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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Physics
A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis Of Kevin Roche’S Fine Arts Center At University Of Massachusetts-Amherst, L Carl Fiocchi Jr
A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis Of Kevin Roche’S Fine Arts Center At University Of Massachusetts-Amherst, L Carl Fiocchi Jr
Doctoral Dissertations
Studies of buildings belonging to a subset of Modernist architecture, Brutalism, have included discussions pertaining to social and architectural history, critical reception, tectonic form and geometry inspirations, material property selections, period technology limitations, and migration of public perceptions. Evaluations of Brutalist buildings’ energy related performances have been restricted to anecdotal observations with particular focus on the building type’s poor thermal performance, a result of the preferred construction method, i.e. monolithic reinforced concrete used as structure, interior finish and exterior finish. A valid criticism, but one that served to dismiss discussion that the possibility of other positive design strategies limiting energy …
Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock
Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock
J. Kissock
Residential building energy use is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and in the United States represents about 20% of total energy consumption. A number of previous macro-scale studies of residential energy consumption and energy-efficiency improvements are mainly concerned with national or international aggregate potential savings. In this paper we look into the details of how a collection of specific homes in one region might reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, with particular attention given to some practical limits to what can be achieved by upgrading the existing residential building stock. Using a simple model of residential, single-family home …
Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock
Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock
Kevin Hallinan
Residential building energy use is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and in the United States represents about 20% of total energy consumption. A number of previous macro-scale studies of residential energy consumption and energy-efficiency improvements are mainly concerned with national or international aggregate potential savings. In this paper we look into the details of how a collection of specific homes in one region might reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, with particular attention given to some practical limits to what can be achieved by upgrading the existing residential building stock. Using a simple model of residential, single-family home …
Zno Thin Films Generated By Ex-Situ Thermal Oxidation Of Metallic Zn For Photovoltaic Applications, Kovas Zygas
Zno Thin Films Generated By Ex-Situ Thermal Oxidation Of Metallic Zn For Photovoltaic Applications, Kovas Zygas
Macalester Journal of Physics and Astronomy
ZnO thin films that function as either transparent conducting oxides in solid-state photovoltaic cells or as nanocrystalline dye-absorbers in dye-sensitized solar cells have the potential to reduce the cost of producing electricity from solar energy. Although there exist many methods to produce ZnO thin films, the most economical and practical method may be oxidation of metallic Zn thin films. This research examined the utility of ex-situ thermal oxidation of DC magnetron sputtered Zn thin films in generating useful ZnO thin films for these photovoltaic applications. We annealed Zn thin films in air at 570° C in order to produce ZnO …
Emissions Scenarios In The Face Of Fossil-Fuel Peaking, Robert Brecha
Emissions Scenarios In The Face Of Fossil-Fuel Peaking, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
Emissions scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are based on detailed energy system models in which demographics, technology and economics are used to generate projections of future world energy consumption, and therefore, of greenhouse gas emissions. We propose in this paper that it is useful to look at a qualitative model of the energy system, backed by data from short- and medium-term trends, to gain a sense of carbon emission bounds. Here we look at what may be considered a lower bound for 21st century emissions given two assumptions: first, that extractable fossil-fuel resources follow the …
Cost Optimization With Solar And Conventional Energy Production, Energy Storage, And Real Time Pricing, Ata Raziei, Kevin Hallinan, Robert Brecha
Cost Optimization With Solar And Conventional Energy Production, Energy Storage, And Real Time Pricing, Ata Raziei, Kevin Hallinan, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
Research is presented that investigates the potential for solar power generation with battery energy storage for reducing the effective cost of energy delivered to residential customers if real time pricing is present. A linear optimization approach is developed based upon a two-step process. In step one, given a specified solar array area and battery capacity, the optimal means to meet loads based upon grid power, solar power, and/or battery power is determined. This analysis considers an expected lifespan of the solar panel. With these results established, in the next step, the capital costs for the solar arrays and batteries are …
