Research on the Optimal Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Path for Promoting High-Quality Industrial Development in Hubei Province

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus broke out in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and, as the center of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, the economy and production throughout Hubei Province suffered huge temporary impacts. Based on the input–output and industrial pollution emissions data of 33 industrial industries in Hubei from 2010 to 2019, this article uses the non-parametric frontier analysis method to calculate the potential production losses and compliance costs caused by environmental regulations in Hubei's industrial sector by year and industry. Research has found that the environmental technology efficiency of the industrial sector in Hubei is showing a trend of increasing year-on-year, but the overall efficiency level is still not high, and there is great room for improvement. The calculation results with and without environmental regulatory constraints indicate that, generally, production losses and compliance costs may be encountered in the industrial sector in Hubei, and there are significant differences by industry. The potential production losses and compliance costs in pollution-intensive industries are higher than those in clean production industries. On this basis, we propose relevant policy recommendations to improve the technological efficiency of Hubei's industrial environment, in order to promote the high-quality development of Hubei's industry in the post-epidemic era.

Environmental Sustainability and Territorial Competitiveness: A Comparison between Italian Provinces

The emergence of globalisation and the removal of obstacles between markets have heightened rivalry between territorial areas. To have a competitive advantage, the regions have to be unique. As one of the tactics used to boost their reputation on a territorial level, territories are progressively adopting environmental policies for sustainable and shared prosperity. Indeed, effective management of urban growth depends heavily on sustainable development. In this regard, the literature occasionally refers to the "green branding” of cities, a strategy that makes use of environmental aspects to boost the allure of metropolitan environments. There is currently little consensus in the literature on the measuring of environmental performance, and no statistical study has been done to confirm the efficacy of these measures in terms of territorial competitiveness. Therefore, it is important to determine whether there is a relationship between a territory's level of sustainability and competitiveness in Italy. According to the statistical analysis of the Italian provinces, the Northeast, Northwest, Centre, and Islands are the four geographical regions with the highest average scores. This unquestionably indicates a basic comprehension and supports the notion that there is a relationship between the two variables. However, it also serves as a warning about how geographical disparities in Italy represent a major issue affecting the most diverse sectors. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic problem has drastically altered consumer demands and goals, leading consumers to seek out more sustainable travel and cities that are designed with citizens' requirements in mind. It will therefore become more and more important to research how public and private administrators, as well as policy makers, react to these changes.

Post-COVID-19 energy transition strategies: even reaching 100% renewable in Ecuador by 2055 is not enough to face climate change issue

The pandemic scenario caused by Covid-19 generated negative impacts. Covid-19 has made it clear that our daily lives depend to a high degree on access to energy. Therefore, now more than ever, it is necessary to promote new activities such as local food production, but also local energy capture. This article is an attempt to expose and quantify the benefits of a renewable energy transition in Ecuador post Covid-19 and post-oil. The generation, consumption, and reserves of oil in Ecuador were characterized, and the concept of energy transition was applied to evaluate the possibilities of integration of renewables, the progressive exit of thermal power plants, and future energy strategies. The year 2015 was taken as a basis and it was determined that energy use was 154.0 TWh / year, which corresponds to an end-user of approximately 147 TWh / year. The objective was to reduce this end-use demand to 80.0 TWh/year by 2055 through the integration of renewables and energy efficiency, for which 5 transition phases were planned until a 100% renewable system was obtained. It is concluded that the energy transition in Ecuador is technically possible and economically viable, without giving up the energy well-being that we currently enjoy. However, results show that even 100% renewable is not enough to face climate change.

