Cogeneration refers to the simultaneous production of electricity and heat, our two main basic energetic needs. The benefits of these technologies are multiple:
It´ s 40% more efficient than producing electricity and heat separately.
Together with these energetic save, the CO2 emissions and the generation costs are lower.
It can take advantage of renewable sources such as biomass and biogas.
It improves system security bu generating the requried amount of electricity and heat and absorbing the implied variability of renewable generation from wind and solar.
The transport and distribution costs are reduced, generally the energy it´ s consume at the same place where it is produce.
In addition to the fact that cogeneration has as an objective covering the propper energy needs , we can see that, according to the Report of the Spanish Electric System elaborated by The Spanish Electricity Grid corresponding to 2019, it is able to cover almost an 12% of the spanish demand with just a 5% of the participation in the national installed power. At a european level, the cogeneration provides an 11% of the electricity consume and a 15% of the heat.
Also the European Commision recognise the need of the presence of the cogeneration in the energy system, mentioning in the Energy Efficiency Directive that “cogeneration of high efficiency has a significative potential for saving primary energy in the Union” and the need that “the member states promote the introduction of measures and procedures to promote the installations of cogeneration with a total nominal thermic power under 5mw with the aim of promtoing the generation of distributed energy”.
Even taking into account all the benefits mentioned, we can only find these type of technolgies in industrial areas or big buildings of the terciary sector. Due to that, an area with a high potential is the development of micro-cogeneration, that is to say, low power cogeneration systems (under 50kW) that generate the heat and the electricity needed for covering the energy needs of residential buildings. This aspect is key both for the development of the local energy communities in which the figure of the passive consumer is blurred and for the consecution of one of the big environmental objectives, the climate neutrality.
Inside the nowadays cogeneration systems, we can find two big groups:
Conventional internal combustion engines coupled to an electric generator and from which heat is recovered from the exhaust gases and cooling systems. They usually operate usinig natural gas or diesel as fuel, reaching overall efficiencies of 80-90%.
Microturbine systems consisting of an open cycle gas turbine in which air is drawn in from the atmosphere, compressed by a rotary compressor and fed into the combustion chamber and then used for expansion in a turbine. The electric energy it is obtaines from an alternator, meanwhile the heat it´ s recover from the scape gases. They reach overall yields among the 90%. The fundamental difference compared with the previous ones is that turbines are designed for function in a stationary regime, meanwhile engines allow a wider regulation. Also, the temperature of the scape gases of the turbines is higher, being normally around 300-400ºC. The fuel mostyl used is natural gas, but in this case is possible using other more sustainable such as biogas.
As we have seen, most of nowadays systems used fossil fuels, what it is not adequate according to the environmental commitments adquired. In 2018 just the 4% of the energy generated through cogeneration proceed from renewable sources such as biofuels and residues (The energy in Spain 2018, MITECO)
Fortunately, exists technologies both in the market and in the development phase focused on covering needs. In first place, we can call the technology of hybrid photovoltaic generation, able of generate both electricity and hot water of low temperature (60-70ºC) usable in building air-conditioning systems. The infrastructure need for the installation of these collectors is not very different from that used in the usual installation of photovoltaic panels, including the necessary piping for the water inlet and outlet.
Another technology that is experiencing great growth due to its strategic nature is the hydrogen or fuel cell. This system take advantage of electrochemistry processes to transform a fuel, the hydrogen, and a oxidising agent, the oxigen in the air, in a electric current and heat. The particularity of hydrogen as fuel is that present a huge energy density, it can move through ducts similar to natural gas (although under special conditions) and it could be generated from the electrolysis of water usin renewable energy sources.
Source: https://www.cnh2.es/pilas-de-combustible/
Of course, the technology mention could be combined with other for multiplying their possibilities: heat pumps both powered by the electricity generated and using the heat generated to increase their performance, hybridisation together with storage systems that allow for intelligent management, etc.
CARTIF participate in several projects that integrate cogeneration systems in residential environments:
SUNHORIZON: has as an objective showing that the propper combination of technologies such as solar panels (photovoltaic, hybrid, thermal) and heat pumps (thermal compressor, adsorption, reversible) manage with a controller with predictive capacities allow saving energy, maximize the use of renewables, increase the self-consumption, reduce the energy bill and reduce the CO2 emissions.
