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With the increased popularity and lower cost of PV panels, Novia University of Applied Sciences is planning to install a PV system on the roof of the university building. This thesis aimed to create a low-cost solar data logger for the project's feasibility study. The device created uses an ESP32 as a controller and logs the data through MQTT protocol. The sensor is based on a 5 W PV panel and uses an INA219 combined with a MOSFET-based electronic load to obtain the partial I-V characteristics in under five seconds with a resolution of 64 I-V data points. This data allows quantifying the ideality of the environmental conditions for PV power generation. The logger is battery-powered and can use PV power to recharge the battery. The manufacturing of a prototype was partially done. The short-term operation in laboratory conditions was validated. Long-term outdoors testing of a complete model and validating the measured magnitude are pending. The manufacturing cost of a prototype is estimated to be about 75 €. The concept of this device is an interesting alternative to traditional pyranometers, which measure solar irradiance and can prove to be useful to assess potential areas of PV power harvesting or monitor already existing systems.

Every year the price of heating in Russian Federation is getting higher and higher. Because of this residents think energy efficiency in their houses to save money. In the nearest future some measures must be done about energy efficiency. One of these measures is refurbishment. During the refurbish-ment with improving building envelope, windows and joints; we can achieve well-done construction with lower losses and reduce energy consumption. It is the most common way to reduce energy con-sumption in residential buildings built between 1960 and 1990 years. The aims of this work are: to know, what the energy consumption building has now and how it will change after refurbishment; to calculate the investment part of changes in envelope which include cost of materials and installation works; to find out how long payback period of renovation will be. In order to reach specified aims the following methods are applied. The first method is literature re-search. Method of analysis and description of the building envelope will be applied. Secondly heat losses will be calculated for existing building. And for three more models after refurbishment: with new parameters of glazing, with adding insulation and with full refurbishment with insulation and glazing. Only insulation and glazing will be chosen because they are easy to change and convenient to reinstall. Next goes analysing of energy consumption before and after the renovation, which will be calculated with IDA ICE simulation software. In the end formulas of investment efficiency will be applied to find out the payback period. This thesis describes several of refurbishment models which lead to energy saving. In this work dif-ferent models are compared to find out the most significant and efficient variant both for energy saving and for residents’ budget.

The thesis studies ethical problems in design, shows how to design according to ethical principles, and thus offers understanding of the concept. Products are designed according to the ethical design principles out of trash material. The topic of the thesis was chosen because of the unethical phenomena in the field of design mostly due to striving for economic growth. The problems and solutions are presented according to the stages of product life cycle from ecological, social and cultural viewpoints. Some companies that meet the criterion of ethical design were presented to show inspiring ethical practices. The study suggests a new role for the designers; to take their responsibility in the society. Opinnäytetyö tutkii muotoilun eettisiä ongelmia ja näyttää tapoja muotoilla eettisesti. Tuotteita muotoiltiin eettisten periaatteiden perusteella. Opinnäytetyön aihe valittiin, koska muotoilualalla on paljon epäeettisiä ilmiöitä lähinnä taloudellisen kasvun tavoittelemisen takia. Eettiset ongelmat ja ratkaisut esitettiin tuotteen elinkaaren mukaan ekologisesta, sosiaalisesta ja kulttuurisesta näkökulmasta katsottuna. Eettisen muotoilun kriteerit täyttäviä yrityksiä esitellään näyttääkseen eettisiä ratkaisuja muotoiluprosessissa. Tuotteet tehtiin kierrätetyistä ja roskiksesta löydetyistä materiaaleista niiden elinkaaren jatkamiseksi. Opinnäytetyö ehdottaa muotoilijan roolin uudistamista, että muotoilija kantaisi vastuunsa yhteiskunnassa.

