The sun is an endless energy source and the heat it produces can be used to heatup our homes. This technology is relatively old and was introduced in the late70-s. There are two kinds of solar collectors that are most frequently used todayand these are plain solar collectors and vacuum solar collectors. The plain solarcollectors are the once that are used the most but the vacuum solar collectorshave increased more as a percentage the last couple of years.The biggest question asked regarding an investment in solar heating is if theplant is economically profitable. This question has no direct answer because itis dependent on a couple of prerequisites.

European Union has made a new decision that all new built houses by 2020 shallbe near-zero energy houses. Boverket?s definition of near-zero energy housesintends buildings with good energy performance in which a proportion of theamount of energy that must be added to the building is made of renewable energy.Passive House is a set of requirements from FEBY designed to build energyefficient buildings. This is achieved by reducing loss of heat through the buildingenvelope and to take advantage of the passive heat from solar radiation,installation and heat sources like people living in the house.This project has been made with help of Anebyhus and one of their model houseshave been examined from the report?s issues, including Anebyhus?s energyperformance, requirements for the manufacturing and assembly, how theenvelope must be improved to fulfill the requirements for the Passive House andwhat energy calculation programs are available on the market.The report aims to provide solutions for energy efficient houses that are adaptedfor production of house building.Two visits to Anebyhus has been done to study their manufacture and assemblyof building elements.

Organic agriculture is financially promoted in Sweden by special environmental support and as consumers we are all encouraged to buy organic food. At the same time scholars at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences claim that organic farming does not provide any environmental benefits. The main criticism is that organic farming has lower yields than conventional, which means that more land is needed to produce the same amount of food as in conventional farming, leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. As for climate change, the critics claim that the significantly higher productivity in conventional crop production compared to organic, releases surplus land, which could be used for bio-fuel production and thereby replace the fossil fuels. The critics also claim that organic farming causes higher nutrient leaching than conventional.

Today the human being see energy as a matter of course but the resources that is used for extract energy is today not enough for the world demand. Of all the energy that is used in Sweden today approximately 40 % goes to the building stock. This number will most likely increase if not necessary actions will be made on the already existing building stock since new houses constantly are built which will be added up on the already existing energy supply. This takes cause of action on the already existing building stocks, to fulfill the demands of the future use of energy that has been set by the authority. At the same time the thermal conditions cannot be influenced by the necessary changes that must be made.

Concrete is a very common construction material. It´s characteristics are strength, durability and formablility. Superplasticizer is a common admixture, which changes the properties of concrete. Today (spring 2007) there are no certian mathematical methods to calculate the required percentage of this admixture needed to give the necessary set slump flow in the overall concrete recipe. Concrete batching companies must therefor experiment with different amount of superplasticizer in order to meet the specified slump and strength. The purpose og this report is to investigate if any mathematical relation can be established between the amount of superplasticizer used and the slump flow achieved. After carrying out some practical experiments using four different superplasticizers a direct relationship can be establish between the percentage of admixture used and the slump/flowability achieved. Unfortunatly at present due to the numerous variables, the calculation of mathematical formula can not be achieved..

Environmental destruction is a growing problem in our world. Almost every day there are new reports concerning that we have to do something about the greenhouse gasses. Simultaneously is the human constantly more eager to have a life with higher standards and therefore uses more energy. The environment is a question that is highly up-to-date and more people try to find solutions on how to save our planet. One way to decrease the energy demand is to build passive houses, where the houses don?t have any active heating.

Africa is one of the regions most affected by climate change. However its forests are important carbon sinks for the whole world, and if recognised as a global public good, could be conserved and contribute to green house gas emission reductions. A global mechanism, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation(REDD+) aims to help developing countries in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancement of carbon stocks. REDD+ strategies may, however exclude local forest dependent communities from forests in order to conserve and maximise carbon stocks, thus having a severe impact on local livelihoods. Therefore, how local communities can participate and share benefits from REDD+ is a key concern.This study investigates how three forest dependent communities in the Nazinon forest, in Southwest Burkina Faso could financially benefit from a REDD+ project.

This essay concerns the site of Pompeii and its preservation. The aim is to investigate what causes the decay of the ruins, how to prevent it and what consequences the tourism has on the site. The material consists of interviews with three Swedish scientists who are currently working with documenting a block in Pompeii. The result reveals a large number of threats against the city, such as climate, tourism and an inadequate economy situation. Examples of solutions are more investments which can be used for restorations and reconstructions, and guards to prevent vandalism.