REGENBy2: we contribute to the development of a new integrated energy plant, able of convert any type of thermal source of renewable energy, of low or high temperature, in electricity, heating and/or cooling simultaneously.
HysGRID+: its objective is to promote the cooperation of spanish technology centres with a high level of complementarity with the aim of research and develop new technological solutions that enable the creation of local energy communities (LEC) with a positive net balance of high efficiency and based in hybrid systems of renewable generation and storage. In the context of this project, CARTIF, has been able of installing two test benches: one for testing heat pumps of up to 100kW thermal, and other for characterize the behaviour of hybrid PVT solar panels.
H24NewAge: we develop advance technologies throughout all the hydrogen value chain for finally create a infrastrcutures network for giving service to the companies and as a demonstration of the develop hydrogen technologies. The final aim is that the project became a reference for the spanish business network facilitating a transfer of bidirectional and adaptable knowledge. Other action is the research into the application of fuel cells in residential microgeneration.
The road transport is the main source of particles emissions in the urban environment and one of the most importantat at a global level. Consciouss of the gravity of the problem , the European Union established limits, each time more restrictive, for the scape emissions of the internal combustion motors in new vehicles, through the european regulation about emissions (EURO regulation), that vehicles manufacturers are so afraid of. This regulation focused in the vehicles, and other aimed to the control the emissions produced in the industry and in the thermal power plants of electric generation, have made possible that the concentration of particles in urban environments have being reduced in a notorious way in the last 15 years. It is fair to say, that part of those reduction has also been due to the increase use of the renewable energies, as for example the eolic, photovoltaic or thermal-solar energy. Biomass, on the other hand, eventhough it is a renewable energy source with a near-zero carbon footprint, contributes to the emission of particles due to the combustion process that allows its energetic exploitation. At last, nuclear energy, that in the next weeks it will start to be cosnider “green energy” by the European Commission, it could contribute in an efficient way not only to the reduction of the CO2 emissions, but also to the particle emissions.
Enethough, as it is said, the actual situation is better than the one 15 years before, it is not less true that with relative frequency particles concentration limits estalished by the World Health Organisation (10 μg/m3 for particles <2.5 μm) are overcome in much european urban cores.
How are nanoparticles classified and which are their associated risks?
The atmospheric particles, independently of their natural or antropogenic origin, are classified in thick particles PM10 (2.5-10 μm), thin PM2.5 (0.1-2.5 μm) and ultrathin PM0,1 (<0.1μm). According to the WHO, the thick particles PM10 can penetrate and lodge deeply into the lungs, meanwhile the thin particles PM2.5 assume a higher risk, they can cross the pulmonary barrier and enter into the blood system. The ultrathin particles PM0.1 are able of penetrating vital organs such as the liver or the brain, causing inflamatory and oxidative processes, with still unknown effects.
Numerous scientific studies carried out in the last two decades relation the short-time effects of the particles concentration increase with increase in the daily mortality and hospital admissions. Other studies advise about the high content of Polyciclic Aromatic Hydrocarbours (PAHs) that are found bonded to the particles fraction PM2.5 provenient from the combustion processes. At least 13 of the compounds that formed the family of the PAHs have been recognised as carcinogens by the WHO. This same organisation said that, in addition to cancer, the fraction of 2.5 particles caused cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses being the cause of 400,000 premature deaths only in Europe.
Source: https://www.elnorte.com
What are Non-Exhaust Emissions (NEE) and what is their contribution to road transport emissions?
Once introduced the problematic produced by the particle emissions, as well as their sources, we will focused in the NEE particles, that is to say, those emited by vehicles but that are non-provenient from the gas scape. These particles are originated throguh the wear and tear produced by the friction between pillows and brake discs, and between the wheels and the road surface.
In contrast to what happens with the emissions of particles in the scape gases, knowadays it doesn´ t exist any law that limits the emission of NEE particles, in fact, most part of the society isn´ t even consciouss of their existence.
But, the contribution of the NEE particles is representative if we comparewith the one of the scape gases?
Surprising as it may seem, the contribution of NEE particles it´ s not only representative, but since some years ago it is clearly superior. Data published by the Inventory of National Atmospheric Emissions of United Kingdom reveal that meanwhile the scape particles have been reduce in a notorious way in the last years, NEE particles has increase and are expected to continue to do so in the future. The source mentioned before states that, from the rimary particles emited by trnsport by road, the 605 of the PM2.5 and the 73% of the PM10 were due to NEE particles (measures carried out in United Kindom during 2016). Those percentages continue increasing as the scape emissions decrease, as it represents the graphic elaborated by the NAEI.
