortened sarcomeres. Examination of the relationships between developed force and levels of metabolites suggests that changes of force during fatigue and recovery correlate better with intracellular [Pi] and H2PO4- than with [H+].

New technology for electrical metering monitoring and control instrumentation

Presently, individual instruments are available at reasonable costs for metering, monitoring and controlling the use of electrical energy. Many of these instruments have been developed in the last few years and make varying degrees of use of sophisticated electronic components and microprocessor chips. Performance data collected on the use of these instruments have shown that there are substantial energy and cost savings possible from widespread application of these devices. The purpose of this paper is to enumerate briefly some data on the costs and benefits of instruments which allow time of day and demand metering, monitoring of energy use and cost, direct load control and indirect load control. Finally, an integrated instrument is proposed which combines these varied functions into one low cost device to provides cost effective electrical energy conservation.