Forecasting Residential Energy Consumption: A Case Study for Greece

Residential energy consumption forecasting has immense value in energy efficiency and sustainability. In the current work we tried to forecast energy consumption on residences in Athens, Greece. As a proof of concept, smart sensors were installed into two residences that recorded energy consumption, as well as indoors environmental variables (humidity and temperature). It should be noted that the data set was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we integrated weather data from a public weather site. A dashboard was designed to facilitate monitoring of the sensors' data. We addressed various issues related to data quality and then we tried different models to forecast daily energy consumption. In particular, LSTM neural networks, ARIMA, SARIMA, SARIMAX and Facebook (FB) Prophet were tested. Overall SARIMA and FB Prophet had the best performance. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Impact of Renewable Energy on the Economy of Saudi Arabia

The objective of the study was to identify the impact of renewable energy on Saudi economy during 2000-2021. Analytical techniques were used to conduct this study. An analysis of the study used a set of variables, in which Renewable energy perceives as independent variable and the dependent variables are GDP per capita, net foreign direct investment, unemployment, fixed capital formation, and net foreign trade. The data of the study were analyzed using the E-views program. According to the study, renewable energy has an impact on certain economic variables and does not have an impact on others. A partial validity is found for the study's central hypothesis. According to our findings, renewable energy contributes significantly to net foreign direct investment, unemployment, and fixed capital formation, but not to GDP per capita, net foreign trade, or fixed capital formation.

Lessons Learnt and Policy Implications from Implementing the POWERPOOR Approach to Alleviate Energy Poverty

Energy poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that affects many Europeans. Alleviating energy poverty is high in the EU, national, and local policy agendas. Despite the attention the phenomenon has been gaining from a policy perspective, especially after the current energy crisis, there are still some gaps due to the complexity of the issue and its vastly different manifestations across Europe. This manuscript presents the policy implications stemming from the implementation of the POWEPROOR approach in alleviating energy poverty in eight European countries, as co-created with relevant stakeholders in each country. The knowledge gained from empowering energy-poor citizens by promoting behavioural changes and small-scale energy efficiency interventions, as well as by encouraging the uptake of renewable energy sources in the form of collective energy initiatives while leveraging innovative financing schemes, resulted in policy recommendations for national and sub-national governments and lessons for civil society and the private sector.

Winter-autumn air pollution control plan in North China modified the PM2.5 compositions and sources in Central China

The additional impact of emission-reduction measures in North China (NC) during autumn and winter on the air quality of downwind regions is an interesting but less addressed topic. The mass concentrations of routine air pollutants, the chemical compositions, and sources of fine particles (PM2.5) for January 2018, 2019, and 2020 at a megacity of Central China were identified, and meteorology-isolated by a machine-learning technique. Their variations were classified according to air mass direction. An unexpectedly sharp increase in emission-related PM2.5 by 22.7% (18.0 mug m-3) and 25.7% (19.4 mug m-3) for air masses from local and NC in 2019 was observed compared to those of 2018. Organic materials exhibited the highest increase in PM2.5 compositions by 6.90 mug m-3 and 6.23 mug m-3 for the air masses from local and NC. PM2.5 source contributions related to emission showed an upsurge from 1.39 mug m-3 (biomass burning) to 24.9 mug m-3 (secondary inorganic aerosol) in 2019 except for industrial processes, while all reduced in 2020. From 2018 to 2020, the emission-related contribution of coal combustion to PM2.5 increased from 10.0% to 19.0% for air masses from the local area. To support the priority natural gas quotas in northern China, additional coal in cities of southern China was consumed, raising related emissions from transportation activities and road dust in urban regions, as well as additional biofuel consumption in suburban or rural regions. All these activities could explain the increased primary PM2.5 and related precursor NO2. This study gave substantial evidence of air pollution control measures impacting the downwind regions and promote the necessity of air pollution joint control across the administration.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

The evaluation of government subsidy policies on carbon emissions in the port collection and distribution network: a case study of Guangzhou Port