Source: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk
And what happens with the zero emissions vehicles?
The pollution by particles is specially problematic in the urban environments, therefore it is consider that electromobility can help decisively to fight the problem. However, due to the height of batteries, these vehicles have a notorious mass superior to the one of a equivalent car with a motor of interior combustion, which implies larger NEE particles emissions due to the wear and tearof the wheels and of the surface of the road. These larger emissions are somehow compensate by the smaller emissions produced by the dual regenerative/mechanical braking system for electric and hybrid vehicles. At present the net balance between the reduction of braking particles and the inrease of particles produced by the road and wheels of electric vehicles it is not quantified, but what is clear, is that these vehicles produced a level of NEE particles emissions, at least of the same order of magnitudeas the one of conventional cars.
Therefore, the label of “zero emissions” is in a way, if not in its entirety, misleading for the consumer. Evenmore if it is take in count that the 40% of electric energy generated in Spain in 2019, came from thermal power plants.
CARTIF research to reduce the emissions of NEE particles
CARTIF, consciouss of the problem of these particle emissions, has participated in a project proposal of the european programme Horizon Europe focused on study the magnitude, causes, efects of the emissions of NEE particles, as of develop solutions that avoid, or at least reduce, the emissions of them. Those proposal is focused on fleets of delivery vehicles and public transport vehicles such as buses and subways, taking place part of the field tests in the city of Valladolid. If such a project is finally financed by the European Commission, CARTIF will devote its best efforts to the search of solutions that allow reducing the emissions of NEE particles, a problem which detrimental effects are well known, despite being ignored by the majority of the society.
For some time now, experts and major international organisations have been talking about the onset of a major global food crisis. A crisis that would put more than 265 million people at risk of famine, double the pre-pandemic estimates by COVID-19 for 2020.
In reality, the reason and origin of this crisis isn´ t the lack of food. In fact, the statistical data shows that 2020 has been a year of abundant harvests in general at a global level. But the food crisis is coming it is because of the opposite. Is because there ir a surplus of food for a agrifood market with a broken demand because of the unemployment increase, because of the protectionism of the advanced economies and because of the colapse of the supply chain.
This crisis would oblige to the most disadvantaged to choose between protect their health or protect their livelihoods. The pandemia produced by the virus COVID-19 has caused a economic crisis that has led into a huge damage to the availability of food at a global level. On one side, the offer has broken, the farmers, the mainly distributors of perishable products (fruit and vegetables) are decreasing their production as its main clients (hotels, restaurants, schools, airports) have had to reduce, or even stop, their operations. This is causing surplus production that ruin the producers because they don´ t find their habitual buyers. If we put as an example the parishables products, what has occur is that the logistic problem have been stronger. Why? Because ther isn´ t only the mobility, but also there is the problem that is perishable. So if there is a delay in their transports exists a problem. For example, the asparagus. Most part of the asparagus are exported by plane and the cost of the plane is shared between passengers and load. As there isn´´ t passengers the cost of the load is so high, then it is no longer economically. The same occurs, for example, with fish. We also have the milk producers, who are being forced to pour thousand of litres of fresh milk in the last weeks, unable of placing the product. In India, huge tomato and banana crops have been wasted as a result of government restrictions on movement that have made it impossible to get produce to local markets by march 2020. Therefore the dilemma is how we can ensure that in 2022 the same amounts of produce, the same crops, will be planted as in 2020 or 2021, so that there is security of food availability for the coming years. It is difficult to predict how much in the present situation. If we don´ t help producers at this moment, they are not going to have liquidity to plant their next crops and then we will be under a huge problem of food shortage.
By the other side, there are the consumers. The houses experiencing economic difficulties and that are in an unemployment situation are running out of money. Including when the products are available in local markets. This phenomena in the developing countries it is worse, because, in addition to the citizens, the ones that are running out of money are the importers. Africa has received a huge economic shock because most countries are exporters of oil, much countries are exporters of cotton, as Mali, where all the contracts are being cancelled, are exporters of commodities of metal that also are fallen, or of coffee as Ethiopia that also falls or doesn´ t have Europe´ s capacity to be able to inject 3 trillion euros in the economy to revive it.
