Residential buildings consume about a quarter of all energy (including electrical and thermal) in industrialized countries and emit around 20% of the carbon emissions there. Older and outdated heating and cooling technology causes high energy demand and, depending on building type, secondary causes can include ventilation and lighting. Technology is available to mitigate high energy consumption, and to enable the use of renewable or environmentally friendly energy, partly generated locally. This book, written by international experts from academia as well as industry, compiles and describes several key technologies available to reduce a residential building's energy consumption. Key themes include local energy generation, such as the use of sunlight to reduce heating needs, and photovoltaics for electricity. Case studies are included in most chapters to provide real-world context for the technologies described.

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is the foundation architecture for the next generation of mobile phones, wireless-enabled PDAs, PCs, and so on, delivering multimedia content (audio, video, text, etc.) over all types of networks. It is essential for network engineers/administrators and telecommunications engineers to not only understand IMS architecture but to also be able to apply it at every stage of the network design process. This book will contain pragmatic information on how to engineer IMS networks as well as an applications oriented approach, for engineering and networking professionals who are responsible for making IMS "play" in the real world.
* Describes the convergence of wireless IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) with other networks, including wireline and cable
* Discusses building interfaces for end users and IMS applications servers
* Explores network management issues with IMS

The pressing need for a smarter and greener grid is obvious, but how this goal should be achieved is much less clear. This book clearly defines the environmental promise of the smart grid and describes the policies necessary for fully achieving the environmental benefits of the digital energy revolution. The United States' electrical grid is an antique. It was built to serve a 20th-century economy and designed in an era when the negative environmental impacts of electricity production were poorly understood. It must be upgraded and modernized. The proposed solution is a "smart grid"-a network of new digital technologies, equipment, and controls that can respond quickly to the public's changing energy needs by facilitating two-way communication between the utility and consumers. This book explains the environmental benefit of a smart grid, examines case studies of existing smart grids, and identifies the legal and regulatory policy hurdles that must be overcome to fully realize the smart grid's benefits. Based on six diverse organizations' experience as "early adopters" in the digital energy revolution, the authors explore how a smart electric grid offers real promise for supercharging energy efficiency, democratizing demand response, electrifying transportation, preparing for ubiquitous distributed clean energy technologies, and automating the distribution system. Against the backdrop of climate change and continuing economic uncertainty, setting a path for environmental improvement and upgrading our electric grid with new digital technologies and associated smart policies is more critical than ever before. Deciphers the muddled "information" from industry leaders and policymakers about 21st-century energy technology, enabling readers to understand how a smart grid can be a cost-effective tool to benefit the climate Provides detailed information from case studies of six early smart grid leaders to showcase the strengths and weaknesses of these programs Identifies the legal and regulatory challenges that could prevent the successful implementation of a smart electric grid, making it clear that the issues are not purely technological Serves ideally as a primary text for courses on smart grid technology and policy as well as a resource for graduate-level research for energy policy or climate change policy courses

Whether it's called "fixed equipment" (at ExxonMobil), "stationary equipment" (at Shell), or "static equipment" (in Europe), this type of equipment is the bread and butter of any process plant. Used in the petrochemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, food processing industry, paper industry, and the manufacturing process industries, stationary equipment must be kept operational and reliable for companies to maintain production and for employees to be safe from accidents. This series, the most comprehensive of its kind, uses real-life examples and time-tested rules of thumb to guide the mechanical engineer through issues of reliability and fitness-for-service.
This volume on piping and pipeline assessment is the only handbook that the mechanical or pipeline engineer needs to assess pipes and pipelines for reliability and fitness-for-service.
* Provides essential insight to make informed decisions on when to run, alter, repair, monitor, or replace equipment
* How to perform these type of assessments and calculations on pipelines is a 'hot' issue in the petrochemical industry at this time
* There is very little information on the market right now for pipers and pipeliners with regard to pipe and pipeline fitness-for-service

