A set of indices to assess the real performance of daylight-linked control systems

Abstract The installation of Building Automation Control Systems (BACs) in general is an effective action to achieve relevant energy savings. Commercial BACs, installed in residential or small offices, often include functions of lighting control, acting as Daylight-Linked Control Systems (DLCSs). Nevertheless, because system performance is strictly dependent on different parameters, BAC’s hardware and software configuration and as well as an inaccurate commissioning do not always allow a perfect execution of the desired tasks; therefore, the system could not work as expected. Moreover, it is well known that energy saving potential is specifically related to the variability of the light envi…

Open cycles: Solid and Liquid based Desiccant Systems

Valutazioni energetiche ed economiche relative all’utilizzo di un sistema frigorifero ad assorbimento alimentato da collettori parabolici

Biogas and electrical power cogeneration through anaerobic digestion of vegetable residual from tomato greenhouse cultivation

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…

Environmental effects of the Sicilian Energy Policy

Innovative compact solar air conditioner based on fixed and cooled adsorption beds and wet exchangers

LCA of a solar heating and cooling system equipped with a small water–ammonia absorption chiller

The development of renewable energy technologies is a critical tool for reducing climate change and the reliance on fossil fuels. However, renewable energy technologies cannot be considered totally clean because they require energy consumption and have environmental impacts that cannot be neglected during their life cycle. In this paper, the life cycle assessment methodology was applied to assess resource use and other environmental burdens related to the entire life-cycle steps of a solar cooling plant. The investigated system works with an absorption chiller assisted by a solar plant. Two back-up configurations (hot back-up and cold back-up) were examined in two localities: Palermo (south…

Decision making in energy planning: The electre multicriteria analysis approach compared to a fuzzy-sets methodology

Every planning activity generally requires to make some choices. After a preliminary analysis of the sector under examination, a forecast of trends of input-output items, the planner must define an action plan voted to arrange all the strategies and specific interventions able to fit demand and supply during the planned time. The redaction of an action plan implies a strong effort in order to synthesize either suggestions coming from the analysis phases either all the constraints linked to technical choices. In the same time, a large number of "external" variables plays a role in orienting decision making. Some of these can be handled by numerical models (economic cost-benefit analyses, mar…

Special Issue “Smart Urban Lighting Systems”

The design and operation of multifunctional infrastructures for public lighting as well as their impact on the urban environment and citizens’ life is today of great interest. The cost of energy for public lighting is often an issue for the budget of municipalities. Furthermore, researchers’ and designers’ attention is increasingly focused on aspects of public lighting not directly valuable through economic factors. Starting from the “quality” of the light environment, looking at citizens’ visual comfort, the light has to be considered as an instrument to improve the urban context and objects therein (including buildings). Indeed, urban degradation (lack of infrastructures, maintenance, ser…

Heat driven cooling technologies: open clycle systems”, in Solar Cooling Handbook: A guide to solar assisted cooling and dehumidification processes

Colours and building thermal balance: the impact of coating colour on energy loads

“Analisi del ciclo di vita applicata alla produzione delle tegole “coppi siciliani”: confronto tra due processi produttivi”

Solar-assisted heat pumps systems for domestic hot water production in small energy communities

Abstract The paper investigates the energy performances of several configurations of solar-assisted heat pumps equipped with photovoltaic (PV) and photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panels as well as solar thermal collectors for domestic hot water production. The systems are sized to serve small aggregates of users assumed as micro energy communities in low housing density context in the South of Italy. Electricity storages are also considered to smooth the interaction with the electric grid. Several indices are defined and calculated to guide toward a correct sizing, to check users’ satisfaction and to assess primary energy savings. The results show how the energy consumption from the analysed sys…

Innovative Compact Solar Air Conditioner based on Fixed and Cooled Adsorption Beds and Wet Heat Exchangers

Abstract In this work, a new all-in-one compact solar air conditioner concept is presented. The system is mainly based on a new DEC process which utilises fixed and cooled adsorption beds operating in a batch process and two wet heat exchangers. The proposed innovative adsorption bed is a fin and tube heat exchanger commonly used in the air conditioning sector, wherein the spaces between the fins are filled with silica gel grains. The main feature of this component is to allow simultaneous dehumidification and cooling of air. Furthermore, since the component hosts a considerable amount of adsorption material, solar energy can be efficiently stored in the desiccant media in terms of accumula…

Estimation of wind velocity over a complex terrain using the Generalized Mapping Regressor

Abstract Wind energy evaluation is an important goal in the conversion of energy systems to more environmentally friendly solutions. In this paper, we present a novel approach to wind speed spatial estimation on the isle of Sicily (Italy): an incremental self-organizing neural network (Generalized Mapping Regressor – GMR) is coupled with exploratory data analysis techniques in order to obtain a map of the spatial distribution of the average wind speed over the entire region. First, the topographic surface of the island was modelled using two different neural techniques and by exploiting the information extracted from a digital elevation model of the region. Then, GMR was used for automatic …

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…

Prospettive di sviluppo degli impianti solari termici

L'utilizzo dell'energia solare nel riscaldamento e nel raffrescamento degli edifici - Stato dell’arte, criteri di dimensionamento e potenzialità a scala regionale

Solar desiccant cooling system operating in Palermo (Italy): results and validation of simulation models

La climatizzazione estiva degli edifici con l'impiego di energia solare. Criteri di ottimizzazione progettuale nelle applicazioni in area Mediterranea

Second Generation of Freescoo Solar DEC Prototypes for Residential Applications

Freescoo is an innovative all-in-one compact solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) air conditioner concept. Results of the first prototype developed were presented at SHC Conference last year. Now a second generation of freescoo prototypes for applications in residential and small office buildings have been installed in Italy at ENEA Casaccia and at UNIPA. The thermodynamic cycle is based on the use of fixed and cooled adsorption beds and advanced evaporative cooling concepts. The adsorption bed, which is a fin and tube heat exchanger packed with silica gel grains, allows simultaneous dehumidification and cooling of the process air. The indirect evaporative cooling process, operated dow…

Short-term prediction of household electricity consumption: assessing weather sensitivity in a Mediterranean area

Abstract Urban microclimatic variations, along with a rapid reduction of unit cost of air-conditioning (AC) equipments, can be addressed as some of the main causes of the raising residential energy demand in the more developed countries. This paper presents a forecasting model based on an Elman artificial neural network (ANN) for the short-time prediction of the household electricity consumption related to a suburban area. Due to the lack of information about the real penetration of electric appliances in the investigated area and their utilization profiles it was not possible to implement a statistical model to define the weather and climate sensitivities of appliance energy consumption. F…

Use of finite element models for estimating thermal performance of façade-integrated solar thermal collectors

Abstract Research on building-integrated solar thermal collectors is attracting increasingly more interest. Many efforts have been focused at the design level for obtaining specific building-orientated products, but there is a significant lack of standardised methods for evaluating how the efficiency of solar collectors changes when a wall is an integral part of the solar component itself. Generally speaking, experimental tests on integrated components are not easy to realise and are, in any case, expensive in terms of time and money. Physical and numerical methods can be utilised, but at the moment, there is no common approach. The present work addresses a method for the calculation of a b…

Analisys on the feasibility to modulate lighting systems load: the case study of Palermo

The feasibility to shift and/or modulating the loads that characterize buildings can be useful to improve the performance of smart grids. As known, it is not possible to shift in the time the operating time of the lighting system, but it is possible to modulate the needed electric power. In this paper, the first set of data and a preliminary analysis conducted in the Solarlab of the University of Palermo are presented. The innovative lighting system was designed, sized and installed with the aim of evaluating the consumption of an island user that can be controlled by the DSO or an aggregator. In order to do this, the lighting system load was modulated by applying different strategies: vary…

Metodi di certificazione a punteggio

ENERGY AND ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF A SOLAR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION PLANT IN A FISH PROCESSING FACTORY: A CASE STUDY IN SICILY

VILLE DE BORDEAUX EVOLUTION DES PETITES UNITES D'HABITATION BORDELAIS CAS N° 2

Numerical evaluation on performances of AHU equipped with a cross flow heat exchanger in wet and dry operation

Abstract In this paper the comparison between the performance of a cross flow heat exchanger in wet and dry operation for air handling process has been investigated. In addition, a case study of application of the component to perform indirect evaporative cooling in a AHU was studied with the software TRNSYS.Using experimental data and an appropriate analytical method, energy saving performances of the system has been evaluated through the entire cooling season for a typical Mediterranean site. Results show that high energy saving potential can be obtained if the component is operated in wet operation in term of reduction of electricity consumption.