The use of CAD, within the building industry came strongly, during the 1980?s and the 1990?s. The development has since then rapidly progressed and the using of 3D-models has in addition increased. We are now at the edge of next step of evolution. BIM, Building Information Model(ing), is here.

The sun is an endless energy source and the heat it produces can be used to heatup our homes. This technology is relatively old and was introduced in the late70-s. There are two kinds of solar collectors that are most frequently used todayand these are plain solar collectors and vacuum solar collectors. The plain solarcollectors are the once that are used the most but the vacuum solar collectorshave increased more as a percentage the last couple of years.The biggest question asked regarding an investment in solar heating is if theplant is economically profitable. This question has no direct answer because itis dependent on a couple of prerequisites.

The thesis that follows is performed in collaboration with Nitator in Oskarström.The factory in Oskarström focuses on laser cutting, robotic welding and surfacetreatment of steel for the automotive industry.The project aims to streamline the flow of materials in production by automatingthe movements of the forklifts, running to and from the interlayer, and betweenworkstations.The project started with a systematic literature search. The literature searchshowed the research position around the AGV-system. Also a review of studentliterature was made, so that a suitable method for practical implementation couldbe developed and applied. Selected method uses both quantitative and qualitativeapproaches, which is analyzed by using triangulation.The work has resulted in a modified layout of the current facility in Oskarströmthat can be used for the implementation of the AGV-system. It has also resulted inthe tender documents and profitability calculation from several of AGV-suppliers..

Energiarbete handlar inte bara om att energieffektivisera byggnaderna utan även om att skapa platser med god energi som gör att vi mår bra och vill vistas där. Vid energi- och miljöarbete där utemiljön är det centrala arbetsmaterialet kan man få fl era synergieffekter. Energi finns överallt. Det handlar inte bara om att gröna tak och väggar kan ha en isolerande funktion, utan på köpet får man mer funktionsanpassade utemiljöer som kan förbättra livsmiljön.Genom att klimatplanera, som innebär att vi på smarta sätt planerar utemiljön och använder oss av träd, buskar, klätterväxter, grönytor, dagvatt en och refl ekterandematerial kan vi minska behovet av energi egentligen utan att förändra vårt beteende. Däremot behöver vi dessutom ändra vårt beteende för att uppnå en större effekt av klimatplaneringen.

Knowledge in reproduction in the Swedish lynx (Lynx lynx) is important forseveral reasons. Situated on top of the food chain, lynxes may be at risk of beingexposed to environmental toxins that could have adverse effect on reproduction.The population of lynxes is today managed by restricted hunting which demandsknowledge about both the lynxes numbers and their reproduction. In addition,lynxes may function as indicators of climate change for instance if their season ofheat would be earlier or prolonged due to a warmer climate. Today?s knowledgein reproduction in Swedish lynx is mainly based on information gathered fromradio collared animals.

Climate and environmental issues is now high on the agenda. We live in a generation that must try to solve some major environmental problems. Buildings and habitations account for approximately 40 % of Sweden's total energy today. To reduce this figure, as needed, more research in the field of energy efficiency is required.This thesis concerns the heating of buildings. The load on district heating is heavy during certain times of the day.

Syftet med en integrerad projekteringsprocess är att information tidigt skall tas fram och att projektörer skall kunna arbeta parallellt, exempelvis genom en gemensam BIM-modell. Revit och IDA Indoor climate an energy, även kallat IDA ICE, har i denna rapport visat sig vara två mycket effektiva verktyg som tillåter att information både kan tas fram, i form av energianalyser, men även kommuniceras digitalt med hjälp av så kallade IFC-exporter. Då projektörer får möjlighet att jobba i en gemensam modell kan de arbeta parallellt vilket innebär att information kan tillföras både tidigare och snabbare i projekteringsprocessen. I Revit kan arkitekten enkelt skapa olika utformningsförslag och jämföra dessa med avseende på energianvändning. Analyser från denna studie har visat att energisimuleringar i Revit kan användas för att utforska olika utformningsalternativ och därmed finna optimeringsmöjligheter med avseende på energi och inomhusmiljö.