PRINS intends to develop a relevant research activity in terms of the quantity and quality of its contributions. Its objectives include achieving excellence and the internationalization of its results, as well as guaranteeing competitiveness that allows obtaining public and private financing. Thus, the aspiration is to be able to generate relevant research results that can be easily translated into innovations that add value and improve the functioning of the administration, companies and society as a whole. The competitive R&D projects in which we are immersed are described below.
1.NEW METHODOLOGIES IN THE ANALYSIS OF THERMAL COMFORT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS WITH 5D MODELS
R&D project funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-108271RB-C33) that ends in 2023 and is divided into the following lines of action:
- Definition and calculation of the thermal behaviour of the building (including various energy parameters) at various levels (wall, room, floor and entire building)
- Use of the actual data contained in the 5D models to perform calibrations of some of the current energy simulation software tools
- Establishment of a procedure to identify thermal bridges, risk areas or areas that must be repaired. This information could be used in energy certification systems, or in buildings that are difficult to access or pose any type of danger.
In addition, temporary thermal information can be used to analyse energy properties in the short term (during a day) or in the medium term (depending on the season or month of a year). In the future, these temporary thermal models could be utilized by users to optimize energy consumption and by builders as agents that can modify materials or structures in construction.
2.IDENTIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL OF SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN THE COMPANIES THAT CONSTITUTE VALENCIAPORT
R + D + I project (emerging research groups) funded by the Consellería de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital of the Generalitat Valenciana (GV / 217/2020).
This project seeks to evaluate the environmental and economic impact of the implementation of a set of Industrial Symbiosis initiatives among companies in the port sector that constitute ValenciaPort. The Port Authority and the participating companies of the business fabric have detected the need to identify symbiosis possibilities, as well as to evaluate their viability from an environmental and economic approach, in order to attract the participation of the interested parties (users, local communities, administration , etc.). This assessment requires the modelling of different possible scenarios, where the participation of companies that have to exchange material and / or energy flows is required. The information will be collected both from public databases, as well as from databases specialized in life cycle analysis.
The project proposes the use of Life Cycle Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis (LCA + DEA) tools to obtain environmental and economic assessments of the possible implementation scenarios of the actions verbalized by the port companies in order to assess the possibilities of implementing the initiatives detected with the greatest potential for symbiosis.
3.PROPOSAL AND COMMUNICATION OF CIRCULARITY INDICATORS TO GUIDE THE CONSUMER ON REPAIRING OR REPLACING THEIR ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES. DEVELOPMENT OF A TOOL
R + D + I project (emerging research groups) funded by the Consellería de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital of the Generalitat Valenciana (GV / 172/2020) with the aim of developing a support tool that provides useful information at the end-of-life stage of an electrical and electronic appliance on the most sustainable option: repair it or buy a new one.
To do this, the different existing methods that quantify the possibilities of repairing an electrical and electronic device are analysed and alternatives for extending the useful life are obtained and evaluated (considering different indicators). Finally, a decision support tool is developed and a way to integrate and communicate these proposed indicators is suggested, so that they are understandable to the consumer. As last step, the results obtained are applied to a specific category of electrical and electronic equipment.