THE POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN SICILY FOR WATER DESALINATION APPLICATIONS

VALUTAZIONI ENERGETICHE ED ECONOMICHE RELATIVE ALL’UTILIZZO DI UN SISTEMA FRIGORIFERO AD ASSORBIMENTO ALIMENTATO DA COLLETTORI PARABOLICI IN SOSTITUZIONE DI UN SISTEMA FRIGORIFERO CONVENZIONALE A COMPRESSIONE DI VAPORE

Usi energetici dei residui agricoli della coltivazione cerealicola in associazione con colture no food di rotazione: un caso studio nel Comprensorio Madonita mediante GIS

Energy performances and life cycle assessment of an Italian wind farm

Abstract Renewable energy sources are often presented as “ clean ”. A more correct definition is that they are “cleaner” than ones based on fossil fuel conversion. When the energy consumption and the environmental impacts related to the plant's life-cycle are considered, a more comprehensive assessment of these technologies can be carried out. This paper aims to evaluate the energy and the environmental performances of the electricity production of a wind farm. The impacts related to all the phases of the wind farm construction and operation have been compared to the environmental benefits due to the “green” electricity generation during its useful life. In other terms, the goal is to trace…

Experimental investigation on a mobile house supplied via a hybrid pv and wind energy source

“A proposal of guidelines for energy certification of the Mediterranean building typologies: the Life project “Sun&Wind”;

“UPDATE ON DESICCANT WHEEL MODEL”.

The paper present the update on the desiccant wheel models, developed earlier by the authors

Energy, economic and environmental analysis on RET-hydrogen systems in residential buildings

The aim of this study was to analyze energy, economic and environmental performances of a set of scenarios dealing with the production and the use of hydrogen as energy carriers in residential applications in combination with renewable energy (RE). The authors also made an investigation into the required economic conditions necessary for making H2–RE residential systems competitive with conventional ones, which are based on the use of grid electricity and natural gas. A case study was enacted in a small residential district in Palermo (Italy) made by five multi-storey buildings. Many energy systems have been considered according to several fuel-device combinations (electric grid, fuel cell,…

Desiccant cooling simulation and design in Matlab/Simlink environment: implementation and validation of the model

Energy performance improvements of a DEC system due to wet heat exchangers

This work concerns an innovative desiccant and evaporative cooling (DEC) system for building air conditioning. The original system is an experimental DEC air handling unit installed at the Solar Laboratory of the University of Palermo and recently modified and updated. With the aim to increase the cooling effect due to water evaporation in the return air flow rate, the sensible heat exchanger was replaced with two cross flow flat plate heat exchangers installed in series, with continuous humidification of the secondary air flow. The new thermodynamic cycle is theoretically described and the realization of the real application is shown. Detailed operational data and energy performance indica…

Methods to Predict Energy Use for Lighting Systems: An Overview and an Application on a Real Case Study

The study of Demand Response strategies application is widely related to the evaluation of the energy consumption. It is fundamental to optimize the design and management of the plants in the smart buildings. During the design steps, it is necessary to predict the above-mentioned energy consumption. This paper reviews some methods that can be applied to predict energy consumption related to lighting systems. In particular, three categories of methods have been analysed: methods proposed by technical standards, methods based on mathematical indices for daylight assessment, and methods based on simulation models. These methods have been described and applied by calculating the energy consumpt…

Experimental validation of the BAC factor method for lighting systems

In the last few years, many buildings have been equipped with Building Automation and Control (BAC) systems. BAC systems can be used to achieve a significant reduction of the electrical consumption and to have all the well acknowledged benefits from the daylight (e.g. occupant comfort, health, well-being and productivity). For this reason, Standard EN 15232 "Energy performance of buildings — Impact of Building Automation, Controls and Building Management" puts into evidence the importance of the presence of BAC and Technical Building Management (TBM) systems, suggests a classification of these systems, explains their main functionalities and presents a simplified method to estimate their im…

Update on desiccant wheel model

This short communication presents the update on the desiccant wheel models, developed earlier by the present authors. It is to be mentioned here that the psycrometric model presented earlier (Int. J. Energy Res., 2003; 27:17) is valid only for the desiccant wheel running with identical volume air-flows in supply and regeneration sides. However, when system runs with volume air flow ratio between supply and regeneration side (α), different from 1 (one), the model need further modifications. In the present work, correction factors were developed and incorporated in order to update the earlier model for predicting correctly the temperature and humidity of processed air at the outlet of desicca…

A solar assisted seasonal borehole thermal energy system for a non-residential building in the Mediterranean area

Abstract Solar heating and cooling systems are reliable and feasible solutions among renewable energy technologies. Indeed, solar thermal devices help reduce primary energy consumption and can reduce electricity demand, thus representing one of the best options for satisfying heating and/or cooling energy supply. The Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) represents one of the best promising option among the various storage technologies, because the size of the storage can be easily extended by drilling additional boreholes and simply connecting the pipes to the existing boreholes; the overall energy efficiency of this system is about 40–60%. In this paper, the authors present an applicatio…

Solar heating and cooling systems versus conventional systems assisted by photovoltaic: Application of a simplified LCA tool

Abstract Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an effective methodology to assess the energy and environmental impacts of energy systems during their life cycle, including manufacturing, operation and end-of-life. The aim of the paper is the application of a simplified LCA tool, developed in the framework of the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Task 48, for comparing different typologies of solar assisted heating and cooling systems. In detail, solar thermal heating and cooling systems located in Palermo (southern Italy) and in Zurich (Switzerland) were compared with conventional systems assisted by grid connected and stand-alone photovoltaic plants. A validation of the tool w…

A Survey on Daylighting Education in Italian Universities : Knowledge of Standards, Metrics and Simulation Tools

Daylighting is a strategic topic to achieve sustainable buildings, so it is more and more imperative that it is implemented in architecture curricula to prepare a new generation of daylighting-oriented practitioners. In this frame, the DAYKE project (Daylight Knowledge in Europe) was set up to explore the level of knowledge about daylighting among European professionals and students. DAYKE-Europe was replicated as DAYKE-Italy to study the knowledge of daylight standards, metrics and software among Italian architecture students, and to compare it to that observed within DAYKE-Europe. A sample of 542 questionnaires were collected in five universities. Primary outcomes were: (i) a general low …

A simple tool for life cycle assessment of solar heating and cooling systems

-The assessment of energy and environmental performances of energy conversion systems can be carried out following a life cycle approach, by including the raw materials supply, the production of the plant, the operation and maintenance, and the end-of-life. The paper presents a user-friendly LCA tool for assessing the energy and environmental impacts of solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems following the life cycle approach. The tool was developed within the Task 48 “Quality Assurance & Support Measures for Solar Cooling Systems” of the International Energy Agency and can be used to support researchers, designer and decision-makers to understand the real benefits of SHC technology in …

NEW DEC OPEN CYCLE FOR AIR CONDITIONING BASED ON FIXED COOLED ADSORPTION BEDS AND WET HEAT EXCHANGERS

In this work, a new solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) concept is presented. In the proposed system, two fixed packed desiccant beds of silica gel, operating in a batch process, are used as an alternative solution to the common adsorption rotor for dehumidifying outside air. As well known, adsorption heat due to water condensation considerably reduces the dehumidification capacity of the desiccant material, causing inefficiencies in performance. The aim of the work is to overcome the mentioned intrinsic thermodynamic limit of the adsorption rotor technology. The proposed core component is a fin and tube heat exchanger, commonly used in several air conditioning applications, wherein t…

