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- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Mac Neil, Michael
- Date Created:
- 2014-01-01
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Guigue, Alexis and Hayes, M. John
- Abstract:
- It has been observed in the literature that as the cardinality of the prescribed discrete input-output data set increases, the corresponding four-bar linkages that minimise the Euclidean norm of the design and structural errors tend to converge to the same linkage. The important implication is that minimising the Euclidean norm, or any p-norm, of the structural error, which leads to a nonlinear least-squares problem requiring iterative solutions, can be accomplished implicitly by minimising that of the design error, which leads to a linear least-squares problem that can be solved directly. Apropos, the goal of this paper is to take the first step towards proving that as the cardinality of the data set tends towards infinity the observation is indeed true. In this paper we will integrate the synthesis equations in the range between minimum and maximum input values, thereby reposing the discrete approximate synthesis problem as a continuous one. Moreover, we will prove that a lower bound of the Euclidean norm, and indeed of any p-norm, of the design error for planar RRRR function-generating linkages exists and is attained with continuous approximate synthesis.
- Date Created:
- 2016-07-01
353. An information driven hybrid evolutionary algorithm for optimal design of a Net Zero Energy House
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Bucking, Scott, Zmeureanu, Radu, and Athienitis, Andreas
- Abstract:
- Building Performance Simulation (BPS) is a powerful tool to estimate and reduce building energy consumption at the design stage. However, the true potential of BPS remains unrealized if trial and error simulation methods are practiced to identify combinations of parameters to reduce energy use of design alternatives. Optimization algorithms coupled with BPS is a process-orientated tool which identifies optimal building configurations using conflicting performance indicators. However, the application of optimization approaches to building design is not common practice due to time and computation requirements. This paper proposes a hybrid evolutionary algorithm which uses information gained during previous simulations to expedite and improve algorithm convergence using targeted deterministic searches. This technique is applied to a net-zero energy home case study to optimize trade-offs in passive solar gains and active solar generation using a cost constraint.
- Date Created:
- 2013-08-27
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Sénéchal, Monique and Lever, Rosemary
- Abstract:
- Oral narrative skills are assumed to develop through parent-child interactive routines. One such routine is shared reading. A causal link between shared reading and narrative knowledge, however, has not been clearly established. The present research tested whether an 8-week shared-reading intervention enhanced the fictional narrative skills of children entering formal education. Dialogic reading, a shared reading activity that involves elaborative questioning techniques, was used to engage children in oral interaction during reading and to emphasize elements of story knowledge. Forty English-speaking five- and six-year-olds were assigned to either the dialogic-reading or an alternative-treatment group. ANCOVA results found that the dialogic-reading children’s post-test narratives were significantly better on structure and context measures than those for the alternative-treatment children, but results differed for produced or retold narratives. The dialogic-reading children also showed expressive vocabulary gains. Overall, this study concretely determined that aspects of fictional narrative construction knowledge can be learned from interactive book reading.
- Date Created:
- 2011-01-01
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Ugursal, V. Ismet, Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian, Nikoofard, Sara, and Asaee, S. Rasoul
- Abstract:
- Techno-economic impact of retrofitting houses in the Canadian housing stock with PV and BIPV/T systems is evaluated using the Canadian Hybrid End-use Energy and Emission Model. Houses with south, south-east and south-west facing roofs are considered eligible for the retrofit since solar irradiation is maximum on south facing surfaces in the northern hemisphere. The PV system is used to produce electricity and supply the electrical demand of the house, with the excess electricity sold to the grid in a net-metering arrangement. The BIPV/T system produces electricity as well as thermal energy to supply the electrical as well as the thermal demands for space and domestic hot water heating. The PV system consists of PV panels installed on the available roof surface while the BIPV/T system adds a heat pump, thermal storage tank, auxiliary heater, domestic hot water heating equipment and hydronic heat delivery system, and replaces the existing heating system in eligible houses. The study predicts the energy savings, GHG emission reductions and tolerable capital costs for regions across Canada. Results indicate that the PV system retrofit yields 3% energy savings and 5% GHG emission reduction, while the BIPV/T system yields 18% energy savings and 17% GHG emission reduction in the Canadian housing stock. While the annual electricity use slightly increases, the fossil fuel use of the eligible houses substantially decreases due to BIPV/T system retrofit.
- Date Created:
- 2017-10-01
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Johnson, Geoffrey, Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian, and Wills, Adam
- Abstract:
- Fuel cells with nominal outputs of approximately 1kW AC are emerging as a prime-mover of a micro-cogeneration system potentially well-suited to compete, on an energy basis, with conventional methods for satisfying occupant electrical and thermal demands in a residential application. As the energy benefits of these systems can be incremental when compared to efficient conventional methods, it is especially important to consider the uncertainties of the models on which simulation results are based. However, researchers have yet to take this aspect into account.This article makes a contribution by demonstrating how these model uncertainties may be propagated to the simulation results of a micro-cogeneration system for comparison to a reference scenario using a case study. This case study compares the energy performance of a fuel-cell based micro-cogeneration system serving only domestic hot water demands to an efficient reference scenario where the conventional methods for providing electrical and thermal demands are considered to be a central gas-fired combined-cycle plant and a condensing tankless water heater respectively. The simulation results demonstrated that if model uncertainties were ignored, it would have been possible to demonstrate that the considered micro-cogeneration system was more efficient than the reference scenario for average consumption levels of domestic hot water. However, when model uncertainties were considered, the efficiency of the considered micro-cogeneration system could not reliably exceed that of the reference scenario by serving the domestic hot water needs of a single-family home.