The collection and distribution network of ports is the main cause of carbon emissions. The carbon peak is a basic policy in China, and the subsidy policy is one of the common measures used by the government to incentivize carbon reduction. We analyzed the transportation methods and the flow direction of a port and proposed a carbon emission calculation method based on emission factors. Based on the transportation time and the cost, a generalized transportation utility function was constructed, and the logit model was used to analyze the impacts of subsidy policies on transportation, thus calculating the effects of the subsidies on carbon reduction. We used Guangzhou Port as a case study, and calculated the carbon reduction effects in six different subsidy policy scenarios and concluded that the absolute carbon reduction value was proportional to the subsidy intensity. In addition, we constructed a subsidy carbon reduction efficiency index and found that the Guangzhou Port collection and distribution network had higher subsidy carbon reduction efficiency in low-subsidy scenarios. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted on the subsidy parameters, and scenario 8 was found to have the highest subsidy carbon reduction efficiency. This achievement can provide decision support for the carbon emission strategy of the port collection and distribution network.

Joint Transmission Scheme and Coded Content Placement in Cluster-Centric UAV-Aided Cellular Networks

Recently, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, dependence on telecommunication for remote learning/working and telemedicine has significantly increased. In this context, preserving high Quality of Service (QoS) and maintaining low-latency communication are of paramount importance. In cellular networks, the incorporation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can result in enhanced connectivity for outdoor users due to the high probability of establishing Line of Sight (LoS) links. The UAV's limited battery life and its signal attenuation in indoor areas, however, make it inefficient to manage users' requests in indoor environments. Referred to as the cluster-centric and coded UAV-aided femtocaching (CCUF) framework, the network's coverage in both indoor and outdoor environments increases by considering a two-phase clustering framework for Femto access points (FAPs)' formation and UAVs' deployment. Our first objective is to increase the content diversity. In this context, we propose a coded content placement in a cluster-centric cellular network, which is integrated with the coordinated multipoint (CoMP) approach to mitigate the intercell interference in edge areas. Then, we compute, experimentally, the number of coded contents to be stored in each caching node to increase the cache-hit-ratio, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), and cache diversity and decrease the users' access delay and cache redundancy for different content popularity profiles. Capitalizing on clustering, our second objective is to assign the best caching node to indoor/outdoor users for managing their requests. In this regard, we define the movement speed of ground users as the decision metric of the transmission scheme for serving outdoor users' requests to avoid frequent handovers between FAPs and increase the battery life of UAVs. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed CCUF implementation increases the cache-hit-ratio, SINR, and cache diversity and decrease the users' access delay, cache redundancy, and UAVs' energy consumption.

Strategies for implementation of green roofs in developing countries

PurposeReportedly, green roof (GR) makes a significant contribution towards a truly sustainable-built environment;however, its implementation is yet to hit a sufficient level in developing countries. Thus, this study assesses GR implementation strategies in developing countries by providing a comparative analysis through experts in Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a four-step methodological approach to achieve the research aim: literature review, focus group discussion, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) analysis and correlation analyses. First, a literature review followed by a focus group discussion is used to determine 18 (out of 25 initially) strategies for the selected context and these are classified into three categories: governmental and institutional support, knowledge and information and policy and regulation. Afterward, the identified GR strategies are evaluated using the FAHP with the data gathered from the experts in the countries studied. Finally, correlation analyses were used to observe the strength of agreement between the assessments of experts from the included countries.FindingsThe findings indicate that financial incentives, low-cost government loans and subsidies and tax rebates are the essential strategies for the wider adoption of GR. Evaluating the policy and regulations strategies also showed that mandatory GR policies and regulations and better enforcement of the developed GR policies are ranked as the most prominent strategies. The findings show a low level of agreement among respondents from Kazakhstan, while there is a high level of agreement between the experts in Malaysia and Turkey.Research limitations/implicationsThe research contribution is twofold. First (research implication), the study identifies the strategies through a complete literature review. Second, the identified strategies are evaluated through the lenses of experts in three developing countries which are hoped to provide (practical contribution) a better understanding of the most effective strategies that require attention and enable the frontline stakeholders (particularly government authorities) to focus on them.Originality/valueThe study findings provide a good point of departure to explore the strategies for broader adoption of GRs in developing economic setting.