Experimental Set up of Advanced Lighting Systems for Load Shifting Strategies

Shiftable and modulable loads are an essential part of smart grids in the effort for improving the efficiency of the power system and providing new ancillary services. Most of the researches considered shiftable loads and the impact on the power grid. Smart lighting systems are able to modulate their consumption while preserving the visual duty, therefore they can take part to this action. In this context, this paper presents an advanced experimental setup implemented in the SolarLab of the University of Palermo, with the aim of studying the impact on the end-user's energy consumption and on the power grid of smart lighting systems. In this light, different control strategies will be consid…

Efficientamento energetico di utenze domestiche nelle isole minori italiane

L’articolo tratta l’efficientamento energetico nel settore residenziale delle piccole isole non connesse alla rete di trasmissione elettrica nazionale. L’analisi ha riguardato un’utenza tipo dell’Isola di Lampedusa, individuata sulla base dei dati statistici ISTAT, di cui sono stati acquisiti i dati di consumo da bolletta e monitorati i consumi elettrici al fine di selezionare gli interventi di retrofit più adeguati. Fra questi vi sono: la sostituzione degli scalda-acqua elettrici esistenti e il ricorso a tecnologie di Building Automation Control system (BACs) per la gestione dell’impianto di illuminazione e di altri carichi elettrici flessibili. La valutazione dei risparmi conseguibili è s…

Dynamic Lighting Strategies with Load Modulation Purposes to Reduce Peak Electrical Demand

This paper proposes a study about the feasibility to modulate the indoor artificial lighting, taking into account both achievable energy savings and comfort conditions, in order to reduce lighting electric loads. In particular, it focuses on the possibility, on one hand, to decrease the luminous flux and, on the other hand, to change the Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT), in order to decrease the absorbed power. Moreover, the impact of daylight-linked control systems was considered. Finally, the possibility to combine the different technical solutions was analysed. The paper proposes the definition of daily scheduling referred to lighting energy management, in order to modulate the maximu…

Solar Cooling

Solar Energy in Sicily and the Regional Energy Master Plan: lessons learnt and proposal for future policies

Monitoring of a solar desiccant cooling system in Palermo (italy). First results and test planning

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, …

Technical‐economic evaluation of the effectiveness of measures applied to the artificial lighting system of a school

Ensuring optimum interior lighting is a topic of great importance, as this influences not only the well-being of users but also the optimal performance of visual tasks. Lighting can be natural, but if not sufficient, it can be compensated with artificial lighting. This study highlights a methodology for designing a new lighting system that takes into account both technical and economic aspects. The method was applied to an existing school located in southern Italy, in which the electricity consumption is related to the current lighting system. The school is chosen as being representative of the construction type and layout of many local schools. In addition, the coexistence of several visua…

Assessment of bioenergy potential in Sicily: a GIS-based support methodology

Abstract A Geographical Information System (GIS) supported methodology has been developed in order to assess the technical and economic potential of biomass exploitation for energy production in Sicily. The methodology was based on the use of agricultural, economic, climatic, and infrastructural data in a GIS. Data about land use, transportation facilities, urban cartography, regional territorial planning, terrain digital model, lithology, climatic types, and civil and industrial users have been stored in the GIS to define potential areas for gathering the residues coming from the pruning of olive groves, vineyards, and other agricultural crops, and to assess biomass available for energy cu…

The use of hydrogen in residential sector: Economic aspects and environmental benefits

Nuove configurazioni del vetromattone. Simulazioni dinamiche per la valutazione delle prestazioni ottiche e termiche

Il vetromattone, se convenientemente “modificato”, può possedere valori di trasmittanza termica sufficientemente bassi da divenire “ammissibili” in tutte le zone climatiche d’Italia, in relazione alla legislazione vigente in tema di rendimento energetico degli edifici. Anche le prestazioni ottiche, misurate mediante i valori del fattore solare e della trasmissione luminosa del visibile, possono essere opportunamente diversificate per soddisfare specifici requisiti derivabili da differenti applicazioni in varie tipologie di edifici. Nell’articolo viene mostrato come è possibile ottenere questi risultati adottando una speciale “cintura termica” ed inserendo nell’intercapedine del vetromattone…

La LCA di sistemi solari per il condizionamento

L'edilizia è uno dei settori più rilevanti in termini di produzione di ricchezza e di occupazione, ma è anche responsabile di significati consumi di risorse naturali e impatti ambientali. SI stima, infatti, che nell'Unione Europea l'edilizia sia responsabile del 50/60 % del consumo di risorse naturali, e tali percentuali difficilmente decresceranno senza l'avvio di strategie e azioni orientate alla riduzione dei consumi di combustibili fossili e all'aumento dell'impiego delle risorse rinnovabili.

Energy and environmental life-cycle impacts of solar-assisted systems: The application of the tool “ELISA”

Abstract Solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems can be relevant in the achievement of energy and climate European goals. The benefits of these technologies should be evaluated taking into account their life-cycle energy and environmental impacts, calculated by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The development of a complete LCA can be difficult and time-consuming particularly for non-experts in LCA, discouraging them in developing the life-cycle assessments. To overcome this issue, the paper presents “ELISA - Environmental Lifecycle Impacts of Solar Air-conditioning systems”, a user-friendly simplified tool for estimating the life-cycle energy and environmental benefits/impacts of s…

Analisi statistica dei regimi di vento e di producibilità di un impianto eolico sito in Sicilia. Stima di previsione della producibilità eolica attraverso reti neurali

Analisi energetica in regime dinamico. Software per la simulazione energetica in regime dinamico

Decision-making in energy planning. Application of the Electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology

The authors show an application of the multicriteria decision-making methodology used to assess an action plan for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies at regional scale. This methodological tool gives the decision-maker considerable help in the selection of the most suitable innovative technologies in the energy sector, according to preliminary fixed objectives. In this paper, a case study is carried out for the island of Sardinia. This region presents, on one hand, a high potential for energy resources exploitation, but on the other hand, it represents a specific case among other Italian regions, because of its socio-economic status and history. Three decision scenarios have bee…

Building energy certification in Italy

Il binomio energia rinnovabile-idrogeno per il fabbisogno energetico di un complesso residenziale. Valutazioni di carattere tecnico-economico

Studio di fattibilità ed analisi tecnico-economica di un parco eolico per la produzione di elettricità ed idrogeno in un comprensorio montano

A new tool to process forecast meteorological data for atmospheric pollution dispersion simulations of accident scenarios: A Sicily-based case study

Emergency response plans to mitigate the severity of the accidental release of hazardous compounds in the air have become a primary concern in view of the many adverse events occurred over the years in high-risk plants. To do this, an accurate estimate of forecast meteorological data to be used in dispersion models can be very useful to respond in advance to emergency situations. In this field, FORCALM is a new tool developed to elaborate European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts data on a 3D computational domain with a high-resolution grid. FORCALM data can be used to perform predictive simulations of impacts on local and regional levels by using CALPUFF modelling system. A case s…

A Simplified LCA Tool for Solar Heating and Cooling Systems

Abstract This paper presents a user-friendly Life Cycle Assessment tool, which aims to support researchers, designers and decision-makers in evaluating the life cycle energy and environmental advantages related to the use of solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems in substitution of conventional ones, considering specific climatic conditions and building loads. The tool was developed within the Task 48 “Quality Assurance & Support Measures for Solar Cooling Systems”, promoted by the International Energy Agency in the framework of the SHC Programme.

