Assessing the feasibility of cogeneration retrofit and district heating/cooling networks in small Italian islands

Sustainability of energy supply strategies in small islands has been emerging as a severe issue, due to the large margins for improvement and rationalization of the most frequently adopted solutions. In most of the European islands, large amounts of heat are wasted by the operation of engine-based power plants; conversely, heat is produced by boilers (supplied by liquid fuels) or by electric equipment for a number of different uses, like domestic hot water production or space heating in winter. In this paper a techno-economic analysis is proposed to assess the feasibility of CHP-retrofit of the existing power plants and the possible utilization of the recovered heat to supply, via a distric…

Valutazione del microclima luminoso in ambiente scolastico tramite approccio adattivo

Questo articolo mostra i risultati di una indagine compiuta in ambiente scolastico e basata su un questionario di tipo adattivo, mirata alla valutazione del microclima luminoso e del grado di soddisfazione dello stesso da parte degli utenti. Attraverso simulazioni, sono state preventivamente individuate alcune aule all’interno della struttura scolastica, dove le condizioni potevano risultare critiche, sia per il verificarsi di fenomeni di abbagliamento, che di non rispetto dei valori consigliati dalla vigente normativa. La metodologia proposta prevede l’utilizzo di rilevamenti strumentali, di simulatori e la somministrazione di un questionario agli studenti delle aule in oggetto. Il questio…

Improvement of energy efficiency and quality of street lighting in South Italy as an action of Sustainable Energy Action Plans. The case study of Comiso (RG).

Existing street lighting systems in most of Sicilian cities are often inappropriate due to the obsolescence of light sources and luminaires and of unsuitable light control systems unable to provide efficient on-off and dimming strategies. Improvement of energy efficiency in street lighting systems can be one of the key actions adopted by Public Administration in developing Sustainable Energy Action Plan in the framework of the “Covenant of Majors” activities. As a task of FACTOR 20 project a set of planning options have been analysed and proposed for Sicilian cities. Particularly, street lighting efficiency projects have been studied for representative case studies. A detailed survey of the…

An overview of energy retrofit actions feasibility on Italian historical buildings

Abstract Italian energy policy has determined important keystones in building energy efficiency regulations and their application throughout the country. However, there is still much work to be done in order to make sustainable societies and territories, especially in historical contexts that have the greatest potentiality of energy saving. In detail, in the framework of conservation, restoration, refurbishment, and retrofit actions, the debate among scientists, administrators and skilled people is still open due to the many aspects yet to be considered and solved. In this paper, the state of the art of Italian residential building heritage has been reviewed, while energy retrofit issues an…

METODI E STRUMENTI PER LA VALUTAZIONE DEL COMFORT VISIVO

Il corretto svolgimento del compito visivo viene garantito dalle adeguate condizioni del microclima luminoso in ambiente, che risultano fondamentali per la produttivita del soggetto. Nella ricerca, si e evidenziato come alcuni dei parametri di valutazione degli ambienti, illuminati naturalmente, attualmente utilizzati, nel caso oggetto dello studio, come il Daylight Factor medio [%] e il fattore di uniformita, richiedano una applicazione critica e mirata, affinche possano fornire un quadro qualitativo completo delle condizioni reali dell’ambiente. Frequentemente, a causa di alcuni gradi di liberta all’interno degli intervalli di accettabilita definiti dalla normativa, la descrizione, comune…

Artificial neural network decision support tool for assessment of the energy performance and the refurbishment actions for the non-residential building stock in Southern Italy

The public buildings sector represents one of the most intensive items of EU energy consumption; the application of retrofit solutions in existing buildings is a crucial way to reduce its impact. To facilitate the knowledge of the energy performance of existing non-residential buildings and the choice of the more adequate actions, Public Administrations (PA) should have the availability of proper tools. Within the Italian project "POI 2007-13", a database and a decision support tool, for easy use, even to a non-technical user, have been developed. A large set of data, obtained from the energy audits of 151 existing public buildings located in four regions of South Italy have been analysed, …

Thermal Parameters Measurements of High-Rise Building Envelope

In buildings, to ensure the thermal comfort of the occupants and to keep the energy consumption as low as possible, a correct design of the thermal system is necessary. To do so, an appropriate determination of the thermo-physical properties of the wall materials is needed, particularly; new light-weight building technologies are widely used in the construction of the building envelope. One of these parameters, particularly important in Mediterranean climatic dynamic conditions is the heat capacity, due to the presence of the sun’s energy contribution in hot and cold seasons. The value of the heat capacity in such like materials is typically quite different from the declared parameter, obta…

Thermal characterization of insulating materials

Abstract The strict energy saving standards are based on the declared values of the materials, i.e. U-value, thermal conductivity or thermal capacity. To this end, proper knowledge of the thermophysical properties of the wall components is needed, especially with regard to new lightweight technologies that are being used in building construction/refurbishment, under the dynamic conditions of the Mediterranean climate, where one of most important parameters of building materials is their heat capacity because of the influence of solar radiation energy. With this regard, the actual heat capacity value, obtained in laboratory tests, is typically quite different from the nominal one. So, this p…

Indagine sulle condizioni del microclima luminoso di una sala lettura. Un approccio multidisciplinare.