Power Line Communication (PLC) is a well-established technology that allows the transmission of data through electrical wires. A key advantage of PLC is its low cost of deployment when the electrical wiring infrastructure already exists, enabling it to compete or work in conjunction with wireless technologies. PLC has recently received growing attention and significant investments within the development of the Smart Grid (SG), that in turn requires sophisticated data exchange and communication. This book presents a comprehensive introduction to the principals involved in the use of narrowband and broadband PLC technologies in the SG, and to using these technologies particularly when intermittent renewable energies sources are employed. Chapters cover fundamental concepts of modern digital communications, the main coding techniques, specific characteristics of the PLC channels, the fundamentals of the SG, and the differences between the narrowband and broadband technologies for SG applications. The work covers the main standards and several related state-of-the-art works, as well as some key aspects of the use of renewable energy sources. Power Line Communication Systems for Smart Grids is essential reading for researchers, professionals and graduate students involved with the study and development of PLC systems, SG and related subjects.

This book presents the design and development of an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled, smart sensor to detect nitrate contamination in natural water. It considers three different sensors designed, fabricated and configured for nitrate detection: a Graphite/PDMS and Si-based MEMS sensors, and aFR4-based sensor. It also introduces a selective polymer material developed by means of the ion imprinting polymerization technique that was used as a coating on the Si-based MEMS sensor. Further, the book discusses the development of a smart sensing system that can be used to remotely monitor the nitrate concentration in any water. Fully explaining all the techniques used, the book is of interest to engineers, researchers and scientists working in the field of the water-quality measurement.

Tanja Schultz and Katrin Kirchhoff have compiled a comprehensive overview of speech processing from a multilingual perspective. By taking this all-inclusive approach to speech processing, the editors have included theories, algorithms, and techniques that are required to support spoken input and output in a large variety of languages. This book presents a comprehensive introduction to research problems and solutions, both from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective, and highlights technology that incorporates the increasing necessity for multilingual applications in our global community.
Current challenges of speech processing and the feasibility of sharing data and system components across different languages guide contributors in their discussions of trends, prognoses and open research issues. This includes automatic speech recognition and speech synthesis, but also speech-to-speech translation, dialog systems, automatic language identification, and handling non-native speech. The book is complemented by an overview of multilingual resources, important research trends, and actual speech processing systems that are being deployed in multilingual human-human and human-machine interfaces.
Researchers and developers in industry and academia with different backgrounds but a common interest in multilingual speech processing will find an excellent overview of research problems and solutions detailed from theoretical and practical perspectives.
* State-of-the-art research with a global perspective by authors from the USA, Asia, Europe, and South Africa
* The only comprehensive introduction to multilingual speech processing currently available
* Detailed presentation of technological advances integral to security, financial, cellular and commercial applications

Research on nanotechnology has mainly focused on the aspects of synthesis of nanomaterials that have unique chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties applicable to a wide range of applications. A variety of properties and phenomena have been investigated, and many of the studies have been directed toward understanding the properties and applications of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials have properties that are useful for enhancing surface-to-volume ratio, reactivity, strength, and durability. Due to their enhanced chemical and mechanical properties, the nanomaterials play promising roles in enhancing the desulfurization. Nanocomposites for the Desulfurization of Fuels is an essential reference source that discusses the synthesis, properties, and technological developments of nanomaterials and their applications in petroleum. Featuring research on topics such as hybrid materials, catalytic properties, and environmental concerns, this book is ideally designed for chemical engineers, scientists, researchers, academicians, and students in fields that include chemistry, petroleum, materials science, physics, and engineering.

As the demand for efficient energy sources continues to grow around the globe, electrical systems are becoming more essential to meet these increased needs. As these systems are being utilized more frequently, it becomes imperative to find ways of optimizing their overall function. Design Parameters of Electrical Network Grounding Systems is a critical scholarly resource that examines safe grounding designs of electrical networks. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as cathodic protection of grounding grids, grounding connections, and soil resistivity evaluation, this book is geared towards academicians, practitioners, and researchers seeking current research on electrical networks.