Simplified models for the performance evaluation of desiccant wheel dehumidification

In the present communication, simple models have been presented to evaluate the performance of rotary desiccant wheels based on different kind of solid desiccants e.g. silica gel and LiCl. The first part of the paper presents ‘Model 54’ which is developed for silica gel desiccant rotor. The model has been derived from the interpolation of experimental data obtained from the industry and the correlations have been developed for predicting outlet temperature and absolute humidity. The ‘Model 54’ consists of 54 coefficients corresponding to each correlation for outlet absolute humidity and temperature and it is found that the model predicts very well the performance of silica gel desiccant rot…

“La climatizzazione estiva degli edifici con l’impiego di energia solare. Analisi di un caso studio in area Mediterranea”

Monitoring and energy performance assessment of an advanced DEC HVAC system in Morocco

This work addresses the energy performance of a solar Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling (DEC) system working with the freescoo technology. Freescoo is an innovative solar air conditioning concept for ventilation, cooling, dehumidification and heating of buildings in residential and tertiary sectors. The monitoring of the system started in November 2016 and will continue until the end of 2017. Energy performances are evaluated according to the monitoring procedure for solar cooling systems developed by the Task 38 and 48 of the International Energy Agency experts. The analysis based on monitoring data shows that, for typical operating conditions in cooling mode, the electricity saving in com…

Decision making in energy planning. Application of the electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology

Valorizzazione energetica delle biomasse: un caso studio mediante GIS

A Multifunctional Public Lighting Infrastructure, Design and Experimental Test

Nowadays, the installation of efficient lighting sources and Information and Communications Technologies can provide economic benefits, energy efficiency, and visual comfort requirements. More advantages can be derived if the public lighting infrastructure integrates a smart grid. This study presents an experimental multifunctional infrastructure for public lighting, installed in Palermo. The system is able to provide smart lighting functions (hotspot Wi-Fi, video-surveillances, car and pedestrian access control, car parking monitoring and support for environmental monitoring). A remote control and monitoring platform called “Centro Servizi” processes the information coming from…

On the impact of safety requirements, energy prices and investment costs in street lighting refurbishment design

Abstract Street lighting is an indispensable feature for the night landscape of cities. It is important for road safety, users visual comfort, crime prevention and to augment the perceived personal safety. Realize and maintain an adequate street lighting service is very expensive for municipalities with significant impact on their budgets. For this reason, special attention should be paid to the design of new street lighting systems and to the refurbishment of existing ones, since many of them are inadequate. In light of this it is very important to implement street lighting designs that fulfil lighting requirements avoiding energy waste and light pollution and, at the same time, result eco…

Life Cycle Assessment of a compact Desiccant Evaporative Cooling system: The case study of the “Freescoo”

Abstract The paper aims at exploring the performances of a compact Desiccant Evaporative Cooling system called “Freescoo” (Free Solar Cooling) in comparison to standard conventional technologies. The Freescoo – that aims at applications in the residential sector and in small office buildings and includes a photovoltaic–thermal system – is analyzed, its monitored performance discussed and reported: under cooling conditions an Energy Efficiency Ratio of 12.8 is calculated, that reaches 50.7 if also photovoltaic generation is considered. To assess the performance of the proposed system a Life Cycle Assessment study was performed to investigate the system covering all its life, from the product…

Experimental results on adsorption beds for air dehumidification

Desiccant rotors are commonly used in large scale solar cooling open cycle applications. As is well known, adsorption heat sensibly reduces the dehumidification capacity of the desiccant material and results in lower system performance. The aim of this work is to describe an innovative solution that permits simultaneous mass and heat transfer. In particular, two components working with silica gel fixed beds were studied and compared. The first component is a simple packed bed containing silica gel grains. The second component is a fin and tube heat exchanger commonly used in several air conditioning applications wherein the spaces between the fins are filled with silica gel grains. In this …

Energy saving and user satisfaction for a new advanced public lighting system

Abstract The retrofit of urban lighting systems is often an advantageous means of achieving notable energy savings and improvements in the quality of light. User habits, expectations and lifestyle can contribute to the design of these systems, for example in deciding on the most appropriate control strategies or the light quality. The influence of such variables can be extended to the overall system performance. This paper presents a method of street lighting design based on two kinds of analysis carried out in a defined test area: measurements (by means of a monitoring study) and user preferences (by means of a survey). The results of this data analysis create the basis for the final desig…

Application of adaptive models for the determination of the thermal behaviour of a photovoltaic panel

The use of reliable forecasting models for the PV temperature is necessary for a more correct evaluation of energy and economic performances. Climatic conditions certainly have a remarkable influence on thermo-electric behaviour of the PV panel but the physical system is too complex for an analytical representation. A neural-network-based approach for solar panel temperature modelling is here presented. The models were trained using a set of data collected from a test facility. Simulation results of the trained neural networks are presented and compared with those obtained with an empirical correlation.

UN IMPIANTO SOLAR DESICCANT COOLING A PALERMO. PROGRAMMA DI RICERCA E PRIMI RISULTATI SPERIMENTALI

Assessment of technical and economical potential of biomass exploitation in Sicily – A GIS based methodology

Solar and Heat Pump Systems for Domestic Hot Water Production on a Small Island: The Case Study of Lampedusa

The achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, related to energy and resource use, is a critical issue for small and insulated communities. In many minor islands, solar energy is not correctly exploited, and electrical heaters are connected to weak grids with very a high share of generation by fossil fuels. As a consequence, there is the necessity to assess the potential and the suitability of diffusion of alternative systems to avoid dependency on the electrical grid and reduce carbon emissions. This paper aims to evaluate the technical and economic performances of some alternative systems exploiting renewable energy for domestic hot water production. Four different syste…

Application of Sustainable building indexes in the Mediterranean Constructions

Sizing analysis of interior lighting using tubular daylighting devices

Abstract Daylight access and indoor thermal comfort are key issues for high design level of sustainable buildings. In fact, daylight provides energy savings and visual comfort condition that can foster higher productivity and performance. This paper proposes a case study of sizing of daylight devices for zenith light. It enables the decision-making process of the designer to reach high levels of daylight factor. The proposed method is shown with an example of application. For the case study, a room in south of Italy, 24 different solar tunnels configurations and 12 cases with different number of skylights have been evaluated.

Electricity Consumption Analysis of Tertiary Buildings: An Empirical Approach for Two University Campuses

An empirical approach for the analysis of energy consumption of existing buildings of the tertiary sector is presented in this study. It allowed the organization and management of large amounts of data according to different timeframes and helped to focus on leading issues about energy uses, and dealt with compatibility with tariff structure. The analysis method, which implied a powerful graphical representation of the results, allowed us to detect critical issues in electricity energy management for public buildings and improve their energy performance. Furthermore, the authors proposed a set of electricity consumption indexes (ECIs) that gave useful insight into the main hotspots. The bas…

Empirical BAC factors method application to two real case studies in South Italy

Abstract The application of Building Automation and Control (BAC) systems has many advantages. One of these is the reduction of the end-user electricity consumption and, if applied to lighting systems, the achievement of well-acknowledged benefits from daylight, such as productivity, health, visual comfort and well-being. Concerning the first aspect, the international Standard EN 15232 proposes the so-called BAC Factors (BF) method to assess the impact of BAC systems on the final energy consumption. The method provides a simplified estimation of the energy savings due to automation in buildings and questions arise on its applicability in some situations. For this reason, the authors have ca…

Mapping Seasonal Variability of Buildings Electricity Demand profiles in Mediterranean Small Islands

In communities with a high tourist influx and warm climate, such as Mediterranean small islands, the energy demands for space cooling and domestic hot water are expected to significantly increase during summer. Considering the current energy context, for succeeding energy transition and reducing the dependency on not endogenous fossil fuels, it is paramount to increase the deployment of renewable sources of energy, especially wind and solar which, however, are aleatory and unpredictable. Hence, to reduce the high costs for energy supply in these contexts, the analysis of the variation of energy consumption is fundamental. Moreover, mapping the spatial distribution of energy profiles can be …

Assessing the lighting systems flexibility for reducing and managing the power peaks in smart grids

Abstract The application of “shiftable” or “modulable” load (i.e. washing machine, dishwasher, etc.) in a Smart Grid, can provide energy saving or modify the power flows in the grid, allowing a reduction of the electrical power peak. This paper explores the possibility to modulate the indoor artificial lighting to support this reduction. The study examines the impact of two different measures of power shaving. On the one hand, the change of Correlated Colour Temperature of the light source, and, on the other hand, the dimming of its luminous flux. The possibility to merge the above-mentioned technical solutions is also analyzed. Based on these strategies, several daily schedules of lighting…

