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Potential correlation of exposure to polluted air and the spread and co-development of COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome, caused by SARS-CoV-2, was examined. The emphasis was given on polluted air in the form of suspended particulate matter or liquid particles in gas or air (so-called dust particles). This study was structured as a systematic literature review of multiple research projects carried out across the globe. Impact of the polluted air particles on the virus spread was examined from the temporal and spatial spread. Furthermore, overall impact of particulate matter and COVID-19 disease on human health human was investigated on a microbiological level. Despite some ambiguity, through systematic literature review effect of the polluted air on the increased spread of various viruses was demonstrated. Longer exposure to contaminated airborne dust particles has a negative effect on the human immune system and in the case of infection with COVID 19, may even overload it. This can lead to serious consequences for human health or even cause death. This review article also provides an insight into a more comprehensive analysis of possible correlation between the spreading the virus (SARS-CoV-2) by means of particulate matter and other meteorological variables (such as air temperature and humidity, weather events and climate). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential energy demands are expected to change significantly in the future with increasing electrification, energy efficiency, and improved comfort as well as climate change. While many studies have been performed into how the aforementioned influential factors could affect the energy needs of the forthcoming generations, far less are present for how population aging affects the future heating demand. The latter is particularly relevant for Europe and Slovenia as declining fertility rates and lengthening life spans give rise to the increasing ratio of the elderly. In this paper, the future residential space and water heating energy demands of the aging society in Slovenia, using a sample of geographically dispersed nursing homes as a proxy, are estimated. The results are compared against the latest EU reference scenario until 2050, whereby the adjusted estimates differ by up to 9.6%. Thus, the study highlights the need for energy policy to be further refined and redefined to link the energy performance requirements of buildings to specific consumption characteristics of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The building's balance point temperature represents the outdoor temperature at which no auxiliary energy is needed to ensure thermal comfort. Its estimation presents the main challenge of applying the degree day method for space cooling applications, since in addition to building thermal characteristics it also depends on internal and external heat gains. In this paper, a new approach for determining the instantaneous balance point temperature, based on an optimization-based grey-box modelling procedure, is presented. The developed grey-box model is built on an assumed functional dependency between the building thermal load and the power demand of its HVAC system. Its application requires only the use of basic building geometric parameters apart from the cooling electricity demand and corresponding meteorological data, which are utilized to estimate the model parameters using a derivate-free optimization procedure. Additionally, a new technique for visualizing and analyzing the behavior of the obtained instantaneous balance point temperature is introduced. The proposed methodology is verified on a set of artificially generated data, achieving an average prediction error of 5.2%, and its applicability demonstrated on a sample of real tertiary sector buildings. The results indicate that the presented methodology can be used to deduce building and corresponding HVAC system characteristics. Highlights • An approach for determining the instantaneous balance point temperature is proposed. • The approach is based on an optimization-based grey-box modelling procedure. • The approach is verified on artificial data and tested on data from real buildings. • A visualization technique for analysing the balance point temperature is introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Influence of temperature fluctuations was examined in a human subjective experiment. • Generated airflows had distinct cooling effect on subjects. • Study indicates that sensation of draught was influenced by airflow temperature fluctuations. Abstract Besides air velocity, turbulence intensity and air temperature there are also other factors, which influence human thermal response to air movement. In this study, the impact of temperature fluctuations in airflow on human thermal sensation and perception of draught was examined. For the purposes of the study an air supply unit was designed for generating airflows with temperature fluctuations and used in a subjective experiment. The experimental study indicates that temperature fluctuations possibly influence the human perception of air movement with a distinct cooling effect. At high values of frequency and amplitude fluctuations a large discrepancy was found between predicted and measured values of draught discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]