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The two-way communication of electricity and information in smart homes facilitates the optimal management of devices with the ability to charge and discharge, such as electric vehicles and electrical storage systems. These devices can be scheduled considering domestic renewable energy units, the energy consumption of householders, the electricity tariff of the grid, and other predetermined parameters in order to improve their efficiency and also the technical and economic indices of the smart home. In this paper, a novel framework based on decision vectors and the analytical hierarchy process method is investigated to find the optimal operation schedule of these devices for the day-ahead performance of smart homes. The initial data of the electric vehicle and the electrical storage system are modeled stochastically. The aim of this work is to minimize the electricity cost and the peak demand of the smart home by optimal operation of the electric vehicle and the electrical storage system. Firstly, the different decision vectors for charging and discharging these devices are introduced based on the market price, the produce power of the domestic photovoltaic panel, and the electricity demand of the smart home. Secondly, the analytical hierarchy process method is utilized to implement the various priorities of decision criteria and calculate the ultimate decision vectors. Finally, the operation schedule of the electric vehicle and the electrical storage system is selected based on the ultimate decision vectors considering the operational constraints of these devices and the constraints of charging and discharging priorities. The proposed method is applied to a sample smart home considering different priorities of decision criteria. Numerical results present that although the combination of decision criteria with a high rank of electricity demand has the highest improvement of technical and economic indices of the smart home by about 12 and 26%, the proposed method has appropriate performance in all scenarios for selecting the optimal operation schedule of the electric vehicles and the electrical storage system.

The extensive use of glass in modern architecture has increased the heating and cooling loads in buildings. Recent studies have presented water flow glazing (WFG) envelopes as an alternative building energy management system to reduce energy consumption and improve thermal comfort in buildings. Currently, commercial software for thermal simulation does not include WFG as a façade material. This article aims to validate a new building simulation tool developed by the authors. Simulation results were compared with real data from a scale prototype composed of two twin cabins with different glazing envelopes: a Reference double glazing with solar-control coating and a triple water flow glazing. The results showed a good agreement between the simulation and the real data from the prototype. The mean percentage error of the indoor temperature cabin was lower than 5.5% and 3.2% in the WFG cabin and in the Reference glazing one, respectively. The indoor air temperature of the WFG cabin was 5 °C lower than the Reference one in a free-floating temperature regime when the outdoor air temperature was 35 °C and the maximum value of solar radiation was above 700 W/m2. WFG has energy-saving potential and is worthy of further research into the standardization of its manufacturing process and its ability to increase building occupants’ comfort.

A systematic approach to evaluate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plant fleet deployment and sustainable water resource use in arid regions is presented. An overview is given of previous work carried out. Once CSP development scenarios, suitable areas for development, and the water demand from CSP operations were evaluated, appropriate spatiotemporal CSP performance models were developed. The resulting consumptive patterns and the impact of variable resource availability on CSP plant operation are analysed. This evaluation considered the whole of South Africa, with focus on the areas identified as suitable for CSP, in order to study the impact on local water resources. It was found that the hydrological limitations imposed by variable water resources on CSP development are severe. The national annual theoretical net generation potential of wet-cooled Parabolic Trough decreased from 11,277 to 120 TWh, and that of wet-cooled Central Receiver decreased from 12,003 to 170 TWh. Dry cooled versions also experience severe limitations, but to a lesser extent—the national annual theoretical net generation potential of Parabolic Trough decreased from 11,038 to 512 TWh, and that of Central Receiver decreased from 11,824 to 566 TWh. Accordingly, policy guidelines are suggested for sustainable CSP development and water resource management within the context of current South African water use regulation.

Electrification alters the energy demand and environmental impacts of vehicles, which brings about new challenges for sustainability in the transport sector. To further enhance the energy economy of electric vehicles (EVs) and offer an energy-efficient driving strategy for next-generation intelligent mobility in daily synthetic traffic situations with mixed driving scenarios, the model predictive control (MPC) algorithm is exploited to develop a predictive cruise control (PCC) system for eco-driving based on a detailed driving scenario switching logic (DSSL). The proposed PCC system is designed hierarchically into three typical driving scenarios, including car-following, signal anticipation, and free driving scenario, using one linear MPC and two nonlinear MPC controllers, respectively. The performances of the proposed tri-level MPC-based PCC system for EV eco-driving were investigated by a numerical simulation using the real road and traffic data of Japan under three typical driving scenarios and an integrated traffic situation. The results showed that the proposed PCC system can not only realize driving safety and comfortability, but also harvest considerable energy-saving rates during either car-following (16.70%), signal anticipation (12.50%), and free driving scenario (30.30%), or under the synthetic traffic situation (19.97%) in urban areas of Japan.

Food waste is a pressing global problem with significant environmental, economic and social impacts. This review examines the state of food waste management in Serbia and contextualizes the challenges and opportunities in a global and EU framework. In the Republic of Serbia, an estimated 247,000 tons of food is wasted annually, indicating critical gaps in waste management infrastructure, consumer awareness and missing legislation. While existing policies address general waste management, there is a lack of targeted measures for food waste prevention and resource recovery. The overview recommends aligning Serbian policy with an EU legislative frame, introducing extended producer responsibility and promoting public–private cooperation to improve food donation and recycling. This is the first comprehensive study specifically addressing food waste management in Serbia and assessing its compliance with European and global best practices. By comparing Serbia’s current status with established international models, this paper identifies critical gaps and proposes actionable strategies to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the food waste management system in Serbia. These include investment in infrastructure, public awareness campaigns and the use of innovative digital tools to reduce waste and support a circular economy.

The transformation of cities into smarter and more sustainable environments is essential towards achieving the objectives of the decarbonization of the economy. In this sense, holistic strategies are required to design and implement urban regeneration strategies. The EU-funded REMOURBAN project has developed an Urban Regeneration Model which provides the mechanisms to implement more efficiently these processes, integrating technologies, business models, management procedures and evaluation mechanisms, where the evaluation is sought as the main supporting mechanism throughout the various phases of the city transformation process. The framework developed considers two levels of evaluation: city level, to assess both sustainability and smartness of the city as a whole from a comprehensive and integrated perspective, and project level, to provide a clear identification of the impact of implementation of technologies and solutions on three key priority areas (sustainable districts and built environment, sustainable urban mobility and integrated infrastructures and processes) aimed at achieving the city high-level goals. This paper introduces the Urban Regeneration Model and describes the evaluation framework and its implementation in the city of Valladolid (Spain).

Sustainability is a topic that is at the center of current discussions in the political, economic, social, and environmental fields. For its analysis, an integral and multidisciplinary vision is needed. This work aims to assess the sustainability of agricultural systems in Paraguay through a comparison applying SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems) indicators. The research focuses on 15 case studies on the territory of the Eastern Region of Paraguay divided into five classes of agricultural systems: agribusiness, conventional peasant family farming, agroecological peasant family farming, neo-rural farming, and indigenous agriculture. Data were collected through interviews with producers and key informants, direct observation, and scientific literature research in order to assess, through the SAFA Tool Software, the level of sustainability of each agricultural system as a whole and for each sustainability dimension (political, environmental, economic, and social dimension) in a comparative way. It has emerged that producers belonging to conventional peasant family farming, agroecological peasant family farming, neo-rural farming, and indigenous agriculture have achieved levels of sustainability that are similar to each other and very good in all four dimensions of sustainability. Meanwhile, agribusiness achieved moderate scores in the dimensions of governance and environmental integrity, and was good in the economic and social dimension.