A clean and affordable energy source for cooking is deficient in developing countries. People rely on fuels that contribute to environmental, social and health problems.Biogas is an alternative energy source and an increased investment in small-scale biogas production can in several developing countries be found. Several projects have started to use the technology in developing countries because of the benefits with biogas. Some cases in the establishment of biogas plants have succeeded and some have not. The study is a literature review supplemented by two field studies.

This Master?s Thesis aims to illustrate in what ways the two Swedish environmental assessment tools, the Environmental Load Profile and EcoEffect differ and if performed valuations gives different results and environmental goals.The built urban environment causes about half the environmental loading in Sweden. The society?s ambition towards sustainable development has resulted in demands reducing the environmental load. One way to accomplish this change is with the assistance of tools for environmental assessment of the built environment.

Modern methods for managing pine (Pinus sylvestris) create homogenized forests. This decreases nature?s potential for biodiversity and might threaten species in need of different types of milieu. The main purpose of this study was to investigate how important older pine trees are for biodiversity. In the Hall-Hangvar Reserve in the north-west part of Gotland, insects collected from traps showed that more species were found in old or dead trees compared to younger pine trees.

This bachelor thesis describes why investors should invest in environmentally certified buildings instead of non certified buildings. The report provides an overview of possible factors influencing an investor in the investment process of an environmentally certified building. The report explains why building companies find incentive to build green buildings and how a cash flow method can be adapted so it can be used in the valuation process of an environmentally certified building. Environmentally certified buildings are used as a strategy to reduce emissions that threaten the environment as well as a strategy to obtain market shares for the building companies. This report focuses on the economic advantages of an environmentally certified building.The construction- and real estate industry stands for approximately 40 percent of the energy consumption in the world.

Det finns ljud som är på väg att försvinna i takt med teknologins utveckling. Dagens ungdomar har aldrig hört ljud från den äldre teknologin, som den äldre generationen har fått växa upp med såsom skrivmaskinen, modemet m.m. Dessa produkter gav ifrån sig ett speciellt ljud som numera inte hörs lika mycket idag. Men vad händer när tekniken utvecklas till den grad att ljud blir en säkerhetsfråga? Förutom teknikljud finns det ljud från förhistoriska och nyligen utdöda djur som forskare har lyckats återskapa genom studier av kvarlevornas anatomi.

Summary Today energy prices are rising. As a result biomass fuel is getting more and more interesting. Wood chips is very popular, but also straw from grain production is on the table. Lunds Energi AB project a combined power and heating plant in Örtofta out of Lund. Wood chips is meant to be the main energy source, complemented by straw. In this thesis the transportation of straw for fuel is studied.

The climate issue is a significant question, and the problem is mainly caused by human activities. Everyone can help to counteract the enhanced Greenhouse effect by reducing the amounts of energy they use and by not consuming more products then they need.Schools are some of societies many consumers and therefore contribute to the Greenhouse effect. The School also has an important task; to teach and disseminate knowledge and information about the climate and the environment. According to the Swedish National Agency for Education, Skolverket, must all schools regularly consider the environment and sustainable development throughout the entire education process. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many schools in Sweden today.One of many tools that can be used to coordinate environmental work and initiatives, and also to make it more efficient, is environmental management systems.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if vacuum insulation panels are a competitive alternative to traditional insulation.Vacuum insulation has been used as insulation in buildings in Germany and Switzerland for a few years. In Sweden the high-performance insulation material is mainly used in refrigerators, freezers and vacuum thermoses. The development is proceeding well and vacuum insulation is becoming more common in the construction industry. Since it is a relatively unexplored material on the market there are many flaws and problems with the material.The questions we have chosen to answer in this report include an increased knowledge of vacuum insulation, various problems that may arise when handling/installation and the pros and cons of vacuum insulation compared to standard traditional insulation.The methods we have chosen to use in this report is a literature study, interviews with various suppliers and manufactures and calculations to show the differences between traditional and vacuum insulation. Vacuum insulation is 5-10 times better insulation than standard traditional mineral wool insulation, mainly at the beginning of its lifetime.Vacuum insulation panels (VIP) have a service life of approximately 50 years, whereas traditional insulation has a service life of approximately 100 years.