Monitoring Results and Energy Performances Evaluation of Freescoo Solar DEC Systems

Abstract This work addresses the energy saving performances of some solar Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling (DEC) systems working with the freescoo technology. The innovative freescoo concept is based on the use two fixed and cooled adsorption beds and advanced indirect evaporative cooling processes. The main feature of this new adsorption bed concept is to allow the simultaneous dehumidification and cooling of air. The systems analyzed have been installed in Italy last here and results based on field monitoring data are here presented. A description of the monitored systems and comparisons between the energy performances based on the main performance indicators such as EER, thermal COP, co…

Il fabbisogno energetico per la climatizzazione estiva degli edifici

The influence of air conditioning systems on the residential electricity consumptions: a neural network application

Energy performance evaluation of a demo solar desiccant cooling system with heat recovery for the regeneration of the adsorption material

Abstract Since July 2008, a Solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) system has been operating as a test plant at the solar laboratory of the Dipartimento di Energia (ex DREAM) of the University of Palermo. The system is composed of an air handling unit (AHU) designed for ventilation of the laboratory coupled with a radiant ceiling that provides most of the required sensible cooling/heating energy. Flat plate collectors deliver part of the regeneration heat of the desiccant wheel during the summertime and are used for space heating during the wintertime. The system was designed for high humidity loads because of the typical climate conditions at the site and the need to support a radiant c…

Energy and Environmental Analysis of an Italian Wind Farm

La Life Cycle Assessment come strumento di supporto per le piccole e medie imprese: un caso studio siciliano

L’Unione Europea mira ad orientare il mercato verso una crescente domanda di prodotti e servizi ecoefficienti ed eco-sostenibili. Le PMI, per essere competitive sul mercato, hanno la necessità di superare il gap tecnologico e di competenze che spesso le caratterizza ed avviare processi produttivi eco-orientati. In tale contesto nasce il Centro di Ricerca Italo-Maltese per la Sostenibilità Ambientale e le Fonti Rinnovabili (CRIM-SAFRI), che si propone di offrire una significativa opportunità di crescita e sviluppo per il tessuto produttivo dell’area del Mediterraneo, contribuire a ridurre i consumi energetici, le emissioni di gas serra e di altre sostanze inquinanti connessi ai processi prod…

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…

Dynamic simulation of a 4th Generation District Heating network with the presence of prosumers

District Heating Network is identified as a promising technology for the decarbonization of urban areas. Thanks to the surplus of heat available from distributed renewable energy plants, a typical heat consumer of the network could become an energy producer during the day (typically referred to as “prosumer”). Models for thermal grids developed during the years usually assumed a centralized heat production. The increasing presence of prosumers will require accurate dynamic modeling to monitor the changes induced in the thermohydraulic variables of the network. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper aims at developing a model of a thermal grid with prosumers in TRNSYS environment. The model …

FREESCOO facade 3.0, a compact DEC thermally driven air-conditioning system for apartments

FREESCOO is an innovative Desiccant Evaporative Cooling air conditioning system designed for ventilation, cooling, dehumidification and heating of buildings in residential and tertiary sectors. This paper presents the third generation of the façade version, which will be tested on field in Milan (Italy) within the Merezzate+ project supported by Climate-KIC. The adsorption bed used by the system is a finned heat exchanger packed with silica gel grains, which allows simultaneous dehumidification and cooling of the process air. The direct evaporative cooling process, operated downstream to the dehumidification, is realized using a rotary plate humidifier. The regeneration of the adsorption be…

Studio di fattibilità di un impianto per la produzione e accumulo di idrogeno da energia eolica per trasporto pubblico urbano nella Sicilia occidentale

Computer model and simulation of a traditional passive cooling ventilation system in a Modern building in Mazara del Vallo (Italy)

Traditional and modern natural ventilation techniques have been integrated in a hybrid system for a retrofitting of public building in the city of Mazara del Vallo (Italy). The hybrid ventilation and air cooling system integrates a wind tower, an indirect evaporative heat exchanger, a ground cooling pipe network and ventilated façade. The first idea was to design a passive cooling system inspired to the typical wind towers of the Middle East, being the area very well ventilated. On the other hand, air humidity in summer is quite high and therefore the effectiveness of indirect evaporative cooling is quite low. For this reason, it was adopted a second passive cooling system consisting in a g…

Building Energy Performance: A LCA Case Study of kenaf-fibres insulation board

Abstract The paper presents a life cycle assessment of a kenaf-fibre insulation board following the international standards of the ISO 14040 series. Each life-cycle step has been checked, from kenaf production and board manufacture by an Italian firm, to use and disposal. The aim is to assess the board eco-profile and to compare, on the basis of a life-cycle approach, the energy and environmental benefits and drawbacks related to its employment into a typical residential dwelling. A comparison among various insulating materials has been carried out. The study focuses also on processes and input materials which cause the main environmental impacts of the product, and points out critical issu…

Wind Energy Potential and its Sustainable Implementation in Sicily - A GIS Based Methodolgy

Assessment of indoor illuminance and study on best photosensors' position for design and commissioning of Daylight Linked Control Systems. A new method based on Artificial Neural Networks

Abstract Artificial lighting systems have to ensure appropriate illuminance with high energy efficiency according to best design practice and technical standards. These aims can be tackled, by incorporating a Daylight linked control system. However, the system behaviour is strongly influenced by several factors and, in particular, by the sensors' position. Indeed, very often the illuminance on work-plane is not fully correlated with illuminance measured by the photo-sensor used to control the luminaires. This fact leads to wrong information for the Daylight linked control systems affecting its efficacy. The artificial intelligence of Neural Networks can be exploited to provide a method for …

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…

Quality Assurance and Support Measures for Solar Cooling on System Level

Abstract Within the IEA SHC Task 48 “Quality assurance and support measures for Solar Cooling” the analysis and evaluation of the systems has been one of the four main focuses. Here the activities are including the lab- and field-based characterization of the systems, the definition and application of performance figures, a guideline for a reliable monitoring procedure including methods for automated error detection and an updated overview on worldwide installed DEC systems including hints and good practice examples. They are furthermore leading to three different easy-to-use tools for solar cooling systems: The LCA tool considers environmental and energetic values for the evaluation, the P…

Method for size optimisation of large wind–hydrogen systems with high penetration on power grids

Wind power generation is growing rapidly in many locations around the world. Power systems are able to absorb large amounts of wind capacity, but operational problems arise when the wind power penetration becomes high. Such factors as voltage dips, frequency variations, low power system stability, low reactive power and power flow imbalances reduce the economic value and represent a barrier to the unlimited development of wind energy. Hydrogen production from wind power that is not matched with hourly electricity demand appears to be an attractive storage option capable of providing a balancing service to the electricity generators and suppliers for mitigation of the negative impacts due to…

Experimental Analysis of Power Quality Issues in a Mobile House supplied by Renewable Energy Sources

This paper presents the results of an experimental analysis performed on a renewable hybrid system in order to evaluate the power quality of its electrical power network, which can be influenced by three factors: the variations in the power supplied by renewable energies due to the meteorological conditions, the adopted inverter and its control strategy, which is very meaningful for the performance of the whole system, the presence of non linear loads, which in recent years have dramatically increased. The results of the experimental analysis of the power quality parameters are presented in detail and investigated also with regard to European technical standards. The main parameters which h…

An empirical approach for ranking environmental and energy saving measures in the hotel sector

The energy demand of the hotel sector of an Italian region is here utilized for hierarchizing, by means of an empirical method, efficient measures devoted to energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions. Due to the large number of consumers present in the selected territorial area and the lack in detailed data, the energy demand assessment is here carried out by the analysis of a sample of representative consumers. A short set of indexes, referring to energy and environmental performances, are defined and calculated for different clusters of hotels, grouped on the basis of site characteristics, opening periods, number of beds, and building age. Such indexes are utilized to establish lists o…

