Discussion on applying trombe wall technology for wall conservation and energy saving in modern historic buildings

Previous studies on modern historic buildings protection have been mainly conducted from the view of building history, culture and aesthetic, but rarely focus on the green building technology and energy-saving. With the increasingly serious crises of environment and energy, it is valuable to research how to carry out ecological protection to effectively reduce energy consumption in modern buildings while ensuring the authenticity and readability of building heritage information.

This article describes a new technical scheme to apply Trombe wall technology for wall conservation in modern historic buildings. The feasibility, key construction technologies and operating conditions in different seasons were demonstrated by an actual case in Beijing. Key findings show that the technical scheme not only protects the skin texture of the wall but also makes full use of passive solar energy. Energy consumption simulation results show that saving energy in winter is significant. Compared with the original building, the total energy consumption of the building that adopted the technical scheme was reduced by 10.77%, the heating energy consumption was reduced by 21.86%, and the cooling energy consumption was reduced by 1.02%. The research findings provide new inspiration and reference for studies on the protection of modern historic buildings, and serve as a technical reference for architects.     

Canada–United States Energy Relations: Making a MESS of Energy Policy 1 , 2

Energy policy-making has become ever-more challenging over the last three decades, comprising a larger and more complex set of inter-related dimensions. Energy policy-makers have to deal with energy as a discrete market sector, pursuing competitive, efficient, safe, and affordable energy. They also have to address environmental imperatives, ensuring energy is developed with due regard for sustainability, ecosystems, air quality, climate change, and the like. In addition, energy policy must address security objectives, which themselves have broadened over time. Finally, energy must be developed in ways that are socially acceptable. This article examines how these four policy dimensions—Market, Environment, Security and Social acceptability, the acronym MESS—have come to characterize energy policy-making in the twenty-first century. It then explores what kind of MESS the Canadian and American governments are making of energy policy—both domestically and bilaterally—and offers some proposals for key sectors and activities that could benefit from greater collaboration.     

ENERGY,ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: THE EBRD'S ACTIVITIES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

This article examines the relationship between the EBRD's project portfolio in the Western Balkan energy sector, and the region's main energy and environment problems. It argues in favour of geographically centred appraisals of the environmental sustainability of multilateral energy investment. Empirical analyses have been placed within the context of this bank's broader policy mandate to support the reconstruction and development of, among other aspects, energy operations in the post‐socialist states of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while promoting environmental sustainability. The article categorizes the Western Balkans' energy and environment problems into two main groups: the failure to shift away from carbon‐emitting sources of energy, and the inability to introduce efficient technologies in the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy. It investigates the level to which these issues have been represented in the Bank's energy investment activities in the region. The EBRD's ability to fund energy and environment projects has been affected by, among other factors, the decision‐making process within the relevant governments and the Bank itself. These processes are related to the structural legacies of central planning and the organizational cultures embedded within the EBRD at its inception.     

From Coal to Wind

In March 1987, the Brundtland Report –Our Common Future – was published by the UN’s World Commission on Environment and Development. The recommendations of the report contributed worldwide to raising awareness of climate change. In particular, the energy sector became the object of anxiety, as production and the use of energy were pinpointed as some of the ‘crooks’ emitting most greenhouse gasses. Shortly after the publication of the report, the Danish government revised its energy planning and opened up for a radical change of the energy sector.

This article delves into this crucial change and, in doing so, suggests a historical answer to the question of why Denmark became one of the leading nations in transforming the energy sector from a power supply based on fossil fuels to a power generation system using a high percentage of renewables.