A study to explore the linkage between green training and sustainable organizational performance through emotional intelligence and green work life balance

PurposeThis study aims to review the role of green training and green work life balance (GWLB) on sustainable organizational performance (SOP) with a moderating variable "Emotional Intelligence” (EI).Design/methodology/approachFor the development of the construct of the present study, a Scopus database was selected and research papers published in indexed journals were considered. Relevant keywords were selected and literature was searched on green training, EI, SOP, GWLB. The literature was reviewed to find out the linkage and possibility of development of integrated model. The main focus was on highlighting the relevance of green training on GWLB and its influence on SOP.FindingsSOP can be achieved with the intervention of EI and GWLB;further green training is one of the influential practices of human resource development (HRD) which helps to develop the green behavior.Research limitations/implicationsIt can give new insight to the organization for application of green human resource practices for SOP. Development and designing the cohesive environmental work culture and willingness to protect environment through green training can be implemented by HRD. Perhaps, the application of green training encourages GWLB.Practical implicationsQuantitative research and cross sectional study is required to find out the intervening role of EI and work–life balance between green training and SOP across a broader range of sectors.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature review and developed a new integrated model which shows the link between green training and SOP.

Geographic Information Systems for Facilitating Audits of the Urban Built Environment

Data collection and large-scale urban audits are challenging and can be time consuming processes. Geographic information systems can extract and combine relevant data that can be used as input to calculation tools that provide results and quantify indicators with sufficient spatial analysis to facilitate the local decision-making process for building renovations and sustainability assessment. This work presents an open-access tool that offers an automated process that can be used to audit an urban area in order to extract relevant information about the characteristics of the built environment, analyze the building characteristics to evaluate energy performance, assess the potential for the installation of photovoltaics on available building rooftops, and quantify ground permeability. A case study is also presented to demonstrate data collection and processing for an urban city block, and the relevant results are elaborated upon. The method is easily replicable and is based on open data and non-commercial tools.

Hourly based methods to assess carbon footprint flexibility and primary energy use in decarbonized buildings

Constant emission factors to assess the carbon footprint of buildings energy use, as usually included in national Building Technical Codes, show their limitations since the electrical grid mix changes constantly. For this reason, hourly-based methods using time-varying penalty signals to calculate carbon emissions and primary energy use in buildings constitute more effective assessment methods, especially with the aim to activate energy flexibility in buildings based on those inputs. Such signals have been developed and tested in the present work. The robustness and effectiveness of the methods is tested throughout two study cases. The first case compares the impact of using hourly signals over constant factors from the standards. For that purpose, a measured aggregated consumption profile corresponding to 226 real households is analyzed. In the second study case, demand response is implemented through control strategies reacting to the hourly penalty signals, aiming to decrease the emissions, primary energy use and cost. Results for the first case reveal that hourly rates better capture the variability of the electric grid compared to constant yearly factors from national standards, with a 50% difference in carbon emissions and a 20% overestimation with primary energy. Results from the second study case show how the implemented modulation strategies offer benefits in the flexible scenarios compared to the base scenarios, in terms of accumulated emissions or primary energy. Improvements are especially perceived when splitting data seasonally and considering periods with higher demand. Furthermore, this study provides insights for developing energy flexibility inputs when assessing the building performance during critical events such as the COVID19 pandemic or extreme weather conditions, where hourly and seasonal variation might have greater impact. Demand response mechanisms as energy flexibility strategies studied through this work might help in the reduction of total emissions and primary energy. Depending if the goal is to shift the demand due to environmental or economical reasons, different modulation strategies can be implemented to reach greater benefits.