A survey on energy performance of the non-residential public building stock in Southern Italy; toward a decision support tool for refurbishment actions

The public buildings sector represents one of the most intensive items of EU energy consumption; the application of retrofit solutions in existing buildings is a crucial way to reduce its impact. To facilitate the knowledge of the energy performance of the existing non-residential buildings and the choice of the more adequate actions, Public Administrations (PA) should have the availability of proper tools. Within the Italian project “POI 2007-13”, a database and a decision support tool, for easy use, even to a non-technical user, have been developed. A large set of data, obtained from the energy audits of 151 existing public buildings located in four regions of South of Italy have been ana…

Vernacular and bioclimatic architecture and indoor thermal comfort implications in hot-humid climates: An overview

Abstract Sustainable urban development, especially in disadvantaged regions, has increasingly gained a major strategic priority. New settlements and urban regeneration programs have to achieve an improvement of social life quality, promote economic growth and increase environmental protection practices and proper use of local resources. In this framework, building environment development must exploit natural resources with responsible approach by using local materials and traditional techniques. In this end, indoor comfort and energy consumption have to match the territories needs. Low energy and passive heating/cooling techniques should be considered as a valid option in many building proj…

Sustainable lighting design through the analysis of spatial and time non-uniformities in natural lighting with the metric of the information theory

The indoor visual comfort of subjects faced with indoor ambient lighting varies with the position of the subject and is not constant over time. Average performance indexes, such as the mean value of Daylight Factor and Daylight Autonomy, are commonly used to analyse lighting distribution. These indexes, however, don’t properly take into account either the spatial or the time distribution of values affecting the non-uniformity of environmental lighting. Indeed, these are limited to the definition of a mean value or to the assessment of time availability of daylighting. This paper examines spatial and temporal non-uniformities in indoor lighting as possible causes of discomfort for occupants.…

Is the NZEB Benchmarking Approach Suitable for Assessing Energy Retrofit Design?

Currently, many effort have been done to enable energy saving issues in building design and many definitions have been introduced for most performing constructions based on energy balance between energy demand and supply. Recently, the Net Zero Energy Building theory has bypassed old Passive House concept but many questions still remain open. Present work aims to estimate how NZEB requirements matching could be affected by the choice of their definition and the choice of weighting factor system, to be count in the energy balance. NZEB concept is mainly referred to new buildings design. Its application to existing buildings is for sure an hard task provided the architecture and physical cons…

Qualità ambientale ed energetica nella riqualificazione edilizia. ZEN2 e borgo Ulivia: una proposta metodologica

Il comfort termico e visivo negli spazi abitati da persone con disagi pschici

Indoor Environmental Quality Survey: A Brief Comparison between Different Post Occupancy Evaluation Methods

Building occupants are important factor in giving information on indoor conditions such as comfort, productivity, building performance and occupants ́ health. Even that, being their appraisal mainly based on subjective judgments, it is difficult to set up a standard and objective method for this purpose. The present work aimed to describe, analyze and compare the most common tests on this topic, in order to highlight critical, failings and strengths.

Energy and economic analysis and feasibility of retrofit actions in Italian residential historical buildings

Abstract The application of retrofit actions to existing building stocks can improve the energy performance of the residential sector. In this context, particular attention should be given to historical buildings, which represent a large part of the Italian building stock. To improve the energy performance of them, adequate retrofit actions must be applied. Many studies and regulations have focused on identifying the best refurbishment measures. However, the selection of these measures is difficult due to restrictive regulations, which are dictated by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, high retrofit costs, and variable climate zones. Thus, energy renovations in Italian buildi…

RESEARCH ON MICROCLIMATE LIGHT CONDITIONS IN A SCHOLASTIC ENVIRONMENT, BASED ON ADAPTIVE MODEL

This paper shows the results of a deep research, carried out on a scholastic setting and based on a questionnaire, to evaluate the light microclimate and the satisfaction degree of the users. Through simulations, we have previously identified a number of classrooms where the conditions could be critical, both in terms of over-lightning, glare and disrespected values (suggested by the current normative). The proposed method consist in using device-made-surveys, a simulation software and questionnaires submission to users of the studied rooms. The questionnaires, based on an adaptive model, has been developed to detect subjective data (place, visus…) and other information about the setting an…