Countries as Argelia, Angola, Ecuator, Nigeria or Arabia Saudí depends on the incomes of oil exports to help to pay the imports and to finance the food subsidies for the most poor, however, with the economic contraction generated by the COVID the global demand of oil has collapsed and the crude oil barrel prices has fallen even going below zero for the first time in history.
To this must be added the uncertainty about the possible basic food price increase such as wheat and rice that, despite of being downward, they have experimented an increase and which analysts blame mainly on stockpiling, speculation and protectionism in the main producer countries and the richest importers. Between march and april of 2020, various of the main exporter countries of wheat such as Rusia, Ukraine or Kazajistan imposed quotas and suspensions to their exportations of rice, Turkia restricted its exports of lemons , Thailand of hen eggs and Serbia of sunflower seeds. Meanwhile, other countries where accumulating food with accelerated importations, such as Egypt, the major importer of wheat in the world, that buy huge quantities of french and russian grain to storage supplies for 8 months.
A chaining of suspensions and oversupply that took many back to the food price crisis of 2008. If we compare with the crisis of 2007-2008, then we had 33 countries putting restrictions and represented the 28% of the global exportations. Nowadays, what we have? We start with 16 countries that put restrictions to the exportations and today there are onlly 11. When they were 16 we were talking about around 6.5% of the share of the global exportations, now with 11 we are talking about the 2.5%, that is to said, it is nothing, the problem isn´ t there. In availability isn´ t. The dramatic situation is in the access. In Nigeria, one of the biggest rice importers and wheat of the world and at the same time one of the main exporters of oil, more and more supermarkets are having to close down because of the broken offer and demand. A disturbing scenario, which has already started to translate into protests, not only in Nigeria, but also in Kenia, Bangladesh, Honduras, SouthAfrica, and that many fear it will spread to the developed economies where the increase of prices could aggravate the inequality between rich and poors.
And although with the relaxation of the control measures of the pandemia also have been relating some of the restrictions of the exporter countries, much poor countries will have to choose between protecting their health or protecting their livelihoods.
No doubt about it, the pandemia has caused a dramatic loss of human lifes in the hole world and it presents an unprecedented challenge with deep social and economic consequences, that includes commit the food security and the nutrition. The food sustainability is maybe one of the most sensible and important points of the 2030 development sustainable agenda published by the ONU. A world problematic to which we have not given the importance it deserves.
Nevertheless, and with all that, the economists defend the increase, and yes, lots of countries need to grow, the issue maybe is which ones? In America they don´ t need more lawyers, in Europe, too many bureaucrats in Brussels. But the planet has a supply problem. In five years there will be shortage of water and food, in that way it is announced by the scientific expert Vaclav Smil. We should grow in the correct direction.
There isn´ t growth without risk. Each advance has a risk to be considered. Without data, we can´ t take decisiones. But even having the best numbers it should be consider the unpredictable, the no numeric aspect. It is easy to reduce the Co2 emissions in Denmark. But Nigeria today lives as the daneses in 1850, what they can be asked to reduce?
We are in a global economy , but it doesn´ t exist a global solution equal to all. The cost of reducing emissions it shouldn´ t be propotional, if not a la carte. It is not the same growing for surviving that for expanding the economy. An example is India. It is near to go beyonf China as the country with more population in the world (the ONU expects it by 2027), however, it consumes one third less of energy. It can not be measured the economy apart from the population. The dinamism is fundamental for maintaining it alive. Everybody knows that USA is the most dynamic economy in the world. China it could be bigger, but there are 1412 million of chinese and only 331 million of americans.
What is then the progress? Having the child population vaccinated, nourished, with a life expectancy that goes from the 40 to the 80 years and with an education and health guaranteed by the state? Spain is at the top of the life expectancy, together with Japan, despite nowadays Spain eats lots of meat. How much is a lot? During 1940 they were ate 8kg of meat per capita, now in 2021 near 200kg. Human being is omnivore. The key is in the “omni” that means “all”. It implies variety and not exceding with nothing. Without the synthesis of fertilizers there will be generalized hunger- without nitrogen plants will grow less and there will be for all. Fertilizers are not only use for increasing fortunes, also feeds global population. Global public health it isn´ t impossible, it´ s a challenge. Crops can be better planified and improved the fertilizers. Cows can eat alfalfa. We do not. But we don´ t eat only cows, we have to feed them. Almost everything in this planet is question of balance.