On the energy performance of the Mediterranean school building stock: the case of the Apulia Region

The refurbishment opportunities provided by climate policies require an adequate knowledge of the school building stock, characterised by an urgent need of maintenance. Nevertheless, empirical evidence on energy performance of school samples appears limited due to the difficulty in retrieving data, although field data analysis is crucial in the built environment management. This study aims to explore existing energy conditions of an educational building sample hosting pre-schools, primary and lower secondary schools, located in southern Italy (Apulia Region). Firstly, an overview of the schools based on data retrieved from the regional dataset was performed. Then, more than 1000 buildings were clustered based on two predictors (construction year and surface-to-volume ratio), identifying five clusters representing the majority Apulian schools. In addition, billed gas and electricity data collected for 47 schools over a five-year period (2017-2021) were analysed, identifying annual and monthly trends, benchmarks, and mean values, which account for 46.5 (gas consumption), 15.59 kWh/m2 (electricity consumption). On average, source total consumption in 2020 experienced a reduction of 20%, partly due to Covid-19 restrictive measures. Finally, factors affecting heating consumptions were explored, and a regression analysis was performed, identifying heating degree days, construction year and boiler power to be the most significant.

Impact of e-service quality on e-loyalty of online banking customers in Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic: mediating role of e-satisfaction

This study explores the mediating role of e-satisfaction during the pandemic on the relationship between e-service quality and e-loyalty of banking customers in Pakistan. The data were collected from 442 customers of online banking services in Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic, following a survey-based study. Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) and Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) mediation technique which utilizes the bootstrapping method has been used to explore mediation. The findings show that e-service quality has a significant positive effect on the e-loyalty of the customers of online banking services. Relationships between e-service quality and e-loyalty of online banking customers in Pakistan are significantly and fully mediated by their online satisfaction in unusual situations. This study would help the bankers to implement more effective marketing strategies to retain their customers and attract potential customers, particularly during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. It will help them identify the areas of e-services that need improvement to enhance the satisfaction and loyalty of the customers. The bootstrap method for mediation along with Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) leads to using a more sophisticated methodological technique to explore the mediation. The Oliver Expectancy-Disconfirmation Paradigm (EDP) in electronic banking setup during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic also served as a unique contribution to this study. Application of Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) mediation along with Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) leads to more robust findings for the study in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. The study findings add scientific value as they are applicable to the banking sector in particular in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic and the overall service sector in general. Further, as two different methods of mediation have been employed and this makes the study more rigorous and scientific.

Projecting the Electricity Demand of the Residential Sector in Thailand During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The residential sector in Thailand has been a fast-growing energy consumption sector since 1995 at a rate of 6% per year. This sector makes a significant contribution to Thailand's rising electricity demand especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study projects Thailand's residential electricity consumption characteristics and the factors affecting the growth of electricity consumption using a system dynamics (SD) modeling approach to forecast long-term electricity consumption in Thailand. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown can be seen as a forced social experiment, with the findings demonstrating how to use resources under particular circumstances. Four key factors affecting the electricity demand used in the SD model development include (1) work and study from home, (2) socio-demographic, (3) temperature changing, and (4) rise of GDP. Secondary and primary data, through questionnaire survey method, were used as data input for the model. The simulation results reveal that changing behavior on higher-wattage appliances has huge impacts on overall electricity consumption. The pressure to work and study at home contributes to rises of electricity consumption in the residential sector during and after COVID-19 pandemic. The government and related agencies may use the study results to plan for the electricity supply in the long term. © 2023 World Scientific Publishing Co.

COVID-19 as an Energy Intervention: Lockdown Insights for HCI

As the operation of buildings accounts for around 30% of global CO2 emissions, reducing their energy consumption is considered crucial for climate change mitigation. Aware of this significance, the sustainable HCI (SHCI) community has conducted research on energy consumption for over 15 years. However, compared with domestic environments, commercial organisations are comprised of complex mixed-use buildings, and the socio-technical understanding of space and resulting energy use are relatively under-explored. In this late-breaking work, we present the initial findings of a longitudinal analysis that uses building energy data from a period covering the COVID-19 lockdown measures to help identify the energy associated with these buildings and their users. Viewing the pandemic as a unique, grand-scale 'energy intervention', the resulting consumption patterns are used to inform questions about leverage points for achieving change, stakeholder agency vs. infrastructure demand;and highlight the importance of putting energy data in context. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Fault detection model for a variable speed heat pump