Det finns ljud som är på väg att försvinna i takt med teknologins utveckling. Dagens ungdomar har aldrig hört ljud från den äldre teknologin, som den äldre generationen har fått växa upp med såsom skrivmaskinen, modemet m.m. Dessa produkter gav ifrån sig ett speciellt ljud som numera inte hörs lika mycket idag. Men vad händer när tekniken utvecklas till den grad att ljud blir en säkerhetsfråga? Förutom teknikljud finns det ljud från förhistoriska och nyligen utdöda djur som forskare har lyckats återskapa genom studier av kvarlevornas anatomi.

Uppsalahem is the leading housing corporation in Uppsala with its over 160 real estate properties. Uppsalahem is owned by the municipality of Uppsala, which has a climate and energy goal that aims for 100 MW of solar energy to be installed in Uppsala by 2030. The 100 MW goal, combined with Uppsalahem?s environmental policy, is a strong incentive to investigate the possibility of installing PV modules on the many available roof areas that Uppsalahem possesses. The objective of this thesis is to create a foundation for future decisions regarding PV systems for Uppsalahem.

The interest for alternative forest regeneration methods increased significantly during the 1990´s after 50 years dominance of the clear-cutting system (Holgén & Hånell 2000). One reason for this was that clear-cutting was being more and more questioned by different envi-ronmental organizations and because the forest sector for economical reasons wanted to find cheaper ways to regenerate forests. In the beginning of the 1990´s two shelterwood experi-ments were established in a joint effort by Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) and the Dept of Silviculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The experiments include various forms of cutting and shelterwood densities and represent productive spruce forests in central and north Sweden (Roggsjön in the province of Medelpad and Skikkis-jöberg in the province of Västerbotten, respectively ). The experiment next to Roggsjön has been reported earlier in three MSc theses, and is also the focus of this thesis.

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..

Hur publika displayer skall utformas och anpassas efter sin miljö på bästa sätt är ännu ett outforskat område. I takt med att miljöfrågor blivit än mer aktuella i dagens samhälle har det också etablerats ett behov av att förändra vårt beteende exempelvis i form av energieffektivisering. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur en publik touchdisplay för elvisualisering skall utformas för att vara förståelig, intuitiv och säker från publik genans. En användarstudie i form av en utvärdering av en interaktiv touchdisplay kallad Urban Energy monterad i Göteborg har gjorts under ledning av Interactive Institute Swedish ICT. Touchdisplayens primära syfte är att uppmärksamma förbipasserande på stadens elförbrukning och uppmuntra till energimedvetenhet.I denna studie rekryterades 17 förbipasserande deltagare villiga att testa denna display med hjälp av två uppgifter och en enkät.

Under 2011 började MacBat AB ta fram ett elenergilager kallat Macbat Energy Storage System (MESS), vilket är uppbyggt av 360 stycken tvåvolts bly-syrabatterier inhysta i ett 20 fots container. Då bly-syrabatterier är känsliga för värme är den här studien inriktad på att utreda hur stort kylbehovet blir under olika förutsättningar där kyldistribution, drifttemperatur på batterierna, klimat, isolering och termiska tröghet är varierande parameterar. Det ska även avgöras vilken konfiguration av kyldistribution och isolering som ger lägst kylbehov för de studerade klimaten, vilka är av varmtempererad, arid och tropisk karaktär.För att besvara studiens två mål togs fyra matematiska modeller fram i SIMULINK. Två luftkylda och två vattenkylda där en av varje var isolerad med 100 mm mineralull medan den andra var oisolerad. För samtliga modeller varierades drifttemperaturen mellan 25 ? 35 °C och de studerade klimaten utgjordes av Phnom Phen, Kambodja, Djibouti, Djibouti, Bagdad, Irak samt London, England.

In the current situation a big part ofthe settlements that exist in Sweden isin need of renovation and energyefficiency in order to survive.Therefore, also many of the older houseswith a wooden structure are in a need ofenergy efficiency, which can be done ina variety of ways, including addinginsulation.This project deals with whether the useof a diffusion barrier or a vaporbarrier affects a wall structure byadding insulation to an older house witha timber frame. The insulation materialswhich are concidered in thisinvestigation are mineral wool and woodfiber insulation. Efforts are focused onthe effects of moisture on theseinsulation materials.To demonstrate the differences thatarise the moisture measurement programWUFI have been used to simulate avariety of wall designs. These designsare developed in consultation with theconstruction carers who are active inthe industry.Using WUFI graphs illustrating themoisture levels of the wall structureswere obtained and from these conclusionsvould be drawn. The work demonstratesthe differences that arise when using adiffusion barrier or vapor barrier inwall construction.