- Date Created:
- 2017-03-05
357. Electrical-end-use data from 23 houses sampled each minute for simulating micro-generation systems
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian and Johnson, Geoffrey
- Abstract:
- An improved understanding of the consumption patterns, end-uses, and temporal variations of electrical loads in houses is warranted because a significant fraction of a society's total electricity consumption occurs within residential buildings. In general, there is a lack of high-temporal-resolution data describing occupant electrical consumption that are available to researchers in this field. To address this, new measurements were performed and combined with data emanating from an earlier study to provide a database of annual measurements for 23 houses at a 1-min resolution that characterizes whole-house, non-HVAC, air conditioner, and furnace fan electrical draws, as well as the draw patterns of some major appliances. All houses were located in Ottawa, Canada. The non-HVAC measurements of this 23-house sample were shown to be in agreement with published estimates for the housing stock. The furnace fan was found to be the most significant end-use. These high-temporal-resolution data of electrical demands in houses can be used by researchers to increase the fidelity of building performance simulation analyses of different micro-generation technologies in residential buildings.
- Date Created:
- 2017-03-05
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian, Asaee, S. Rasoul, and Ugursal, V. Ismet
- Abstract:
- This study was conducted to assess the techno-economic feasibility of converting the Canadian housing stock (CHS) into net/near zero energy buildings by introducing and integrating high efficient and renewable/alternative energy technologies in new construction and existing houses. Performance assessment of energy retrofit and renewable/alternative energy technologies in existing houses in regional and national scale is necessary to devise feasible strategies and incentive measures. The Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions model (CHREM) that utilizes a bottom-up modeling approach is used to investigate the techno-economic feasibility of air to water heat pump retrofit in the Canadian housing stock. The proposed energy retrofit includes an air to water heat pump, auxiliary boiler, thermal storage tank, hydronic heat delivery and domestic hot water (DHW) heating. Energy savings, GHG emission changes and economic feasibility of the air source heat pump retrofit are considered in this study. Results show that there is a potential to reduce 36% of energy consumption and 23% of GHG emissions of the CHS if all eligible houses undertake the retrofit. Economic analysis indicates that the feasibility of air to water heat pump systems is strongly affected by the current status of primary energy use for electricity generation and space and DHW heating as well as energy prices and economic conditions. Legislation, economic incentives and education for homeowners are necessary to enhance the penetration level of air to water heat pump retrofits in the CHS.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-25
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Bucking, Scott and Dermardiros, Vasken
- Abstract:
- Buildings play a significant role in climate change mitigation. In North America, energy used to construct and operate buildings accounts for some 40% of total energy use, largely originating from fossil fuels. The strategic reduction of these energy demands requires knowledge of potential upgrades prior to a building's construction. Furthermore, renewable energy generation integrated into buildings façades and district systems can improve the resiliency of community infrastructure. However, loads that are non-coincidental with on-site generation can cause load balancing issues. This imbalance is typically due to solar resources peaking at noon, whereas building loads typically peak in the morning and late afternoon or evenings. Ideally, the combination of on-site generation and localized storage could remedy such load balancing issues while reducing the need for fossil fuels. In response to these issues, this paper contributes a methodology that co-optimizes building designs and district technologies as an integrated community energy system. A distributed evolutionary algorithm is proposed that can navigate over 10154 potential community permutations. This is the first time in literature that a methodology demonstrates the co-optimization of buildings and district energy systems to reduce energy use in buildings and balance loads at this scale. The proposed solution is reproducible and scalable for future community masterplanning studies.
- Date Created:
- 2018-02-01
360. Techno-economic assessment of solar assisted heat pump system retrofit in the Canadian housing stock
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian, Asaee, S. Rasoul, and Ugursal, V. Ismet
- Abstract:
- The techno-economic feasibility of retrofitting existing Canadian houses with solar assisted heat pump (SAHP) is investigated. The SAHP architecture is adopted from previous studies conducted for the Canadian climate. The system utilizes two thermal storage tanks to store excess solar energy for use later in the day. The control strategy is defined in order to prioritise the use of solar energy for space and domestic hot water heating purposes. Due to economic and technical constraints a series of eligibility criteria are introduced for a house to qualify for the retrofit. A model was built in ESP-r and the retrofit was introduced into all eligible houses in the Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions model. Simulations were conducted for an entire year to estimate the annual energy savings, and GHG emission reductions. Results show that the SAHP system performance is strongly affected by climatic conditions, auxiliary energy sources and fuel mixture for electricity generation. Energy consumption and GHG emission of the Canadian housing stock can be reduced by about 20% if all eligible houses receive the SAHP system retrofit. Economic analysis indicates that the incentive measures will likely be necessary to promote the SAHP system in the Canadian residential market.
- Date Created:
- 2017-01-01