A smart lighting network design for urban rehabilitation and environmental sustainability: A case study of Bagheria

The concept of smart cities, smart services, and smart grids has gained wide international attention in the last few years. The case study, Bagheria, Italy, is an urban area where many old buildings from the 18th century exist, hidden by the chaotic growth of the new city.Thus, the present paper addresses a project for lighting a town in Italy that aims to reduce energy consumption by using efficient lamps and control systems, to make the network useful for many purposes by integrating the ICT and to provide a new identity to the older part of the city by using new technologies and design concepts. A brand new multifunctional modular fixture called the StairLight is designed. The results sh…

Assessment of the Entropy of Spatial and Time Distributions of Rooms Daylighting: A Possible Tool for a Sustainable Design

The indoor visual comfort of subjects faced with indoor ambient lighting varies with the position of the subject and is not constant over time. Average performance indexes, such as the mean value of Daylight Factor and Daylight Autonomy, are commonly used to analyse lighting distribution. These indexes, however, don’t properly take into account either the spatial or the time distribution of values affecting the non-uniformity of environmental lighting. Indeed, these are limited to the definition of a mean value or to the assessment of time availability of daylighting. This paper examines spatial and temporal non-uniformities in indoor lighting as possible causes of discomfort for occupants.…

Comfort Abitativo e retrofit energetico nel quartiere ZEN2 di Palermo: Strategie attuabili per il miglioramento delle condizioni interne attraverso l’utilizzo di tecnologie passive

Il lavoro ha come oggetto lo studio delle condizioni abitative e le prestazioni energetiche di un esempio di edilizia residenziale convenzionata alla periferia della città di Palermo. È stata analizzata un’Insula del quartiere residenziale ZEN2. Lo studio ha riguardato l’analisi dell’involucro edilizio, con attenzione per le stratigrafie materiche delle strutture opache e trasparenti e delle relative tecnologie realizzative. Successivamente è stato effettuato un approfondito studio sugli ombreggiamenti e sulla radiazione solare incidente. All’analisi dell’involucro è seguita quella alla scala degli alloggi, dei quali è stata costituita una schedatura i cui dati identificativi si basano sull…

Thermo-hygrometric comfort in the lecture hall of a library: methodology and experimental evidence.

The present study verifies the thermo hygrometric comfort conditions in subjects of a university library users, evaluating the differences and peculiarities in the data collected at the measurement campaign. Particularities of the investigation is the period studied concerning the time frame of the Middle season, which is not expected to power the air conditioning systems. Based on assumptions on the thermal resistance of clothing in the spring and the metabolic type of subjects, the environmental parameters were monitored in some work position in the reading hall in the library of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Palermo. The article presents analyses of the measure…

Improvement of energy efficiency and quality of street lighting in South Italy as an action of Sustainable Energy Action Plans. The case study of Comiso (RG)

Abstract Existing street lighting systems, in most of South Italy cities, are often inefficient due to the obsolescence of lamps and luminaires and of ineffective light control systems unable to implement efficient on-off and dimming strategies. Energy efficiency improvement, in street lighting systems, is often one of the key actions to be adopted by Public Administration in their Sustainable Energy Action Plan in the framework of the “Covenant of Majors” activities. As a task of FACTOR 20 project, a set of planning options has been analysed and proposed. Particularly, street lighting efficiency projects have been studied for representative case studies. A detailed survey of the public lig…

Overgrid: A Fully Distributed Demand Response Architecture Based on Overlay Networks

In this paper, we present Overgrid, a fully distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture designed to automatically control and implement distributed demand response (DR) schemes in a community of smart buildings with energy generation and storage capabilities. As overlay networks in communications establish logical links between peers regardless of the physical topology of the network, the Overgrid is able to apply some power balance criteria to its system of buildings, as they belong to a virtual microgrid, regardless of their physical location. We exploit an innovative distributed algorithm, called flow updating, for monitoring the power consumption of the buildings and the number of nodes…

A Sustainable and Zero Energy Healthcare Facility in Mozambique

Sustainable urban development, especially in economically disadvantaged regions, has increasingly become a major strategic priority. New settlements and urban regeneration programs have to improve the quality of social life, promote economic growth, increase environmental protection practices, and ensure the appropriate use of local resources. In that framework, a well-structured healthcare service is commonly conceived as vital for urban development. In response, this paper proposes the construction of one such healthcare facility in a deprived urban area in Maputo, Mozambique. Prioritising typical pillars of sustainability, the project’s design considers traditional building typology and …