The Carbon Rent Economics Of Climate Policy, Matthias Kalkuhl, Robert Brecha
The Carbon Rent Economics Of Climate Policy, Matthias Kalkuhl, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
By reducing the demand for fossil fuels, climate policy can reduce scarcity rents for fossil resource owners. As mitigation policies ultimately aim to limit emissions, a new scarcity for “space” in the atmosphere to deposit emissions is created. The associated scarcity rent, or climate rent (that is, for example, directly visible in permit prices under an emission trading scheme) can be higher or lower than the original fossil resource rent. In this paper, we analyze analytically and numerically the impact of mitigation targets, resource availability, backstop costs, discount rates and demand parameters on fossil resource rents and the climate rent. …
Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert Brecha
Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …
Economic And Environmental Impacts Of Community-Based Residential Building Energy Efficiency Investment, Jun-Ki Choi, Drew Morrison, Kevin Hallinan, Robert Brecha
Economic And Environmental Impacts Of Community-Based Residential Building Energy Efficiency Investment, Jun-Ki Choi, Drew Morrison, Kevin Hallinan, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
A systematic framework for evaluating the local economic and environmental impacts of investment in building energy efficiency is developed. Historical residential building energy data, community-wide economic input-output data, and emission intensity data are utilized. The aim of this study is to show the comprehensive insights and connection among achieving variable target reductions for a residential building energy use, economic and environmental impacts. Central to this approach for the building energy reduction goal is the creation of individual energy models for each building based upon historical energy data and available building data. From these models, savings estimates and cost implications can …
Development Without Energy? Assessing Future Scenarios Of Energy Consumption In Developing Countries, Jan Steckel, Robert Brecha, Michael Jakob, Jessica Strefler, Gunnar Luderer
Development Without Energy? Assessing Future Scenarios Of Energy Consumption In Developing Countries, Jan Steckel, Robert Brecha, Michael Jakob, Jessica Strefler, Gunnar Luderer
Robert J. Brecha
We analyze the relationship between economic development and energy consumption in the context of greenhouse gas mitigation. The main contribution of this work is to compare estimates of energy thresholds in the form of minimum energy requirements to reach high levels of development with output projections of per capita final energy supply from a group of integrated assessment models (IAMs). Scenarios project that reductions of carbon emissions in developing countries will be achieved not only by means of decreasing the carbon intensity, but also by making a significant break with the historically observed relationship between energy use and economic growth. …
Boom Or Bust? Mapping Out The Known Unknowns Of Global Shale Gas Production Potential, Jérôme Hilaire, Nico Bauer, Robert Brecha
Boom Or Bust? Mapping Out The Known Unknowns Of Global Shale Gas Production Potential, Jérôme Hilaire, Nico Bauer, Robert Brecha
Robert J. Brecha
To assess the global production costs of shale gas, we combine global top-down data with detailed bottom-up information. Studies solely based on top-down approaches do not adequately account for the heterogeneity of shale gas deposits and hence, are unlikely to appropriately capture the extraction costs of shale gas. We design and provide an expedient bottom-up method based on publicly available US data to compute the levelized costs of shale gas extraction. Our results indicate the existence of economically attractive areas but also reveal a dramatic cost increase as lower-quality reservoirs are exploited. At the global level, our best estimate suggests …
Procesy Cieplne I Aparaty (Lab), Wojciech M. Budzianowski
Inżynieria Chemiczna Lab., Wojciech M. Budzianowski
Photovoltaics: An Investigation Into The Origins Of Efficiency On All Scales, Jeremy Alexander Bannister
Photovoltaics: An Investigation Into The Origins Of Efficiency On All Scales, Jeremy Alexander Bannister
Senior Projects Spring 2016
This project is comprised of a set of parallel investigations, which share the common mo- tivation of increasing the efficiency of photovoltaics. First, the reader is introduced to core concepts of photovoltaic energy conversion via a semi-classical description of the phys- ical system. Second, a key player in photovoltaic efficiency calculations, the exciton, is discussed in greater quantum mechanical detail. The reader will be taken through a nu- merical derivation of the low-energy exciton states in various geometries, including a line segment, a circle and a sphere. These numerical calculations are done using Mathematica, a computer program which, due to …