The country with most overweight is Arabia Saudí, with more than 70% of the population. A 12% of the global population is underfeed and a 75% overfeed. Obesity epidemic has more relation with poverty or with cars? The answer is multifactorial: genetic order, diet helps and the exercise or the activity compensates. Frugality is education? What is little? There is people that thinks that three cars are not very and others consider that one it´ s a lot. Education is not everything. High education only has one result that is the mayor probability of winning more money. But this data is not infallible, we just have to see the amount of graduates that are in Spain, however, they have seem forced to emigrate.
The world is a very complex machine. Where a risk ends, another starts. We just have to think in the pandemia. The world is a risk place where we should make decisions, where big decissions matters and they have an effect.
What does it mean the tears of Alon Sharma during the closure of the COP26 of Glasgow?
Only one week separate us from the celebration of the last Conference of the United Nations about the Climate Change (COP26), and in my mind has been recorded the downcast image of Alok Sharma, president of the COP26, during the closure of the height. Why? After many comings and goings, the world representatives haven´ t been able to reach an agreement about the emissions that the world activity should generate for not destroying our planet and reaching being sustainable.
In our hand is the solution, and for that we should continue working through a carbon neutral energy transition if we really pretend to reach the objectives of the Climate Pact in 2050. So much sectors are affected by this process of decarbonization, in which the definition of new production strategies and use of digital enablers technologies position themselves as key elements through a reduction of carbon emissions to the atmosphere, promoting the move about through a more efficient and less pollutant model.
The building sector is not alienated to this problematic. The reports of the European Union evidence that the building sector is the responsable of about 40% of the energy consume and 36% of the CO2 emissions in their operation phase, that is, during the use phase of the building already built. On the other hand, almost the 70% of the existent houses in Europe aren´ t energy-efficient as they present deficient or scarce energy conservation measures focused for that purpose. From this 70%, the 30% are houses with more than 50 years of antiquity that require of several rehabilitation interventions and improvements in their structure or management in order to achieve the energy consume values in accordance with the provisions of the European directive of Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EPBD- Energy Performance of Buildings Directive – 2010/31/UE, and his amenden version of the directive 2018/844/EU).
In consequence, and with the purpose of contributing efficiently to the global climatic objective, the existing building stock must experience a deep transformation and become more intelligent and more efficient. On the other hand, meanwhile the implementation of new skills and technologies are relatively easy to integrate in the new buildings and constructive processes, pushed by the increasing need of the digitalization of the sector through the 4.0 Construction, it is still necessary improving the solutions research that allows reducing the energy consume and increasing the efficiency of buildings and infrastructures already existing in the city.
Below this context, the implementation of enablers technologies that allow to encourage and increasing the efficient use of energy at the edification is fundamental, understanding these technologies as solutions that allow reducing the quantity of energy that is required by a building for been construct or rehabilitated,inhabited, maintained and demolished. Focusing the spotlight in the phase that occupies the biggest number of years inside the building life cycle, this is, the use phase, ocupation and maintenance of the same, we will reach an efficient building energeticly speaking, if we are able of providing thermic, luminic,air quality comfort, etc. to their inhabitants with the less use of energy possible, and in consequence with less green house gases emissions and a bigger economic saving.
These enablers technologies can be classified into 4 cathegories according to the building element on which we want to act for improving their efficiency or energy performance, including the user of the building itself.
1. Energy conservation measures:
Inside this group are encompassed all those measures that improve the physic structure of the building, either by:
The implementation of passive measures, as the insulation of the facade or changing windows.
The implementation of active measures, as the installation of a new boiler more efficient or that use a fuel less pollutant.
The installation of renewable solutions, as solar panels.
The installation of conventional instrumentation (sensors, actuators and controllers) and intelligent instrumentation (as thermostats or intelligent counters).
Although the fisrt ones are already widely spread between the owners community, in several cases they are not choosen with a endorsed criteria because of the energy and economic savings calculations. Are also not usually applied in a combined way, allowing obtaining more flexibility in the generation and consume of energy (even going as far as self-consumption), mainly if we put into play solutions of energy generation based in renewable sources. At CARTIF we have been investigating and providing solutions to this problem for several years, through the digitalization (based in BIM), automatization and optimization of the design process of rehabilitation solutions in buildings and districts. These thematics are covered in projects such as OptEEmAL or BIM-SPEED.
