Background:Life-cycle costing (LCC) is an investment calculation that takes intoaccount operating costs throughout the investee lifecycle. LCC calculations are mainly usedto evaluate investments that have no revenue side. Attempts to apply the LCC calculations forbuilding-related investments have occurred since the 1980s. Despite the advantages ofusing LCC calculations, use has not passed through in full. The main obstacles have beenidentified as a lack of relevant input data, and insufficient experience of workingwith LCC calculations.

The effect of climate change places demands on how we build cities. Cities have to be built denser to meet the objectives of sustainability but as a result of this densification city green areas are at risk of exploitationand disappearing. The question this raises is whether there has to be an opposition between a dense and a green city?Urban trees are playing a very important role in cities. They stand as the major part of the vegetation in citieswhich are otherwise dominated with concrete and stone.

Biogas is a gaseous fuel, rich in methane, produced through a biological route in an anaerobic digester. A gas engine generates combined heat and power, which can be used at the farm to reduce energy cost. The process also generates a digestate, with better utilization of nutrient compared to cattle manure. The aim of this study is to analyze the profitability of a farm-scale biogas plant for combined heat and power (CHP) at Wapnö. Wapnö is an agriculture company located in the southern part of Sweden.

We aim to investigate the risk exposure against commodity prices in the forestry and paper industry. The intension is also to study the affect that the changes in commodity prices has on a company?s market value..

Inom sjukvården används ? precis som överallt där människor sover ? sängkläder av hygienskäl. Problem med smittspridningar av typen multiresistenta bakterier (MRSA) och spridning av andra sjukdomar har drivit företag som Cellcomb i Karlstad AB till att utveckla engångssängkläder för att förhindra detta. Engångssängkläderna är skyddade av en biofilm som ska ge ökat skydd mot bakterier och fungerar som en barriär så att inte vätska tränger igenom. Problemet är att det inte finns mycket till underlag för hur engångssängkläderna står sig mot vanliga sängkläder ur miljösynpunkt.

The purpose of this essay is to describe how Boverkets Byggregler has affected the cost ofnewly built houses from 2003 to 2012, to Boverkets Vision 2025. The purpose is also to findagent-principal relations in the construction sector.When investing in an energy efficient house the operating costs are reduced compared to aconventional house. But due to the lower operating costs, the investment cost rises. In thisstudy, we find out if it is economically viable to invest in an energy efficient house comparedto a conventional house from the customer's perspective.The study's approach has been qualitatively where we in collaboration with Derome Hus hadaccess to three conventional reference houses and a passive house and data that was necessaryto conduct viability assessments on houses. We conducted five interviews with people fromDeromekoncernen and Varbergs kommun.The calculation methods we have used in this study are present value method, annuity methodand a sensitivity analysis.

In an attempt to develop a more cost-efficient material for solar   energy applications, nano-particles of nickel oxide composite in a silikatmatris manufactured with solar gelmethod and studied structurally by electron microscopy. Furthermore, the thin film optical properties characterized by Variable. Angel Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. Sol gelfilms suitability as a selective absorber surface is also analyzed by optical modeling..

The purpose of the project is to determine the impact of solar cells and electrical vehicles on the future electricity grid and distribution network. Future electricity grids will be affected differently than it does today. Therefore, it is important to determine the impacts so that the current electricity distribution system can be developed and redesign to achieve the future demand. In Sweden, government has changed rules and laws in order to make it easier for private sector to invest in renewable energy sources. Our project focused on the impact of the solar cells and electric vehicles on the low voltage electricity distribution.

Climate change is an increasingly widely known concept. In the EU the construction sector is responsible for more than a third of the carbon dioxide emissions and 40 % of the total energy use. In Sweden, measures have been taken to prevent this climate change. By 16 targets, three of which can be linked to the construction sector, Sweden will reduce the negative trend. None of the three goals with relation to the construction sector will however be achieved before 2020.

As a small and land scarce country, effective waste management is ofoutmost importance in Singapore. In this study the production of biogasthrough anaerobic digestion from the organic fraction of municipal solidwaste (OFMSW) was compared to incineration of the waste. At the momentalmost all of the OFMSW in Singapore is incinerated. Three differentscenarios were compared to the reference scenario (incineration): one with alarge scale biogas plant that can treat half of all OFMSW in Singapore, onewith a medium scale biogas plant about 15 times smaller than the large oneand one with a small scale biogas plant that can treat waste from e.g. ashopping center or a food center.By using life cycle assessment (LCA) the different scenarios were comparedin terms of global warming potential (GWP), acidification, eutrophication,energy use and land use.

The borehole heat exchangers of today suffer from poor thermal and hydrodynamic performance. The purpose of this thesis is to improve the performance of ground source heat pump systems and thermal energy storages by increasing the energy efficiency of the borehole heat exchangers. For this reason, the annular coaxial borehole heat exchanger (CBHE) has been analyzed. This type of heat exchanger is interesting in terms of both thermal and hydrodynamic performance. A model has been set up in the program Comsol Multiphysics in order to investigate the heat transfer characteristics along the borehole.

This study investigates if, and in that case, how design theory is applied in practice in the web development field. Prior research has focused on methods used in the web development field. We wanted to study the designers role in a web design process by comparing existing designer roles with design theory literature. We did qualitative interviews with two practitioners at two different communication agencies in northern Sweden. Based on our qualitative data and literature review we have concluded that a designer has to devote a lot of energy on requirements engineering in order to develop a clear understanding of the design situation..

We started out the study with a preconception of culture as something that creates difference between groups of people, which had been verified by our prior research. We also had a sense of culture as a polysemous term. Our assumption is also that there is an opinion within social work practice that Swedish social workers are faced with a cultural barrier when encountering immigrant clients.In this study our aim is to examine constructions of the terms cultural competence and culture. Constructions of the terms ethnicity and ethnic diversity are also observed, although the main reason for this is to show what relation these terms have to the terms cultural competence and culture, and how they may give each other meaning, according to the theory of social construction. In addition to constructions, we also aim to bring out discourses around the terms, upon which we will create a discussion about power and dominance informed by post-colonial theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA).

This study was done regarding whether sealing or ventilation is the best solution to prevent moisture on cold attics. The authors of this report addressed the problem with moisture in attics when they started their cooperation with Peab.The methods included interviews with people, database research, and calculations of a project in Akersberga north of Stockholm. The conclusion is based on interviews and other information as they are analyzed in relation to the house of reference. The focus of this report is on problems with moisture in the attics known as cold attics.The background of the problem with moisture is that today?s slabs are usually insulated to save energy and that the attics nearly gives the climate as the outdoor climate.

Environmental problems are accelerating with energy consumption and the release of greenhouse gases as the major issues. This affects landscape planning mostly through environmentally hazardous transportation and heating of buildings. In environmental work, the term "Sustainable development" is often used. This term was coined in the Bruntland report in 1987. A number of frameworks have been developed to clarify the term and to remind the user about relevant aspects of sustainability.