A waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) is a device that captures heat from parts of a process that produce high temperatures and moves it to another part of the process to improve efficiency. This unit is used in cogeneration, which is a method of using energy from a process for two purposes. Heat can be taken from sources like hot gases from a diesel engine, steam from cooling towers, or water that has been used to cool things, such as in steel manufacturing.
Cogeneration, also called combined heat and power (CHP), is a method that uses a machine or power plant to create electricity and useful heat at the same time. This process is more efficient because heat that would usually be wasted during electricity production is used for another purpose. CHP plants capture this wasted heat and use it for heating, a process also known as combined heat and power district heating.
Reflective surfaces, or ground-based albedo modification (GBAM), is a method used to increase Earth’s ability to reflect sunlight. This helps reduce the amount of heat that reaches Earth’s surface. The IPCC describes GBAM as actions like whitening rooftops, changing how land is used (such as farming without turning over soil), covering large areas like glaciers or deserts with reflective materials, and altering the reflectiveness of oceans.
Living Walls, The City Speaks is a street art conference that happens every year. It was started in 2009 by Monica Campana and Blacki Migliozzi. The first conference took place in 2010.
Biophilic design helps people feel more connected to nature and to designs that look like nature, which can improve their health and wellbeing. By adding natural elements such as sunlight, biophilic design provides health, environmental, and economic benefits for people and cities. It has few disadvantages.
The Living Building Challenge is an international program that certifies buildings and other developments as sustainable. It was started in 2006 and is managed by the non-profit International Living Future Institute. The Institute explains that the program is a philosophy, a tool used to support sustainability efforts, and a way to measure how sustainable buildings and environments are.
Green building, also called green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building, means creating structures and using methods that protect the environment and use resources wisely throughout a building’s life. This includes planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, repairing, and tearing down the building. It needs teamwork between the contractor, architects, engineers, and the building owner at every step.
An Energy Management System is a computer system used to automatically control and monitor parts of a building that use a lot of energy, such as heating, air conditioning, and lighting. These systems can be used in one building or across many buildings, like schools, offices, stores, or factories. Many of these systems also read meters for electricity, gas, and water.
An LED lamp, or LED light, is a type of electric light that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to produce light. LED lamps use much less energy than similar incandescent or fluorescent lamps. The most efficient LED lamps available today can produce more than 200 lumens of light for every watt of electricity used, and they turn more than half of the electricity they receive into light.
Insulating glass (IG) is made up of two or more glass window panes that are separated by a space. This space helps reduce the movement of heat through a part of a building’s structure. A window with insulating glass is often called double glazing, triple glazing, or quadruple glazing, depending on how many glass panes are used in its construction.