Opinnäytetyön aihe kumpuaa tuotannon automaatioasteen kasvusta ja sen luomasta tarpeesta kunnossapidon kehittämiselle. Yritysyksikkö Oy:n toimeksiantona opinnäytteelle oli laatia automatisoidulle, tuotteiden valmistuksessa käytettävälle, tuotantolinjalle ehkäisevään kunnossapitoon perustuva huolto-ohjelma. Aihe rajattiin käyttäjäkunnossapitoon eli tuotantolinjaa operoivan henkilöstön suorittamaan huoltoon. Työssä tutkitaan Lean-ajatteluun perustuvia käsitteitä kuten 5S ja kokonaisvaltainen tuottava kunnossapito (TPM), joiden tavoitteena on hukan vähentäminen prosesseista. Teoreettista viitekehystä tuetaan myös tarkastelemalla standardien antamia määritelmiä kunnossapidon käsitteistä sekä tärkeimmistä tunnusluvuista. Kehitysosiossa huolto-ohjelman laatimisen perusteina tukeudutaan tuotannosta saatavilla olleen sekä työn alkuvaiheen tiedonkeräysjakson tuottaman tiedon analysointiin sekä tehtaan operaattorien ja tuotannonkehityshenkilöstön haastatteluihin. Opinnäytetyön tuloksena avattiin tuottavan kunnossapidon teoriapohjaa ehkäisevän kunnossapidon kehittämisen tueksi Yritysyksikkö Oy:ssä sekä laadittiin ensimmäinen versio käyttäjäkunnossapidollisesta jaksotetusta huolto-ohjelmasta. TPM-ajatteluun perustuvan huolto-ohjelman tavoitteena oli vähentää tuotantolinjan laitevika-aikaa parantaen linjan tehokkuutta. Lisäksi opinnäytteessä tuodaan esille työn aikana muodostuneita jatkokehitysideoita.

This Bachelor’s thesis was carried out for Pori Environmental Agency with an aim to evaluate whether biomethane as a fuel would be a sustainable solution for public urban buses in Pori municipality. The study was conducted to overview the core aspects of potential biogas bus fleet implementation in city of Pori, considering basic infrastructural requirements, fuel source availability for biomethane production and the fuel demand of the fleet. Environmental aspects were considered by means of potential carbon emission cuts in case of replacing diesel fuel by biomethane.

The purpose of this study was to build a case-style business analysis regarding energy cost and savings in the professional dishwashing process. The market, dishwashing process and the behaviour of the user and manufacturers were studied, along with the details of the machine and the process. The research showed that there is no clear way to compare, for example machines with each other due to lack of standardized comparison rules or even guidelines. However, the research concluded common result in energy loss during the dishwashing process mainly from convection and through hot air inevitably due to poor insulation and the design of the dishwasher. Also the room temperature in which the items to be washed, had clear effect on the relative need to heat the water thus consuming energy. The savings model was built by combining the average data from outlined professional dishwasher type and the collected data from customers around Pirkanmaa. It revealed an opportunity to reduce energy consumption in relation to the energy price, by modifying the users pattern of working – for example by bringing in training and optimizing the use of the dishwasher.

This thesis examines disconnects in the current economic paradigm, which result in emerging alternative economic movements as well as increasing usage of non- financial reporting. Based on a new economic theory, Economy for the Common Good, the author constructs a sustainability report for the case organization Camphill Special School as a part of his internship. The Common Good sustainability report draws a holistic picture of the organizational performance in relation to the stakeholders of the organization. Constructing the sustainability report requires profound analysis of the values, resources and processes at Camphill Special School. The study also includes a review on this process and discusses implications for its use with similar nonprofit organizations. Currently the Common Welfare Economy is a rapidly growing grass root movement in Europe with thousands of supporting companies and individuals. The author constructs the first Common Good Report in North America, which places Camphill Special School as a forerunner of the movement in the United States. The research method applied in this study is qualitative. Data is collected through primary and secondary sources. Primary sources consist of interviews, participant observation and a review of organizational documents whereas secondary sources include published literature. The key findings from the Common Good Report indicate that Camphill Special School performs well especially in terms of employee wellbeing, solidarity and co-determination. The key challenges of the organization are related financial constraints in improving the energy efficiency of the main campus. The total score of the sustainability report indicates that Camphill Special School is among the best performing organizations measured with the Common Good tool. Tämä opinnäytetyö tutkii nykyisen taloudellisen ajatusmallin heikkouksia, joiden seurauksena syntyy uusia vaihtoehtoisia talousmalleja sekä taloudellisen menestyksen mittareita. Uuden talouden teorian, yhteishyvän talouden, pohjalta tutkimus luo kestävän kehityksen raportin Camphill Special School – organisaatiolle työharjoitteluprojektina. Yhteishyvälaskelma rakentaa kokonaisvaltaisen kuvan organisaation menestyksestä suhteessa sitä ympäröiviin sidosryhmiin. Yhteishyvälaskelman suorittaminen edellyttää perusteellista analyysiä Camphill Special School –organisaation arvoista, resursseista sekä prosesseista. Tutkimus sisältää myös katsauksen prosessin kulusta sekä raportin käytettävyydestä voittoa tavoittelemattomissa organisaatioissa. Yhteishyvän talousmalli on ruohonjuuritasolla nopeasti leviävä liike, jota kannattavat tuhannet yksilöt sekä yritykset ympäri Eurooppaa. Prosessin aikana luodaan myös ensimmäisen yhteishyvälaskelma Pohjois-Amerikassa, minkä seurauksena Camphill Special School –organisaatio toimii liikkeen edelläkävijänä Yhdysvalloissa. Tämä opinnäytetyön tutkimusmenetelmä on laadullinen. Tutkimuksen data kerätään omien havaintojen sekä haastatteluiden kautta. Lisäksi lähteet sisältävät aiheeseen liittyvää julkaistua kirjallisuutta, internetsivustoja sekä organisaation sisäisiä dokumentteja. Yhteishyvälaskelman tulokset viittaavat siihen, että Camphill Special School suoriutuu erityisen hyvin työntekijöiden hyvinvointia, solidaarisuutta sekä päätöksentekoa arvioivissa mittareissa. Laskelman perusteella suurimmat haasteet liittyvät taloudellisiin rajoitteisiin ympäristötehokkuuden parantamisessa. Yhteishyvälaskelman kokonaistulos viittaa kuitenkin siihen, että Camphill Special School on yksi parhaiten suoristuvista yrityksistä yhteishyvälaskelmalla mitattuna.