The new building regulation plan schema in the town of Castelbuono (Sicily): the experience of FACTOR20- LIFE+ project

The LIFE+ Programme is the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE+ is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value. In the framework of LIFE+, the project “Forwarding demonstrative ACTions On a Regional and local scale (FACTOR20) to reach EU targets of the European Plan 20/20/20” was founded by European Commission. FACTOR20 is aimed to define a set of tools to support the planning of regional and national policies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and for the reduction of energy consumption. The know…

Aspects and issues of daylighting assessment: A review study

Abstract Proper assessment of indoor daylighting conditions can significantly reduce energy consumption due to artificial lighting and can improve indoor visual comfort. This paper gives a critical review of the fundamental aspects of daylighting indices with the aim to provide a broad overview of methods and indices available to assess daylighting from varying points of view. Assessments cover distribution, availability over time and in specific climatic contexts, uniformity in the space, visual comfort issues and the relations between each of these aspects and a proper building and lighting design. A special focus on the assessment of indoor spatial and temporal uniformity is given. An an…

Proposte per il risparmio energetico negli edifici pubblici: Edificio 16 di Parco D'Orleans

Obiettivo dello studio è di valutare le condizioni microclimatiche all’interno di alcuni ambienti di un edificio scolastico esistente e di elaborare una proposta di soluzioni per la riqualificazione energetica dell’edificio. La ricerca riguarda l’edificio della Facoltà di Biologia dell’Università di Palermo, il cui progetto è stato sviluppato dal gruppo Vittorio Gregotti & Associati nella prima metà degli anni ‘70. L’attenzione è concentrata sull’analisi delle condizioni microclimatiche e sulla riduzione dei consumi energetici del Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e dello Sviluppo. Si è proceduto ad una classificazione degli ambienti occupati, al fine di individuare ed indagare quattro tip…

Energy retrofit actions on Italian historical buildings: energy efficiency and feasibility. A review study.

Today in EU, the growth in global primary energy consumption is decreasing. In 2014, Italy contributed with a global reduction of 17.1%, thanks to the application of EU measures on different areas. However, there is still much work to be done in order to make sustainable societies and territories, especially in buildings sector that has the greatest potentiality of energy saving. In particular, in the framework of Conservation, Restoration, Refurbishment, and Retrofit actions, the debate is still open, because many aspects must be considered and solved yet. In this paper, the state of the art of the Italian residential building heritage has been reviewed, applicable energy retrofit issues a…

A laboratory setup for the evaluation of the effects of BACS and TBM systems on lighting

The paper focuses on the evaluation of the impact of Building Automation Control Systems (BACS) and Technical Building Management (TBM) systems on the performance of the lighting system in a residential building. In particular, this work shows a laboratory setup, installed at the DEIM of the University of Palermo, for simulating a typical apartment. The paper describes the laboratory, the lighting system and the BAC system installed and the test facility for evaluating the electricity consumption in presence and in absence of automation. The laboratory has been built within a research project funded by the Italian Minister of University and Research in the framework of the PON Smart Cities …

Assessment of the renewable energy production in a historical building for a touristic intended use: a technical-economic feasibility study

This column deals about a study based on technical and economical feasibility of a combination of technologies and systems for energy production concerning electric, heating and cooling to install on a building in the historic centre of a Sicilian city (Italy). After a functional review and an energetic evaluation, the building will have a hotel destination. A first evaluation, made on a model set with the geometrical, thermo-physical and climatic data both of the building and the place, allowed to make a dynamic simulation to define the energetic monthly needs. The evaluation has been done considering different solutions and technologies. With the collected data we supposed a first sizing …

Smart lighting in a historic context: a case study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address a project for lighting an old town in Italy. Its originality lies in the holistic approach that aims to fulfil several objectives. One is to reduce energy consumption by using efficient lamps and advanced control systems; the second one is to make the network viable and useful for many purposes by integrating ICT devices; the third one is to provide a new identity to the older part of the city by using new technologies and design concepts; while the last one is to ensure street and pedestrian safety according to codes and standards. Design/methodology/approach The plan of the city of Bagheria and the stock of luminaires of the city are analys…

Regional policies for sustainability in the Mediterranean countries: the role of a proper HVAC system maintenance in museums

Italy, like several Mediterranean countries, holds a very large number of cultural artifacts that are often exhibited and saved inside museums. Museums are usually part of historical buildings that, not rarely, originally had a different intended use and that have been currently transformed in place for conservation and for exhibition of works of art. The use of historical buildings as museums leads to limitations in the management and distribution of exhibition space, in design and managing HVAC systems and in the achievement of targets relating to the continuous monitoring of the microclimate for people comfort and for preservation of works of art. Moreover, the costs of the operation and…