scholarly journals Life Cycle Evaluation of Sustainable Practices in a Sauna Bath

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5647
Author(s):  
Luis Velazquez ◽  
Sandra Villalba ◽  
Ricardo García ◽  
Nora Munguía
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Solar Air Heater ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Air Heater ◽  
Graphene Coating ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

To battle climate change, the search for sustainable solutions and the reduction of environmental impacts are activities that must be pursued in all areas of human life. This study aimed to conduct a Life Cycle Evaluation of the environmental aspects and potential benefits associated with two different innovative adaptations to a sauna bath. The first adaptation is related to the selection of wooden materials for the bath’s interior construction; the second is related to the source of thermal energy. For the selection of wooden materials, experiments were performed to evaluate a graphene coating and its capacity to increase the durability of wooden materials. For the thermal energy source, a solar air heater was experimentally assessed to confirm its capacity to supply the thermal energy required to operate the sauna bath. Finally, the material selection and the heating operation were integrated in a Life Cycle Impact Assessment, contrasting two scenarios: “business as usual sauna bath” and “sustainable sauna bath.” The findings showed a significant reduction of around 61% of total emissions from the application of a solar air heater and wooden materials treated with a graphene coating. At the end of this study, “human well-being,” “ecosystems,” and “resources” were expressed in monetary values to assess the impact of the above practices in a sauna bath.

Interactions between human behaviour and the built environment in terms of facility management

Facilities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 2-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darja Kobal Grum
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In comparison with the relations between the human and natural environments that have been the central focus of environmental psychology for many years, the interactions between the psychological processes underlying human behaviour and the built environment have only recently regained the interest of researchers. In this paper, the author first discusses the reasons for the slower development of human – built environment relations. Afterwards, the author systematically examines the impact that the research of environmental stress, namely, poor housing and poor neighbourhood quality, had on the contemporary understanding of human – built environment relations. Design/methodology/approach The author focuses on social, biophilic and evidence-based design. The author proposes deeper psychological engagement in correlation with human behaviour, psychological well-being and society. The author highlights the inclusion of psychologists in interdisciplinary research teams addressing the development of sustainable solutions to the issues of residential environments. Findings It has been shown that substandard house quality, high noise, lack of natural light in houses, poorer physical quality of urban neighbourhoods, living in a low-income neighbourhood, etc. are linked to elevated physiological and psychological stress. Despite this evidence, there is still a gap between building designers and building users in modern industrialised societies, which could deepen tenants’ dissatisfaction due to specific behavioural needs and consequently lower their psychological well-being and health risk behaviour. Research limitations/implications These are potential risks of error arising from the use of assumptions, limited samples size and data from the secondary resources. Originality/value The major contributions of this paper are as follows. If the environment is understood as a dynamic, constantly changing and complex system of a wide range of players, the author can discern in this environment a dynamic that is otherwise characteristic of emotional dynamics. Expressed participants’ high satisfaction with residential status does not necessarily generate high expectations regarding real estate factors.

scholarly journals Selection and spatial arrangement of building materials during the construction of nest turrets by grass-cutting ants

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 201312
Author(s):  
Daniela Römer ◽  
Marcela I. Cosarinsky ◽  
Flavio Roces
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
The Self ◽  
Nest Entrance ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Selection Of

Ants build complex nest structures by reacting to simple, local stimuli. While underground nests result from the space generated by digging, some leaf- and grass-cutting ants also construct conspicuous aboveground turrets around nest openings. We investigated whether the selection of specific building materials occurs during turret construction in Acromyrmex fracticornis grass-cutting ants, and asked whether single building decisions at the beginning can modify the final turret architecture. To quantify workers' material selection, the original nest turret was removed and a choice between two artificial building materials, thin and thick sticks, was offered for rebuilding. Workers preferred thick sticks at the very beginning of turret construction, showed varying preferences thereafter, and changed to prefer thin sticks for the upper, final part of the turret, indicating that they selected different building materials over time to create a stable structure. The impact of a single building choice on turret architecture was evaluated by placing artificial beams that divided a colony's nest entrance at the beginning of turret rebuilding. Splitting the nest entrance led to the self-organized construction of turrets with branched galleries ending in multiple openings, showing that the spatial location of a single building material can strongly influence turret morphology.