2. Connected systems and devices
It is not enough with having instrumentation devices or automatization networks in our buildings (including legacy systems or already existent in the house, such as domestic appliances or other informatic systems), but that such devices should be connected to a network such as Internet to make them accessible in a remote way and offer the possibility of exchange information and being controlled. In this domain operates the famous Internet of Things (IoT). Its purpose is to offer the capacity of access to all the devices of the house to be able to collect information about their signal and status, and at the same time could storage those information in persistent and secure means. The information is power, and through the connectivity solutions and the IoT monitorization we will have at our disposal the data about the actual status of our building and with the capacity of making fundamental decisions. This is the base through the achievement of the named “Intelligent Building”. CARTIF, through its projects BaaS,BREASER, E2VENT or INSITER implements several solutions of signal monitorization as a base to the generation of management systems and building control or BEMS (Buildiing Energy Management Systems).
3. Advance strategies for the management, operation, flexibility and maintenance of the building
Once the information about the behaviour and status of the house is in our power, can be raised and develop building control strategies able to react in response to the user needs (reactive building) or even to anticipate the needs of the same (proactive and intelligent building). In this second case, the implementation of techniques and algorithms of Artifical Intelligence, powered by the data previously monitorized, are essential for learning and capture the knowledge both of the behaviour of the building and of their occupants. This will make available services with expert knowledge to be able to control and optimize the behaviour of the building, predicting their possible thermic and electric demand and offering flexibility and storage solutions, or anticipating possible failures of their energy systems, between other possibilities. This puzzle piece is fundamental for the achievement of the “Autonomous and Intelligent Building“, by making the building into an entity capable of making decisions without the intervention of their inhabitants, but learning from their behaviour. The help decision-making and auto-management systems of the buildings are based on intelligent and advance strategies, as it is about covering in projects such as MATRYCS, Auto-DAN or frESCO in which CARTIF take part nowadays.
4. Training and awareness of the users/inhabitants of the building
At last, but not for that reason less important, the user of the building (inhabitant, manager, owner or operator) presents a fundamental role in the fight towards the increase of the energy efficiency. The buildings are created for and to the inhabitants, and guarantee their comfort both thermal, luminic and environmental (ventilation, air quality) is fundamental. But nor just any procedure will do to achieve this welfare. Here is where the user of the building plays a essential role, not only showing their needs and preferences, but also learning good practices and improving their behaviour when using the energy systems, domestic appliances and other devices of their houses. The information that now we collect from the buildings, valorized with the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence techniques, and made available to the user, will allow the user to know how the building behaves, how much CO2 emits and what it costs to achieve welfare. Put in full context, the user could improve the way we operate and live in their houses, promoting the efficient use of the energy systems that are under their control. CARTIF projects such as SocialRES and LocalRES tries to involve the citizens through the energy transition.
The combination of all these technologies, capable of transforming our buildings in ones more intelligent and proactive, and our users into trained and informed interveners, will make our building stock more efficient and sustainable.
All of the above is focused in reaching that our buildings, mainly the already existent, could behaviour in a more efficient way, and that they can thereby contribute to reducing energy use.
But, what happens if despite of our effort we are not able to reduce the CO2 emissions and other green house gases?
The reality as od today is that the global temperature of the planet continues increasing and the expected climatic pact still seems far from being achieved. As a consequence, we have not only to focus our investigation efforts, as we have been doing in CARTIF, in which our buildings consume less energy, and thus less CO2 and other green house gases is emitted for their production, but in new architectural designs capables of coping with extreme climatic conditions, that is, hotter summers, colder winters, more abundant precipitations… The future houses should therefore be well insulated, being self-sufficient in generation-consume of energy, being capable of manage and drain more water, and including green solutions. We cannot ignore this challenge in the not too distant future.
Oddly enough, old age is a relatively new phenomenon in western society. Since the XIX century when, thanks to the progress of the industrial and scientific development, increases the number of old people and their life expectancy, but at the same time increase the discrediting of old age. As the number of elderly people in society increases considerably, they attain a higher level of social representation that gives them public and political significance. And an important point is that, if we have luck, ´ and I wish to every one that read this post, we are going to live a long old age.