The impact of the COVID pandemic has resulted in many people cultivating a remote working culture and increasing building energy use. A reduction in the energy use of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is necessary for decreasing the energy use in buildings. The refrigerant charge of a heat pump greatly affects its energy use. However, refrigerant leakage causes a significant increase in the energy use of HVAC systems. The development of refrigerant charge fault detection models is, therefore, important to prevent unwarranted energy consumption and CO2 emissions in heat pumps. This paper examines refrigerant charge faults and their effect on a variable speed heat pump and the most accurate method between a multiple linear regression and multilayer perceptron model to use in detecting the refrigerant charge fault using the discharge temperature of the compressor, outdoor entering water temperature and compressor speed as inputs, and refrigerant charge as the output. The COP of the heat pump decreased when it was not operating at the optimum refrigerant charge, while an increase in compressor speed compensated for the degradation in the capacity during refrigerant leakage. Furthermore, the multilayer perception was found to have a higher prediction accuracy of the refrigerant charge fault with a mean square error of ± 3.7%, while the multiple linear regression model had a mean square error of ± 4.5%. The study also found that the multilayer perception model requires 7 neurons in the hidden layer to make viable predictions on any subsequent test sets fed into it under similar experimental conditions and parameters of the heat pump used in this study.

Antecedents and consequences of telecommuting on public organizations in Iran: the case of west Azerbaijan province

PurposeTelecommuting can reduce traffic congestion, energy consumption, prevalence and a death toll of COVID-19 among employees due to less transportation and fewer physical contacts among employees, on the one hand, and efficiently develop their use of information and communications technology, on the other hand. In this regard, the present study aims to explore antecedents and consequences of telecommuting in public organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a descriptive survey method to collect data. The statistical population includes all employees of government organizations in West Azerbaijan province in 2020, which according to the collected information, their number is equal to 63,079 employees. Based on Cochran's formula, a sample size of 686 people was obtained;stratified random sampling was used to select sampling. The process of calculating the sample volume was such that after referring to the preliminary sample and processing the collected data, the variance of the given answers was approximately 0.446. After obtaining the variance of the data, assuming a maximum acceptable error of 5% and a significance level of 0.05, the Cochran's formula calculated the sample size to be 686 people. In order to collect and measure data for the study, a standard questionnaire and the collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsFindings indicate that there is no meaningful relationship between the employees' physical job conditions or the quality of their life with telecommuting and that telecommuting does not have a significant effect on their life. However, job burnout, training and telecommuting experience have a significant positive effect on telecommuting, which in turn has a positive and significant effect on job security, job flexibility, organizational performance and overall productivity of employees.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is a cross-sectional study, and its data have been collected in a certain period of time, while longitudinal research can provide a richer result. Future research can benefit from the impact of employee isolation and telecommuter organizational commitment.Originality/valueThis study hopes to contribute to the increase of the scientific knowledge in the telecommuting field and to allow organizations to rethink the telecommuting strategies to optimize resources and costs and to improve the organization's productivity without harming the quality of life and well-being of their workers.

Variability of Thermal Comfort and Energy Consumption by Introducing Working from Home

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have introduced working from home to avoid the risk of infection. In this study, we conducted questionnaire surveys and analysed the building energy management system (BEMS) in an office building where the number of employees working from home increased after the onset of the pandemic. The influence of working from home on the indoor environment satisfaction and the variability in energy consumption at home and office was determined. The indoor environment satisfaction was significantly higher when working from home than when working at the office. In 2020, the total energy consumption at home and office decreased by 30% in April and increased by 22% in August compared to the previous year. To work from home while saving energy regardless of the season, it is necessary to reduce office energy consumption by decreasing the number of workers present at the office. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.