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…

Il “sistema energetico” tra sostenibilità e tutela: come usare le biomasse locali

Space syntax analysis applied to urban street lighting: Relations between spatial properties and lighting levels

According to the international technical standards, higher lighting levels (luminance and illuminance levels) are expected in trafficked and central roads (where restrictive minimum lighting requirements are necessary) and lower lighting levels are expected in peripheral and less trafficked roads. Starting from this assumption, in this paper, the authors analyse the correlations between spatial properties (expressed by spatial indicators, for example, the integration index and the choice index) and lighting levels (expressed by lighting parameters, for example luminance and illuminance) upon roads of an urban context. The analysis has been applied to the case study of the medium sized town …

Life cycle assessment of Italian citrus-based products. Sensitivity analysis and improvement scenarios

Though many studies concern the agro-food sector in the EU and Italy, and its environmental impacts, literature is quite lacking in works regarding LCA application on citrus products. This paper represents one of the first studies on the environmental impacts of citrus products in order to suggest feasible strategies and actions to improve their environmental performance. In particular, it is part of a research aimed to estimate environmental burdens associated with the production of the following citrus-based products: essential oil, natural juice and concentrated juice from oranges and lemons. The life cycle assessment of these products, published in a previous paper, had highlighted sign…

UPDATE ON DESICCANT WHELL MODEL

VALUTAZIONE DEL POTENZIALE TECNICO ECONOMICO DELL’ EOLICO OFFSHORE IN SICILIA MEDIANTE TECNICHE GIS

On the Applicability of the Space Syntax Methodology for the Determination of Street Lighting Classes

Street lighting plays a crucial role in a city’s night landscape and in urban traffic management, influencing users’ comfort and safety. To contain costs of public street lighting systems and to avoid energy waste, illuminance levels on road surfaces must be adequate to fit actual traffic volumes, as prescribed by regulations. This is true not only for motorized roads but also for sidewalks, paths, and pedestrian areas. Regulations in force establish a relationship between road traffic volumes and minimum illuminance levels through the lighting classes selection procedure. Lighting classes selection is based on various para meters among which traffic volume is the most difficult to evaluate…

ICT applications for improving the generation and distribution efficiency of a small mediterranean island

The paper presents a study on the opportunities offered by ICT for improving the efficiency of the generation and distribution system of a small island. The island taken into consideration is the Italian Lampedusa island. In the paper, the power distribution system of the island is described and the summer and winter daily load profiles are examined in order to define the more suitable control actions for improving the generation and distribution efficiency of the power system. Finally the architecture of an idoneous control system for the smart grid is proposed and an evaluation of the purchase and installation costs of components and devices for the transition of a traditional house towar…

Odesse: A New Tool for Simulation and Design of Solar Desiccant Cooling Systems in Energy Efficient Buildings

Analisi della correlazione clima consumi elettrici tramite rete neurale artificiale

Analysis of some renewable energy uses and demand side measures for hotels on small Mediterranean islands: A case study

Abstract Tourist activity strongly influences the energy consumption and the overall load profile of communities with isolated energy systems. One example is hotel sectors on small islands that are not connected to mainland energy distribution grids. The use of solar energy systems could be a smart option for reducing energy consumption and tackling seasonal fluctuation. The operation of a weak and isolated electric grid requires attention to the management of power profiles in very short time frames. Energy storage (thermal or electric), as well as building automation control technologies, can be utilised for these aims. In this context, the present paper illustrates a study conducted at a…

ADVANCED SOLAR ASSISTED DESICCANT AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM EQUIPPED WITH WET HEAT EXCHANGERS

Abstract This work concerns an innovative solar assisted desiccant and evaporative cooling (DEC) system for building air conditioning. In this system, air-to-air packaged wet heat exchangers are used to maximize the exploitation of the evaporative cooling potential associated with the exhaust air stream. The thermodynamic cycle is first theoretically described, and then an example of a real application is shown. The system presented is an experimental DEC system originally installed at the beginning of 2008 at the Solar Laboratory of the University of Palermo and recently modified and updated. These modifications have been implemented with the aim to foster some problems related to the conv…

Thermal Comfort

Software for weather databases management and construction of reference years

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a procedure that permits, starting from a sufficiently long database of time series, the construction of a Reference Year (RY) of hourly weather data according to the rules of ISO 15927-4 standard. In order to facilitate the management of the weather database and to allow the users to easily generate the file, an algorithm has been implemented in Microsoft Visual Basic for Application (VBA). By this way, the application of the ISO 15927-4 is possible even using a popular software tool such as Microsoft Excel or Access without any other expensive specialized software. Such tool allows to fulfil all the procedures mentioned in ISO 15927- 4 giving as …

Energy and economic assessment of a small domestic wind turbine in Palermo

The cost effectiveness of micro-wind technology is closely linked to the annual energy production plants, which strongly depends on the wind characteristics and on the morphological properties of the installation site. The power curve of a wind turbine, supplied by manufacturers, characterizes the theoretical energy performance that it should have at a particular site. The behavior of a wind turbine in the field is affected by the speed but also by wind direction variations. At each change of direction and speed, the turbine will try to adapt to new conditions and the phase transition negatively influences the energy production. In order to experimentally confirm what above mentioned, the a…

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

Short term wind speed prediction using Multi Layer Perceptron

Among renewable energy sources wind energy is having an increasing influence on the supply of energy power. However wind energy is not a stationary power, depending on the fluctuations of the wind, so that is necessary to cope with these fluctuations that may cause problems the electricity grid stability. The ability to predict short-term wind speed and consequent production patterns becomes critical for the all the operators of wind energy. This paper studies several configurations of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), a well-known tool able to estimate wind speed starting from measured data. The presented ANNs, t have been tested through data gathered in the area of Trapani (Sicily). Diffe…

Forecasting daily urban electric load profiles using artificial neural networks

The paper illustrates a combined approach based on unsupervised and supervised neural networks for the electric energy demand forecasting of a suburban area with a prediction time of 24 h. A preventive classification of the historical load data is performed during the unsupervised stage by means of a Kohonen's self organizing map (SOM). The actual forecast is obtained using a two layered feed forward neural network, trained with the back propagation with momentum learning algorithm. In order to investigate the influence of climate variability on the electricity consumption, the neural network is trained using weather data (temperature, relative humidity, global solar radiation) along with h…

Characterization of a small Mediterranean island end-users’ electricity consumption: The case of Lampedusa

Abstract The paper presents the results of a study carried out on Lampedusa Island (Italy) and based on the survey of electricity consumption data. The main outcomes of the study are: • the characterization of the energy demand of private houses and hotels in Italian small islands with significant touristic flows during the summer period; • the identification of inefficient use of the electric loads; • the construction of aggregated load profiles for clusters of homogeneous domestic end-user to be used for implementing Demand Response strategies. The study shows how electricity consumption in Mediterranean small islands are very high with respect to the national average and lays the basis f…

Benefici ambientali derivanti dall’impiego del vettore energetico idrogeno all’interno di un complesso residenziale

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

Environmental effects of energy policy in sicily: The role of renewable energy

The saving of primary energy from fossil fuels and the promotion of exploitation of renewable sources are two of the most relevant goals to be achieved in order to match the climate protection target fixed by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. For Italy, the commitment is the reduction of the greenhouse emissions by 6.5% below 1990 levels over the commitment period 2008–2012. It requires the introduction of suitable political strategies and programmes aimed to establish a sustainable energy system together with the application of a set of actions either at national scale, either at regional one. This study presents the results of a survey in the context of the Regione Sicilia about the potential s…

ELISA: A simplified tool for evaluating the Environmental Life-cycle Impacts of Solar Air-conditioning systems

The paper presents ELISA, a simplified tool for estimating the Environmental Life-cycle Impacts of Solar Air-conditioning systems. The tool is designed to support researchers, designers and decision makers in a simplified evaluation of the life cycle energy and environmental potential benefits related to the installation of solar heating and cooling systems in substitution of conventional ones. The tool was developed within the research activities of Task 53 “New Generation Solar Cooling & Heating Systems (PV or solar thermally driven systems)” of the International Energy Agency.

