The number of people in the world and the urbanization increases. This leads to a bigger need of space for the built environment, space that soon doesn?t exist. A large portion of humanity?s energy disposal is used for heating of buildings.

Increased energy consumption in the world has created an increased supply of various fuels, especially fossil fuels. The Swedish government has set up various energy targets for 2020. To reach these goals it?s important to increase the energy efficiency in local buildings such as schools. This work illustrates the breakdown between energy supply and energy losses over the school.

As a result of increased energy prices more and more energy-efficient homes are coveted. An energy-efficient alternative is passive houses, which is characterized by an extremely well insulated building envelope that recovers the heat without the use of radiators or under floor heating. But a passive house requires a higher investment cost than a conventional building project, since it will require more construction materials, training of construction workers, greater land area, and long construction period. But the lower operating cost expects to pay back the higher cost of investment. We therefore question how profitable a passive house is in relation to houses built according to modern conventional building techniques.The aim of our study is to investigate the viability of passive houses compared to convent­ional houses.

The purpose of this thesis is to find evidence if cult houses existed on Gotland during the Bronze Age. The cult house is a common term in modern Bronze Age archaeology and the general definitions of cult house are discussed and why cult houses seem to be absent on Gotland. In this thesis the cult house are discussed as a phenomenon, and the possibilities to find Bronze Age cult houses on Gotland are evaluated by making comparisons between Gotland houses with already defined cult houses from the Swedish mainland. Some known cult houses are presented in more detail as case studies, together with house remains on Gotland which could have potential to be defined as cult houses..

This report is a result of a bachelor thesis at the school of Architecture and the Built environment (corresponding to 15 HP) and is written during spring 2012 at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. The Bachelor's essay is based on the design and dimensioning of a house which is located at a predetermined site in Malmo, Sweden.The idea is to construct a house that is appropriate to use for an average Swedish family of four family members. The house is designed in a modern way with respect to ease of access and disabled facilities. The installation that have been considered are heating, ventilation, sanitation and electricity. Construction calculations and material selection are also discussed.Furthermore, a study about photovoltaic cells has been done.

AbstractThis report intends through a case study to investigate if lightweight concrete isappropriate as main material in the outer wall of a seven storey residential building.A technical design is carried out in accordance with the definitions and requirementsfor passive houses, given by FEBY?s1 ?Demand specification for passive houses?.A literature review is also carried out for a comparison between regular bolt wall andlight weight concrete wall, with a focus on the safety of moisture.The lightweight concrete block used in the report is as a celblock produced by thecompany H+H Sweden AB.The methods used have resulted in compliance with requirements andrecommendations from authorities. Calculations of energy, noise and moisture riskassessment has been carried out.The work has resulted in the conclusion that the lightweight concrete itself is notable to isolate in the extent necessary to obtain chosen U-value of 0,1 W/m2 ° C,without getting to thick. Therefore additional insulation is needed. There are fewrelevant reference objects built with only light weight concrete.

In this essay I aim to examine how the landscape of Mönsterås might have looked like during the Bronze age in order to get a better understanding of the house urn that C J Ekerot found in a cairn in Fälle. Mönsterås is an area which has a quality of permanence, from Stone Age to Iron Age with its culmination during the Bronze Age. I will discuss the use and symbolic meaning of the house urn. The house as a symbol during the Bronze Age seemed to have had an important place in the cosmology. I will also discuss the importance of cairns, especially in the archipelago areas.

As a result of increased energy prices more and more energy-efficient homes are coveted. An energy-efficient alternative is passive houses, which is characterized by an extremely well insulated building envelope that recovers the heat without the use of radiators or under floor heating. But a passive house requires a higher investment cost than a conventional building project, since it will require more construction materials, training of construction workers, greater land area, and long construction period. But the lower operating cost expects to pay back the higher cost of investment. We therefore question how profitable a passive house is in relation to houses built according to modern conventional building techniques.The aim of our study is to investigate the viability of passive houses compared to convent­ional houses.