The society in which we live currently pressures and marginalises socially people with good physic and intelectual conditions on the basis of numeric age, and however exolts youth. On the one side,demands the elderly being dynamics, but at the same time demands them a moral code and clothes obligations, the appereance and repression in the sexual field.
Life models have been developed for the elderly that have not been fully taken on board by them, and they have not been involved in their design.
In spite of what is happening in nowadays society at a global level, there are areas on the planet in which being a elderly it is consider as a source of knowledge and that can bring value to society. In these parts of the world, people live longer in a simple way, realizing greatfull physic activities as walking or gardening, waking up with a sense of purpose every day, choosing wisely the food that they are going to eat and maintaining a solid and narrow relationship both with family and friends. These regions of the planet are calle “Blue Zones”, these regions were identified by cientifics and demographs who have found that the specific local characteristics and the practices give rise to a high incidence of longevity1 cases.
The five regions identified to be fulfilled with these requirements are:
Cerdeña, Italy (specifically Nuoro province and Ogliastra).
Okinawa island, Japan.
Loma Linda, California, researchers studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists, who are among the longest-lived in the United States.
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.
Icaria, island from Greece near the Turkish coast.
Researchers who have been studying these zones have summarised the factors that determine their existence in two ways:
The health: the inhabitants of these areas practice moderate exercise regularly, they eat a high amount of plant base products, drink alcohol, but not excessively, and practice Hara Hachi Bu, japanese concept which involves eating until you are 80% satiated.
The social sector: the inhabitants of the blue zones realize rituals for reducing the stress, pray, naps, tee ceremonies. They have reasons for standing up every morning, they participate in colective activities with environments that promote healthy habits. Also, they construct and maintain healthy links with people of their family and communitary environment and developed colective spiritual or religious practices.
Inside the area of Health and Wellness of the CARTIF technology centre, our purpose is in line with the aim of helping older people to be able to choose to live in a full and autonomous way as long as possible while still being able to contribute value to the community.In this way, older people can stop thinking of them as a burden, and enable new concepts in which older people became a social active. From this purpose arise in CARTIF the active participation in different entities in which we work aligned with this objectives, such as the participation in the Innovative Solutions for Independent Life Cluster (SIVI Cluster), Castilla y León Health Cluster (Biotecyl Cluster) and the active participation in the Digital Innovation Hub in Silver Economy of Zamora (DIHSE) which is going to present as a candidate to join the european grid o European Digital Innovations Hubs.
This initiative is important because the Silver Economy Digital Innovation Hub (DIHSE) seeks to be the “unic window” through which, SMEs, start-ups and other public or private entities could access to the information, services and facilities who need to address with success their processes of Digital Transformation aimed at promoting a Silver Economy (citizenship over the age of 50 years) efficient.
The mission of DIHSE is to help SMEs of the care sector, Silver Tourism and agri-food, as well as the local public adminsitrations, of our castellano-leonesa community; in their digitalization processes and offer access to the last knowledge and technologies, being also a link between, a door to collaboration between different regions for the digital innovation.
We are conscious that actually the basic biological needs of the old people are largely satisfied thanks to the advances in science and medicine and with this labour we can be certainly proud, but for giving sense to life the biological needs aren´ t enough.
Help the proliferation of blue zones to other parts of the planet it must be one of the objectives to take in count by the society, the basic investigation and the applied investigation can do their bit in this respect.
From CARTIF we are working on the development of solutions that add value to people´´ s quality of life at the same time while integrating them into social and health care processes involving professionals. A new technological development that is not integrated in the processes in a functional way or that interoperates digitally with other solutions is an island that add a reduce value or it is not sustainable in time.
To be a little more specific, the Wellness and Health area, counts with two investigation lines that pursue improving different quality aspects in the support of the clinic decision and other lines that focus on robotics with different aims.
Support to the socio-care decision of the professionals and users through (biomedic signal processing, Machine Learning as well as Support to the management decision (interoperability based in standars, discrete modelling in processes or Digital Twin) with projects as ISA (study of a framework of socio-care interoperability), IDEALNET (Cross-border innovation network on early diagnosis of leukaemia for healthy ageing).
Social Interaction Robotics, in projects such as AIROSO and UNO MÁS that are in execution. We are working on the development of the companion robotics. In strength interaction of men-robot (rehabilitation, tonification) with projects such as THERMES (study of technologies for the development of rehabilitation robots), SHAREM (development of modular mechatronic solutions of accessible cost for rehabilitation and tonification) and IDET (development of a therapy development environment for professional therapists without extensive knowledge of software development).