Life cycle analysis of mortars and its environmental impact

2005 ◽  
Vol 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Moropoulou ◽  
Christopher Koroneos ◽  
Maria Karoglou ◽  
Eleni Aggelakopoulou ◽  
Asterios Bakolas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Cement Binder ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Lca Results

AbstractOver the years considerable research has been conducted on masonry mortars regarding their compatibility with under restoration structures. The environmental dimension of these materials may sometimes be a prohibitive factor in the selection of these materials. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that can be used to assess the environmental impact of the materials. LCA can be a very useful tool in the decision making for the selection of appropriate restoration structural material. In this work, a comparison between traditional type of mortars and modern ones (cement-based) is attempted. Two mortars of traditional type are investigated: with aerial lime binder, with aerial lime and artificial pozzolanic additive and one with cement binder. The LCA results indicate that the traditional types of mortars are more sustainable compared to cementbased mortars. For the impact assessment, the method used is Eco-indicator 95

scholarly journals Effect of single tube sections on the structural safety of Chinese solar greenhouse skeletons

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingan Liu ◽  
Zhenkun Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Yiming Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Structural Safety ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Single Tube ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn recent years, the use of single-tube skeletons for the construction of Chinese solar greenhouses has increased. As a consequence, during the selection of the construction materials, the safety of these structures has become an important issue. The single tube section has various forms, but there is no scientific theory to guide the selection process. To the best of our knowledge, the scientific analysis of the impact of single pipe cross section on the safety of greenhouse skeleton has not been addressed so far. In this context, the finite element analysis software was used to calculate and analyze the stress elements, displacement of round tube, Ω tube, elliptic tube and square tube under the same load conditions. We used the Chinese Standard values as a reference and analyzed structural features of different sizes and thicknesses of the greenhouse steel skeleton sections under non-uniform snow load. The results showed that, under the same load condition, the maximum stress in the four skeleton materials was all located at the connection of the transverse tension bar and the front roof. In addition, under same load condition, the greenhouse skeleton with elliptic tube presented the smallest cross-sectional displacement between the different materials tested. The effect of increasing the size of the greenhouse frame was better than that of increasing the greenhouse material thickness. All this work will provide theoretical guidance to the material selection of this structure.

scholarly journals Application of green tools in green marketing

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-77
Author(s):  
Veljko Ćalasan ◽  
Rade Slavković ◽  
Jelena Rajković
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Marketing ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Strategic Goal

Green marketing is a promotion of "green" or environmentally friendly products as a consumer base for the premium product. It implies the whole chain of a product's life cycle, prevention of releasing pollutants into the environment and their removal using phytoremediation as one of many tools. Increasing social care linked health well-being with sustainable environmental and economy. Therefore, increased number of eco-minded entrepreneurs includes green marketing. A strategic goal of corporations is to raise awareness through environmentally minded publication, eco-friendly retail, organic catering/promotion, eco-friendly landscaping, eco-consulting, etc. Thus, green tools, part of green marketing promote and educate about carbon emissions and pollution consumers daily activities produce and the impact those activities have on the final product. In the context of the changes in business, green marketing could be put in the framework of life cycle thinking. Taking into account waste as a final by product even in a lean manufacturing, LCA includes unavoidable pollutants or products as well as the remediation/phytoremediation to decrease harmful product impact.

Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of a Solar Air Heater Assisted by a Dehumidification System for an Agriculture Greenhouse

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Almehmadi ◽  
Kevin Hallinan
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Solar Air Heater ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Air Heater ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Appropriate greenhouse microclimate control is essential for optimizing plant growth and food production. But, maintenance of a greenhouse microclimate generally requires an excessive amount of energy. According to a report published by Scott Sanford [1], the energy cost for greenhouses is considered the third highest annual cost, behind labor and plant materials. At northern latitudes, heating is the primary energy requirement needed in an agriculture greenhouse, comprising 70 to 80% of a typical greenhouse energy consumption [1]. A reduction of heating energy is necessary to ensure the economic viability of a greenhouse. This research investigates the potential energy savings associated with integrating a solar air heater assisted with a desiccant wheel in an agriculture greenhouse. This study has two main thrusts. The first is to demonstrate the energy effectiveness a solar air heater with a dehumidification system to maintain the internal climate. The second thrust is to develop a multi-linear regression model that can be used to predict the hourly heating requirement. Thereafter, the developed regression model can be used to conduct a parametric analysis to investigate the impact of changing greenhouse parameters on the total heating requirements. A case study has been considered for a greenhouse that is 30 m long and 24 m wide. The climate condition of the city of Dayton, OH was selected for this case. The predicted performance of the integrated system is compared with two other heating systems: electric and gas furnaces. The study reveals that heating energy savings in the proposed system is 51% and 30% when compared with the electric and gas furnaces, respectively. Aside from heating energy savings, the proposed system can be efficiently used to control indoor humidity in a way that ensures better crop yield.

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