Energy retrofit of a single-family house: Life cycle net energy saving and environmental benefits

Abstract When a building undergoes a retrofit project, the goal of assessing energy and environmental performances of retrofit actions is a complex matter. Building and its environment are complex systems in which all sub-systems are strongly interdependent and influence the overall efficiency performance. In the following paper, starting from a literature review of building life-cycle studies, the authors highlight that there is a strong interplay among all the phases of a building life-cycle, as each one can affect one or more of the others. In detail, starting from the results of a “cradle to grave” life cycle study of an existing Mediterranean single-family house, a set of retrofit acti…

"L'utilizzo dell'energia solare nel riscaldamento e nel raffrescamento degli edifici"

Experimental investigation of adsorption performances of an heat exchanger packed with silica gel for application in solar desiccant systems

Influence of raw data analysis for the use of neural networks for win farms productivity prediction

In the last decade wind energy had a strong growth because of cost effectiveness of the technology and the high remunerative of investments.

Energy and environmental benefits in public buildings as a result of retrofit actions

Abstract The paper presents the results of an energy and environmental assessment of a set of retrofit actions implemented in the framework of the EU Project “BRITA in PuBs” (Bringing Retrofit Innovation to Application in Public Buildings – no: TREN/04/FP6EN/S07.31038/503135). Outcomes arise from a life cycle approach focused on the following issues: (i) construction materials and components used during retrofits; (ii) main components of conventional and renewable energy systems; (iii) impacts related to the building construction, for the different elements and the whole building. The results are presented according to the data format of the Environmental Product Declaration. Synthetic indi…

influence of raw data analysis for the use of neural networks for wind farm productivity prediction

In the last decade wind energy had a strong growth because of cost effectiveness of the technology and the high remunerative of investments. The increase of wind power penetration in power grids, however, makes necessary the development of instruments for prediction of productivity of a wind farm. This paper presents a study dealing with the capability of neural network to forecast short term production of a wind farm by the correlation of wind and energy production data. Available measures of wind parameters were related to productivity data of a real wind farm. Also wind data not strictly related to the site have been used in order to assess their possible influence on the production. Aft…

I metodi a punteggio di valutazione ambientale quale strumento volontario nell’ambito della certificazione energetica degli edifici

A Set of Key Performance Indicators for Solar Heating and Cooling Systems

The application of solar heating and cooling systems for building air-conditioning actually shows a significant potential of exploitation, particularly in sunny regions. The choice whether or not to apply such technologies in different climates should be based on the assessment of their energy/environmental, economic and social sustainability, as well as their technical characteristics as reliability, durability and energy efficiency. To support researchers and decision-makers in the selection of the best solar air-conditioning solution in a specific geographic and energy context, the paper proposes a set of technical, economic, energy/environmental and social key performance indicators. Th…

DISPOSITIVO E METODO PER IL CONDIZIONAMENTO DELL’ARIA

Concrete thermal energy storage for linear Fresnel collectors: Exploiting the South Mediterranean’s solar potential for agri-food processes

Abstract Italy is celebrated in the world for its agri-food industries while the process of production of pasta is highly energy demanding and requires both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Because most of the Italian factories producing pasta are located in the Southern part of the country, the direct use of thermal energy generated from the sun would be particularly profitable. In this study, the authors examine the possibility of generating by a Solar Industrial Process Heating plant the thermal energy required annually by an existing factory that produces durum wheat pasta located in Sicily (Italy). The hypothesized plant scheme consists of an array of Fresnel linear solar …

Il Mercato del Risparmio Energetico: Nuove Opportunità

Beccali M., Progettazione, realizzazione e monitoraggio di un impianto Solar Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling (DEC)

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ITALIAN CITRUS BASED PRODUCTS. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND IMPROVMENT SCENARIOS

Though many studies concern the agro-food sector in the EU and Italy, and its environmental impacts, literature is quite lacking in works regarding LCA application on citrus products. This paper represents one of the first studies on the environmental impacts of citrus products in order to suggest feasible strategies and actions to improve their environmental performance. In particular, it is part of a research aimed to estimate environmental burdens associated with the production of the following citrus-based products: essential oil, natural juice and concentrated juice from oranges and lemons. The life cycle assessment of these products, published in a previous paper, had highlighted sign…

Definition and Assessment of a BAC Factor for Estimating Electrical Consumption of Outdoor Lighting

The BAC factors method was introduced by the international Standard EN 15232 for a rough evaluation of energy savings in buildings obtained thanks to automation. The above standard considers the building's services such as heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting and takes into account automation on the basis of assumed usage profile for the related technical installations. However, the standard does not refer specifically to the automation of outdoor lighting systems such as those serving gardens, entrance walkways and passages around the building and supplied by it. In this paper, the authors propose a method for evaluation an outdoor BAC factor for lighting system considering various s…

Rigassificatori: e se l’Italia diventasse lo snodo d’Europa?

Energy balance and life cycle assessment of small size residential solar heating and cooling systems equipped with adsorption chillers

Abstract Solar heating and cooling systems for space heating and cooling are experiencing a growing trend and interest. However, the actual energy and environmental performance of small/medium size installations is not clearly foreseeable. In this paper, an analysis of such systems using adsorption chillers in different European climates is presented. Solar systems have been simulated in TRNSYS and compared to a conventional system employing a vapour compression unit. The results have been used for a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, determining the potential impact during the whole life of the system, from raw materials supply to its end-of-life. The LCA has been carried out by using the …

Solare per la conservazione alimentare

Life cycle assessment of building materials: A comparison by electre methodology

There is a growing awareness that in selection of building materials the designer must also consider environmnental impacts, either in global and local scale. Unfortunately, design community has an inadequate knowledge about the factors that affects environmental consequences of producing and operating buidings. To increase understanding on selection criteria and comparison of building alternatives in an “energy and environmental point of view”, is a significant goal for restraining gloabl enevironmental degradation. An interesting approach for assessing comparable products is the so called “multicriteria decision making”, but there is much debate about aggregation of criteria and weights a…

Incentivi per il fotovoltaico: il nuovo conto energia

Analisi numerica di un sistema integrato di ventilazione naturale e raffrescamento passivo

Nel presente lavoro viene presentata ed analizzata una soluzione progettuale per la riqualificazione del Municipio di Mazara del Vallo (Italia) che prevede l’impiego di un sistema integrato di ventilazione naturale e raffrescamento passivo. Il sistema in oggetto combina tecniche tradizionali e moderne di ventilazione e raffrescamento ed è costituito da una torre del vento, da una rete di tubazioni interrate, da una facciata ventilata ed da un camino solare. L’intero sistema è stato progettato in modo tale da ottenere la portata di ventilazione utilizzando la torre del vento ed il camino solare rispettivamente per l’immissione e l’estrazione dell’aria. Il comportamento termico dell’edificio …

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…

Benefits of Refurbishment

Energy and environmental performances of buildings strictly depend on many factors related to the choice of construction materials, HVAC plants and equipment, design, installation and use. By definition, a building interacts closely with its environment. The interactions between building and climate, plants and users have to be taken into account. This aspect is evident in new buildings design process, but it is even more important in the design phase of an existing building renovation, during which actions of energy saving are developed. This chapter summarises the results of the energy and environmental assessment of a set of retrofit actions implemented in the framework of the EU Project…

Trasporto pubblico su gomma, penetrazione di mezzi ad idrogeno. potenzialita’ della Sicilia occidentale

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.…

Electrochemical energy storage mitigating impact of electric vehicle on the electric grid: Two Italian case studies

In the framework of the Italian R&D project i-Next two pilots plants were realized aiming at demonstrate benefits coming from the adoption of electrochemical energy storages (Lithium ion batteries and hydrogen) integrated with renewable energy sources. In the present study the preliminary results coming from the demo sites operations are reported paying attention to the impacts to the grid.