Development of technical solutions that allow improving the authonomy capacities of the people at their homes. In the PROCURA project we develop an intelligent walker and a technological assistant for the use of the toilet.
Our commitment is strong and we hope at some point to be able to replicate the blue zones for the wellnes of our elders.
The education that people receive during all his life it´ s been influenced by the environment in which we live. When we are young and we start to be conscious about the world, the society usually provide us with the models and with the level of knowledge that it is consider, in general, necessary. The families, the neighbourhood, health professionals and the school maybe are the ones that more influence exercise because from the adult society it is believed that they are the ones that can help us the most to teach the level of minimal culture that it is considered, as standard, necessary. Without entering into the discussion of the more appropriate educative model, the right thing is that nowadays we give a lot of emphasis to the type of education that it has to be offer in schools and in other education centers.
From the project LIFE myBUILDINGisGREEN, in which CARTIF takes part, we want to explore how incorporating healthy and re-naturalized spaces in schools, can help to, in addition to adapt the buildings to the climate change effects, to form people and to increase the culture in childhood.
Schools have a huge importance in girls and boys, as it is where they spend most part of their childhood and the new generations also begin to develop as individuals. On one side, they begin to acquire basic knowledge that is part of the colective culture and that in different degree humans are using. It is also where they begin to acquire values and reference models.
On the other side, the school building and its design it also has a huge influence in the learning, as it affect to the environmental conditions where lessons are developed. The humidity and temperature levels in the classes are relationed with the learning capacity 1,2,3,4. High temperatures could have a significative impact in the students efficiency, inhibit learning and generate stress. The interior thermic conditioning and the air renovation levels is a theme that was not taken into account in the construction of most of the schools that are nowadays in use and, in consequence, the environmental conditions of the education centers most of the times are not adequate. Should not be accepted that lessons can be develop with temperatures and air relative humidities below or beyond the range that it is established in the actual regulation (as it is the RITE5 case in Spain). Maybe, because of the singularity and importance of the schools, the standars should be even more restrictives that those considered by the regulation. In this sense, using natural solutions can be exploited the principles of the bioclimatic architecture to improve the thermal comfort of people inside the buildings. Moreover, these type of natural solutions also allow to improve the conditions in the outdoor play and physical activity areas, improving the quality of the learning environment.
But in this sense, from LIFE myBUILDINGisGREEN wants to go further and saw that the actual design of the buildings and playgrounds where dominate hard materials, in which it hasn´ t take into account bioclimatic architecture solutions and in which it seems that the comfort of the propper users it has been sacrified in pursuit of other aspects such as the reduction of the maintenance cost or seeking to keep children´ s soling to a minimum, it is not the most propper from different points of view.
The fault of natural ground, the low presence of trees or bushes and of other vegetation makes schools places in which frequently the presence of nature is avoided. From our point of view, this conception of education spaces drives away the new generations from nature and can influence in the perception of how urbanised spaces should be.
However, the current knowledge tell us that society has to go the other way if it is to solve long-term problems or at least if we want to adapt us to the consequences of the climate change. If we don´ t start teaching child the coexistence and the respect to the nature, the propper management of the resources and to modify most of the behaviours we carry out, it will be more difficult to deal the challenge that we have in front. Society has to act from a lot of points of view, but we can´´ t forgot that those that nowadays enjoy their childhood are the ones that would have to face this challenge in the next decades. From LIFE myBUILDINGisGREEN we believe that increasing the contact of child with the nature and making it participants of their beneficial effects will allow us creating a future society more prepared to face the challenges that are coming.
We leave for another day talking about how it also affects the education in the society, not only in the childhood, the type of urban spaces we live in. Have at its disposal of parks and green areas near our houses or work areas, the presence of green infrastructures and biodiversity in the streets and the management of social challenges using natural solutions instead of using always “hard” solutions and that they only have an athropocentric view of problems. This anthropocentric vision also tends to forget the weakest, or those who complain the least.
5 The operative temperature recomended by the RITE is: In summer: between 23ºC and 25ºC (front 23ºC and 27ºC by the INSHT). In winter: between 21ºC and 23ºC (front 17ºC and 24ºC by the INSHT). The relative humidity marked is between the 45-60% in summer and between the 40-50% in winter.