Because sustainability is a modern mega-trend, it is influencing almost all aspects of people’s lives. As the fashion industry is currently the world’s second largest producer of carbon emissions, second only after oil, the sustainability trend has a major impact on fashion businesses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how consumers per-ceive the sustainability trend in the fashion industry. The study applies a deductive research approach and the following research strategies: a grounded theory, a case study and a survey. The thesis first discusses key topics regarding sustainability, the fashion industry, and consumer behavior. Then the sustainable fashion initiatives of the case companies, H&M Group and Inditex, are described. Based on the outcomes of the literature review and analyzing case studies, survey questions are formulated to find out how consum-ers view the sustainable fashion trend. The results show that consumers’ overall attitude towards the sustainable fashion trend is positive. The steps consumers and fashion brands are taking to become sus-tainable are described in detail in the concluding section. Furthermore, suggestions for further research are also presented.

Solar radiation is a source of life on the Earth. The sun heats the atmosphere and the surface of our planet. Because of the sun winds are blowing, circulation of water is happened, seas and oceans are heated, and plants are growing. Nowadays people know how to transfer solar radiation straightly into energy. The subject of the project is to research the possibilities of utilization of solar energy in cold climate. At this project the model of calculation solar energy is shown. Following factors are taken into account: location, geographic latitude first of all; position of the Earth on the orbit because of the rotation around the Sun; time of the day depend on Earth spinning motion; solar energy absorption and solar radiation dispersion of clear atmosphere. Next group of factors which influence on solar radiation are climatic factors. It includes real weather conditions (clouds, rains, haziness), anthropogenic pollution (impacts of different factories, traffic). As an example of utilization of solar energy one family house in Tyumen (Russia, Siberia) is taken. Now only natural gas is used for heating for this kind of buildings in this region. Values of solar energy there are very low during winter period. That is why it is decided to use solar energy only for heating hot domestic water during summer period. Discount cash model is used for cost efficiency calculation. Project is cost efficient. Investment cost of equipment which transforms solar energy into heat looks too high in comparison with costs of natural gas or light oil. Sometimes it is not cost-beneficial to use solar systems. However fossil fuel usage has a great influence on the ecology of our planet.

This thesis was commissioned by Biota Tech, a Finnish engineering and consulting company specialized in environmental technology and energy efficiency, located in Turku. During fall 2010 it was decided to carry out a thesis concerning a bulk carrier M/S Belland Valletta and shipping emissions. The purpose was to find tools to decrease her energy consumption and find a more environmentally friendly way to operate. As it was difficult to improve the situation of this particular ship the thesis was expanded to general shipping emissions as well. It was noticed that the bulker contains old equipment due to its age and it may be possible to find major benefits in upgrading some pieces of equipment. However, the upgrading of old equipment was not a financially realistic option. Tämä opinnäytetyö tehtiin suomalaiselle energiatehokkuuteen ja ympäristötekniikkaan keskittyneeseen yritykseen Biota Techiin, joka sijaitsee Turussa. Tarkoituksena oli suorittaa kirjallisuustutkimuksella yleiskartoitus irtolastialuksen tuottamista päästöistä sekä mahdollisuuksista vähentää niitä. Käsiteltävä alus on M/S Belland –niminen 3000 DWT :n kauppalaiva, joka operoi lähinnä Itämeren alueella. Laiva on rakennettu Saksassa Sietaksen telakalla 1986, josta johtuen se sisältää 25 vuotta vanhaa tekniikkaa, jota päivittämällä päästöjä saataisiin vähennetyksi mutta suuret päivitystoimenpiteen eivät kuitenkaan ole taloudellisesti kannattavia eikä näin ollen varteenotettavia.