Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemApplication of Artificial Neural Networks for Virtual Energy Assessment(MDPI, 2021-12)A Virtual energy assessment (VEA) refers to the assessment of the energy flow in a building without physical data collection. It has been occasionally conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic to residential and commercial buildings. However, there is no established framework method for conducting this type of energy assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the implementation of remote energy assessments and remote facility management. In this paper, a novel framework for VEA is developed and tested on case study buildings at the University of Melbourne. The proposed method is a hybrid of top-down and bottom-up approaches: gathering the general information of the building and the historical data, in addition to investigating and modelling the electrical consumption with artificial neural network (ANN) with a projection of the future consumption. Through sensitivity analysis, the outdoor temperature was found to be the most sensitive (influential) parameter to electrical consumption. The lockdown of the buildings provided invaluable opportunities to assess electrical baseload with zero occupancies and usage of the building. Furthermore, comparison of the baseload with the consumption projection through ANN modelling accurately quantifies the energy consumption attributed to occupation and operational use, referred to as ‘operational energy’ in this paper. Differentiation and quantification of the baseload and operational energy may aid in energy conservation measures that specifically target to minimise these two distinct energy consumptions.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePandemic products and volatile chemical emissions(Springer, 2021-01)The recent pandemic (COVID-19) has seen a sweeping and surging use of products intended to clean and disinfect, such as air sprays, hand sanitizers, and surface cleaners, many of which contain fragrance. However, exposure to fragranced cleaning products has been associated with adverse effects on human health. Products can emit a range of volatile chemicals, including some classified as hazardous, but relatively few ingredients are disclosed to the public. Thus, relatively little is known about the specific emissions from these products. This study investigates the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from “pandemic products” that are being used frequently and extensively in society. In addition, among these emissions, this study identifies potentially hazardous compounds, compares so-called green and regular versions of products, and examines whether ingredients are disclosed to the public. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, 26 commonly used pandemic products, including 13 regular and 13 so-called green versions, were analyzed for their volatile emissions. Product types included hand sanitizers, air disinfectants, multipurpose cleaners, and handwashing soap. All products were fragranced. The analyses found the products collectively emitted 399 VOCs with 127 VOCs classified as potentially hazardous. All products emitted potentially hazardous compounds. Comparing regular products and green products, no significant difference was found in the emissions of the most prevalent compounds. Further, among the 399 compounds emitted, only 4% of all VOCs and 11% of potentially hazardous VOCs were disclosed on any product label or safety data sheet. This study reveals that pandemic products can generate volatile emissions that could pose risks to health, that could be unrecognized, and that could be reduced, such as by using fragrance-free versions of products.
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ItemAlternative Heating and Cooling Systems for the Retrofit of Medium-Rise Residential Buildings in Greece(WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2021-11)The European Union recently set the target of doubling building retrofit rates through the European Green Deal. Currently, more than half of the households’ energy consumption is accounted for space conditioning, with southern European countries experiencing increasing demand for cooling systems over the past decade. Herein, the performance of market‐available heating and cooling systems that can replace the existing low‐efficiency systems in multiresidential buildings in Greece is compared. The study's objectives are to minimize the operating greenhouse gas emissions and the life‐cycle cost. Results demonstrate that air‐to‐air heat pumps have the lowest life‐cycle cost. In areas where natural gas is not available, the replacement of the diesel‐oil boiler with a biomass boiler leads to a 48% to 73% decrease of the operating greenhouse gas emissions. In areas where natural gas is available, the gas absorption heat pump has the lowest operating greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating a reduction between 40% and 54% when compared to a conventional gas boiler; however, it dramatically increases the life‐cycle cost, making it less attractive than heat pumps and condensing gas boilers. The findings are in line with the current residential space conditioning market, while indicating the potential of biomass boilers and gas absorption heat pumps.