Small urban water bodies, such as ponds or canals, are commonly believed to solve urban heat problems but recent research shows that the cooling effect of large urban water bodies on hot summer days is quite limited and can actually induce a night-time warming effect. However, shading, vaporising water and proper natural ventilation might help to keep urban water bodies and their surroundings cooler. But how to combine these strategies in urban design?The ‘Really cooling water bodies in cities’ (REALCOOL) research project explored the most effective combinations of shading, water vaporisation and natural ventilation around small urban water bodies. Optimal cooling strategies were developed for common urban water bodies in temperate climate zones. They are now made available to designers as virtual design prototypes
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When addressing urban heat problems, climate- conscious urban design has been assuming that urban water bodies such as canals, ditches or ponds cool down their surroundings. Recent research shows that this is not necessarily the case and that urban water bodies may actually have a warming e ect, particularly during late summer season nights. There are however indications that water can have a cooling potential if brought together with the right shading, evaporation and ventilation strategies. Yet, it is not clear how this should be achieved. Knowledge on such spatial configurations should thus be developed and made available to design practice. This challenge is directly addressed by the “REALCOOL” project, a research aiming to define design prototypes showing the physical processes behind the e ective cooling potential of urban water bodies, that design professionals can take as conceptual design frameworks.
Op dit moment wordt elektronica veelal actief gekoeld door middel van een geconditioneerde luchtstroom die geforceerd langs een heat sink wordt gevoerd. Het conditioneren van deze luchtstroom kost veel energie en de benodigde luchtbehandelingsapparatuur vergt grondstoffen. Als voorbeeld kan een datacenter dienen waarbij tot wel 30 % van de benodigde energie wordt gebruikt voor het koelen van de elektronica. Dit projectvoorstel richt zich op onderzoek naar een alternatieve methode voor het koelen van elektronica. Het gaat daarbij om het passief koelen van elektronica d.m.v. een gesloten vloeistofcircuit op basis van natuurlijke convectie. Een 3D geprinte heat sink geeft de warmte af aan een circulerende vloeistof. Via een hoger gelegen warmtewisselaar geeft deze vloeistof de warmte aan de buitenlucht af. Deze passieve manier van koelen bespaart energie en grondstoffen en kent andere voordelen die in de inleiding worden genoemd. Fontys heeft een experimentele opstelling gebouwd waarmee testen zijn gedaan. De heat sinks worden voor het experiment 3D geprint in metaal. Het printen biedt de vormvrijheid die vaak nodig is voor een efficiënt ontwerp dat in staat is het vermogen af te voeren. Het onderzoek bij Fontys is uitgevoerd op door het bedrijfsleven aangeleverde cases. De resultaten wijzen uit dat deze passieve manier van koelen in de aangereikte gevallen werkt. Het betreft echter een experimentele opstelling, met maximaal 3 warmtebronnen en beperkte vermogens. Middels dit project Cooling of Electronics by Natural Convection (CENACO) wil Fontys samen met de consortiumpartners onderzoeken of de methode ook op industriële schaal toepasbaar is. Er moeten reële specificaties worden gedefinieerd. De opstelling moet worden opgeschaald. Voor een juist ontwerp zijn thermal-flow simulaties en onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden om heat sinks te printen nodig.
The key societal problem addressed by the EmPowerED consortium is the urgent need to accelerate and scale up the development of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). Carbon neutral heating and cooling is a core element of the design of Positive Energy Districts (PEDS). However, many Dutch heat transition projects run behind schedule and are not compatible with this future vision of PEDs, making the heat transition a key factor in PED realization and upscaling. In this heat transition and the transition to PEDs, citizen engagement and support is a key societal factor and citizens need to be an integral part of the decision-making process on the realization of PEDs. Furthermore, technical, regulatory and financial uncertainties hamper the ability of decision makers to create PED system designs that have citizen support. Such system designs require a deep understanding of the relevant social, spatial, governance, legal, financial, and technical factors, and their interactions in PED system designs.
Zuyd University and partners will develop novel coatings that contribute to a reduction in energy consumption of houses and buildings. The built environment currently consumes 46% of all energy, mainly for heating and cooling. A strong reduction is required as part of the transition towards sustainable energy. This is expressed by ambitious targets set by the Parkstad region, which has set itself the target to be energy neutral in 2040. For the Window of the Future Zuyd University (lectoraat Nanostructured Materials) and DWI (post-doc) aims to develop infrared regulating coatings that keep the heat inside in winter and outside in summer. These coatings are expected to strongly contribute to reduction of energy consumption. We will develop coating materials for application on glass windows, which are transparent for visible light to allow maximal daylight entering the building, and simultaneously regulate the transmission and reflection of IR heat. Kriya and Physee (SMEs) will advise Zuyd on technical and economic challenges related to the development of IR regulating glass windows. OMT Solutions (SME) and SGS Intron will advise on characterization and the performance validation. The need for such windows is confirmed by TNO/The Brightlands Materials Center as central challenge in their Optoelectronics program. They contribute largely to this project. Large demonstrator windows will be coated, and installed in test houses for real-life testing and quantification of the energy reduction. Zuyd (lectoraat Solar Energy in the Built Environment) will quantify the impact of smart IR regulating windows on the energy transition by comparing their impact to other available technologies, e.g. solar cells. In this quantification, Zuyd will focus on the Parkstad region. Together with Parkstad and Maastricht University (Ph.D. student), Zuyd will also quantify the socio-economic impact, and promote the societal acceptance of smart IR regulating windows.
