This study describes a quantitative method using thermography to measure the thermal performance of complete building envelope elements that are subjected to non-steady state heat flow. The method presumes that thermal properties of external walls, like conductivity, could still be obtained by a linear regression over values of independent measurements. And therefore could be used during fluctuating indoor and outdoor thermal conditions. The method is divided into two parts. First, the convection heat transfer coefficient is measured by heat flux meters (HFM) and thermography. And then, the overall heat transfer coefficient of a complete building element is measured by thermography to include all non-uniformities.In this study the thermal performance of a 140mm thick laminated timber wall was measured. The wall was subjected to the outdoor weather conditions in Östersund, Sweden during January and February. The measurement values were found to have a large disparity as expected due to the rapid change in weather conditions. But still a linear regression with low confidence interval was obtained. The thermography results from a small uniform wall segment were validated with HFM measurements and 4% difference was found, which suggest that the two methods could be equally effective. Yet, thermography has the advantage of measuring surface temperature over large area of building element. The overall heat transfer coefficient of a large wall area was found to be 11% higher in comparison to the HFM measurements. This indicates that thermography could provide a more representative result as it captures areas of imperfections, point and linear thermal bridges

The endeavour to align the goals of the Swedish food strategy with the national environmental quality objectives and the 17 global SDGs, presents an extraordinary challenge that calls for systemic innovation. Industrial symbiosis can potentially provide the means for increasing sustainable food production, using locally sub-exploited resources that can reduce the need for land, agrochemicals, transport and energy. This case study of the municipality of Härnösand, aims to assess opportunities and challenges for using waste flows and by-products for local food production, facilitated by industrial symbiosis. A potential symbiotic network was developed during three workshops with the main stakeholders in Härnösand. The potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to instigate policy changes, behavioural changes and formation of new alliances that may catalyse the transition towards food systems based on industrial symbiosis is discussed. The material flow inventory revealed that many underexploited resource flows were present in quantities that rendered them commercially interesting. Resources that can be used for innovative food production include, e.g., lignocellulosic residues, rock dust, and food processing waste. The internalised drive among local companies interested in industrial symbiosis and the emerging symbiotic relations, provide a fertile ground for the establishment of a local network that can process the sub-exploited material flows. Although there are multiple challenges for an industrial symbiosis network to form in Härnösand, this study shows that there is a significant potential to create added value from the region’s many resources while at the same time making the food system more sustainable and resilient, by expanding industrial symbiosis practices.

Many schools in Sweden lack a proper indoor environment due to, e.g., poor thermal-envelope properties, overcrowded classes, poor visual appearance and insufficient ventilation. This study aims to explore the integration of a large number of indoor green plants into classrooms’ environments. This case study consists of three parts: measurements of the indoor environment including a final energy model, a questionnaire to the pupils with questions about their well-being and qualitative interviews with teachers. The case was two classrooms in a secondary education facility in central Sweden with an average annual temperature of 3 °C and a long and dark winter period with snow. The results showed 10% lower CO₂ and slightly higher and more stable temperatures due to the green plants. Worries about climate change and war among the pupils decreased after several months with the plants and worry about infectious disease increased. The teachers experienced fresher air from the plants and used the plant stands for a flexible classroom design. The conclusion is that indoor plants have the potential to contribute to a better indoor environment, but due to the high number of uncontrolled variables (including the effect of COVID-19) in measurements of real-life conditions, more studies are needed.