Abstract   This degree project comprises 30 credits, i.e. 20 weeks of work. The work mainly deals with the energy balance for a multi-family house in Västerås and the requirements for energy conservation in the Swedish building code, BBR. Calculations of the energy balance are supplemented by a number of interviews. Energy conservation in general has become more important in recent years and the subject is in line with increased public awareness. This importance and attention is explained by environmental problems in general and global warming in particular, but also by rising energy prices.

AbstractThis report intends through a case study to investigate if lightweight concrete isappropriate as main material in the outer wall of a seven storey residential building.A technical design is carried out in accordance with the definitions and requirementsfor passive houses, given by FEBY?s1 ?Demand specification for passive houses?.A literature review is also carried out for a comparison between regular bolt wall andlight weight concrete wall, with a focus on the safety of moisture.The lightweight concrete block used in the report is as a celblock produced by thecompany H+H Sweden AB.The methods used have resulted in compliance with requirements andrecommendations from authorities. Calculations of energy, noise and moisture riskassessment has been carried out.The work has resulted in the conclusion that the lightweight concrete itself is notable to isolate in the extent necessary to obtain chosen U-value of 0,1 W/m2 ° C,without getting to thick. Therefore additional insulation is needed. There are fewrelevant reference objects built with only light weight concrete.

The purpose with this report is to examine how the implemented energy efficiency measures on Bokelundskolan in Växjö have had impact on the energy use. The measures which have been implemented are, new ventilation system, new heating system, optimized adjustment of the heating system, new windows with U-value 1.2 and lower window height, insulation under windows and in the crawl space. The school's energy use before and after rebuilding has been calculated with the calculation program, Vip-Energy 1.5.5.Calculations of energy use for the school with windows on U-value, 0.9 and 0.7 have also been done. The replacement of windows has been studied from a cost perspective. The conclusion is that the exchange of heat and ventilation system was the biggest contributor to reduced energy use on Bokelundskolan.

In this report a study has been done regarding different heating systems on which are the mostcomprehensive with solar heating systems. The report has also been focusing if solar power can beused as a primary heating source for supplying more than 50 % of the buildings total heatingproduction. The University of Dalarna constructed a demo-house for this purpose and according tocalculations the total solar usage is more than 50 %. This house has been made for referenceregarding the design of the heating system of property 5:37.Further studies have been made to compare different heating systems that are compatible with asolar system, where the compared systems purpose is to be independent of direct using electricity. Asystem of this design is regarded as sustainable according to environmental as economic issues.

Big dangerous Russia, environmental thief or house warmer? The Nord Stream pipelines are a highly debated theme in Europe and the EU. A number of different countries will be subject to the pipelines direct or indirect. This paper aims to figure out what kind of threats and possibilities Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany consider to be the consequences with the pipelines.The study takes as a standpoint the area of security studies and the widened of the same. The three standpoints within the security study that will be used are military security, environmental security and energy security.

A variety of demands have to be considered in the design of a new opera house in Galärvarvet. All possible viewpoints are important to be aware of, as is the need for the new building to be a contrast to the already existing opera house in Stockholm. The restricted site also makes a multitude of demands on the building's design.By rationalizing the layout and structure and also by making the footprint smaller, the complex building of over 30 000 square meters can be fitted and blended into the existing physical context. Unlike the existing opera house in Stockholm, the new opera house shows the rationality and the advanced technology that lies behind the scenes and becomes the character of the entire building. Through the dynamic façade, the new opera can convey any character it so desires, just like scenes do through different settings.

In today?s society there is an increasing demand for renewable energy sources such as sun and wind power. These sources are intermittent, and energy storage is therefore needed to ensure a constant power supply. This report compares pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), compressed air energy storage (CAES), flywheels, batteries, super magnetic energy storage (SMES) and hydrogen energy storage.The opportunities for further development are limited for PHES and CAES in comparison with the other technologies. Lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen energy storage are considered to have the most potential in the future.