This it the first technical reference book available on the PSoC, and it offers the most comprehensive combination of technical data, example code, and descriptive prose you ll find anywhere.
Embedded design expert Robert Ashby will guide you through the entire PSoC world, providing thorough coverage of device feature, design, programming and development of the software-reconfigurable PSoC. He shares his best tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you to utilize the flexible and inexpensive PSoC to its greatest potential, with a minimum of heartaches and late nights.
With its emphasis on designing for adaptability -- a feature of the utmost importance in today s fast-paced and cost-pressured design cycles -- this book will bring you up to speed quickly on everything PSoC, from memory management to interconnects. You will add brains and capable signal conditioning to a design with one chip, giving you extreme flexibility for a relatively low price. Specific application examples highlighting the PSoC s unique capabilities are included throughout the text, with the supporting sample source code. This valuable code is also provided on the companion website so you can easily adapt it to your own designs.
* The first independent technical reference available on the PSoC, a product line experiencing explosive growth in the embedded design world
* Application examples, sample code, and design tips and techniques will get readers get up-to-speed quickly
* Companion website includes all example code from book, so that engineers can easily adapt it to their own designs"

This book contains selected papers presented during the World Renewable Energy Network's 28thanniversary congress at the University of Kingston in London. The forum highlighted the integration of renewables and sustainable buildings as the best means to combat climate change. In-depth chapters written by the world's leading experts highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs and discuss policy, renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors - for heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water, desalination, industrial applications and for the transport sectors. Presents cutting-edge research in green building and renewable energy from all over the world; Covers the most up-to-date research developments, government policies, business models, best practices and innovations; Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies.

Placing emphasis on practical "how-to" guidance, this cutting-edge resource provides a first-hand, insider's perspective on the advent and evolution of smart grids in the 21st century. This book presents engineers, researchers, and students with the building blocks that comprise basic smart grids, including power plant, transmission substation, distribution, and meter automation. Moreover, this forward-looking volume explores the next step of this technology's evolution. It provides a detailed explanation of how an advanced smart grid incorporates demand response with smart appliances and management mechanisms for distributed generation, energy storage, and electric vehicles. This updated second edition focuses on the disruptive impact of DER. This new edition also includes a glossary with well over 100 acronyms and terms, acknowledging the tremendous challenge for a student of smart energy and smart grid to grasp this complex industry. Market Practicing power engineers, academics, researchers, industry analysts, and power regulators

This book explores the use of biomass as an energy source and its application in energy conversion technologies. Focusing on the challenges of, and technologies related to, biomass conversion, the book is divided into three parts. The first part underlines the fundamental concepts that form the basis of biomass production, its feasibility valuation, and its potential utilization. This part does not consider only how biomass is generated, but also methods of assessment. The second part focuses on the clarification of central concepts of the biorefinery processes. After a preliminary introduction with industrial examples, common issues of biochemical reaction engineering applications are analysed in detail. The theory explained in this part demonstrates that the chemical kinetics are the core focus in modelling biological processes such as growth, decay, product formation and feedstock consumption. This part continues with the theory of biofuels production, including biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons. The third part of this book gives detailed explanations of preliminary notions related to the theory of thermodynamics. This theory will assist the reader when taking into account the concepts treated in the previous two parts of the book. Several detailed derivations are given to give the reader a full understanding of the arguments at hand. This part also gives literature data on the main properties of some biomass feedstock. Fundamentals of Biofuels Engineering and Technology will be of interest not only to academics and researchers working in this field but also to graduate students and energy professionals seeking to expand their knowledge of this increasingly important area.

This book provides a cutting-edge research overview on the latest developments in the field of Optics and Photonics. All chapters are authored by the pioneers in their field and will cover the developments in Quantum Photonics, Optical properties of 2D Materials, Optical Sensors, Organic Opto-electronics, Nanophotonics, Metamaterials, Plasmonics, Quantum Cascade lasers, LEDs, Biophotonics and biomedical photonics and spectroscopy.