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…

Benefici ambientali derivanti dall'impiego del vettore energetico idrogeno all'interno del complesso residenziale

Sostenibilità e paesaggio,

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT EXPERIENCES FOR SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS

Solar heating and cooling systems can significantly contribute to the energy and climate European goals. A complete assessment of this contribution needs the analysis of these systems from a life-cycle perspective, in order to estimate the energy and environmental costs of their manufacturing and end-of-life, and to compare these costs with the benefits obtained during operation. A well-established methodology to fulfil this task is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The paper describes some LCA experiences of solar heating and cooling systems, developed within the Task 53 “New generation solar cooling & heating systems (PV or solar thermally driven systems)” of the International Energy A…

Il mercato dei condizionatori d’aria nel residenziale ed il loro impatto sui bilanci energetici urbani. Il caso di Palermo

F.A.L.C.A.D.E.: A fuzzy software for the energetic and environmental balances of products

It is generally well known that the reliability of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies depends upon exact, complete and sharp input data that, unfortunately, are not always available. Furthermore, when available, the input data are affected by uncertainty whose importance is not always adequately taken into consideration. This paper describes the software F.A.L.C.A.D.E. (Fuzzy Approach to Life Cycle Analysis and Decision Environment): a tool designed for the calculation of the eco-profile of products, based on a fuzzy logic approach. The originality of the method already treated in other papers is to use the fuzzy representation to manage the complex relationships that arise in compiling an e…

Questionnaires and simulations to assess daylighting in Italian university classrooms for IEQ and energy issues

Abstract Results from the DAYKE-Italy project are presented. An investigation on daylighting in eight classrooms in five Italian universities was carried out through a combined approach: an ad-hoc survey administered to students to investigate how they perceive daylight in classroom, and numerical simulations (DIVA + ALFA) to calculate a set of objective metrics (daylight, circadian, and energy-related). A sample of 542 questionnaires was collected through two sessions and the subjective judgments were correlated to objective metrics. Results from descriptive and statistical analyses showed: (i) the correlation was significant for all daylight metrics: among them, average daylight factor an…

Building integrated solar thermal design: assessment of performances of a low cost solar wall in a typical Italian building

Abstract Present work deals with the topic of building integration of solar thermal collector (BIST) as a refurbishment measure. Such equipment, more than its main function as heating generator, plays a specific role as a building component (envelope finishes, thermal insulation layer, roof cover etc). Consequently, from a heat transfer point of view, an integrated component affects twice the global building balance: supporting the thermal plant (i.e. providing heat for final uses) and modifying the wall heat-transfer pattern (i.e. reducing thermal losses). In turn, the collector performance itself is influenced by the wall structure (back losses reduction). Present work proposes a method f…

Calculation of Energy Performance Indices of Daylight Linked Control Systems by Monitored Data

The actual performances of Building Automation systems are often lower than the ideal ones. In order to investigate the actual performance of a Building Automation system for lighting control, a large stock of collected data, including indoor illuminance and absorbed electric power, have been presented and analysed in this paper. The measures have been taken during one year, in a laboratory located at the University of Palermo, where different lighting control systems, produced by two different manufacture companies, have been installed. As demonstrated in literature, many factors affecting energy savings’ evaluation in lighting control systems are the position and the typology of the senso…

F.A.L.C.A.D.E.: a fuzzy software for the energy and environmental balances of products

Abstract It is generally well known that the reliability of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies depends upon exact, complete and sharp input data that, unfortunately, are not always available. Furthermore, when available, the input data are affected by uncertainty whose importance is not always adequately taken into consideration. This paper describes the software F.A.L.C.A.D.E. (Fuzzy Approach to Life Cycle Analysis and Decision Environment): a tool designed for the calculation of the eco-profile of products, based on a fuzzy logic approach. The originality of the method already treated in other papers is to use the fuzzy representation to manage the complex relationships that arise in compi…

Application of the IO Methodology to the Energy and Environmental Analysis of a Regional Context

Performing an energy and environmental analysis, researchers have to face many problems regarding the data quality and availability. Data are often out-of-date, not representative and consistent or, frequently, referred to faraway geographic and productive contexts. The Input-Output (IO) model, due to its simplicity, allows to acquire information regarding the energy and environmental performances of productive sectors.

Layered dry envelope insulated with sheep wool-lime mix

This poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope component that might be implemented on buildings of the Mediterranean area, in order to improve the energy efficiency and the environmental sustainability. These goals have been achieved by means of the use of local and natural building materials or arising from renewable resources. In particular, thermal insulating has been realize utilizing a mix of natural and mineral materials, obtaining a biocomposite with comparable building physics and mechanical properties to commonly used building materials. Among natural materials, the sheep wool was chosen since it is, on the hand, a waste to exploit…

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of solar cooling systems with 12 kW absorption and 8 kW adsorption chillers

Monitoraggio di un impianto solar desiccant cooling a Palermo. primi risultati e progetto dei test

Il Contributo dei biocarburanti alla Sostenibilità Ambientale

Control systems for indoor lighting and computer simulation: analysis and comparison between software packages capabilities and results on a real case study

In the last years, computer capabilities have evolved rapidly and also the way to simulate building physics phenomena is changed and more developed. Each simulation software is developed with a less or more similar aim, using different algorithms and models and being used by people with different profile: specialist, architects, engineers, installers, etc. This paper deals with the analysis of capability of some of the most utilised software used to predict indoor lighting, including natural daylight contribution and assessment of energy consumption and savings related to specific design options. Furthermore, two of the analysed software have been tested simulating a case studying. Results …

Life cycle performance assessment of small solar thermal cooling systems and conventional plants assisted with photovoltaics

Starting from the results of a Life Cycle Assessment of small solar assisted heat driven chillers, the application of such methodology has been extended to systems with a conventional compression chiller assisted by a photovoltaic plant (PV). This study aims to provide a comprehensive compared investigation of these two families of solar assisted cooling systems (with solar thermal or PV). Results indicate that, in many cases, the systems with the PV grid connected plant performed best. In addition, two more configurations were investigated to further define the PV assisted systems, which minimise their interaction with the grid through the use of electricity storages. These systems performed…

Certificazione energetico-ambientale: l’esperienza del Progetto LIFE Sun & Wind sulle tipologie edilizie mediterranee

Life Cycle Assessment Performance Comparison of Small Solar Thermal Cooling Systems with Conventional Plants Assisted with Photovoltaics

Abstract Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) allows for the consideration of energy consumption and environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, from the cradle to the grave . Starting from the results obtained in the IEA SHC Task 38 framework for the LCA of small solar assisted heat driven chillers, the application of such methodology has been extended to systems with a conventional compression chiller assisted by a photovoltaic plant. This study aims to provide a more comprehensive investigation through a comparison of these two families of solar assisted cooling systems (with solar thermal or PV), which is an important topic for studies concerning the research of eff…

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…

Assessment of the technical and economic potential of offshore wind energy via a GIS application: A case study for the Sicily Region according to Italian laws and incentive frameworks

This paper presents a technical and economic analysis of the possible exploitation of offshore wind resources using spatial analysis methods based on GIS tools. The study assessed the magnitude and distribution of the main constraints on installation of wind farms by taking into account the relevant technical factors and local laws on nature protection issues in a specific area, i.e., Sicily. Specific cost functions were defined for several components of the total cost of construction and maintenance of a wind farm. Several scenarios were implemented according to wind turbine size, hub height, total wind farm power, and distance from the coast, and the levelised production cost was assessed…

Alternative energy storage options for heat pump water heater coupled with photovoltaic plant for domestic hot water production

The present work relies on the topic of energy storage for Heat and Electricity applied to Heat Pump Water Heaters coupled with photovoltaic plants for Domestic Hot Water production. The main idea is to evaluate the possibility to exploit the water tank as heat storage for the produced photovoltaic energy and, where appropriate combined with electrical storage. For this reason, two heat pumps with different volume size have been chosen and smart control strategies have been applied while monitoring the water temperature in the tank. Calculations account on tapping profile inferred from monitored data of a representative end-user in a Mediterranean small island. Results show how the combinat…

Studio per l’istituzione di un centro di competenza per la sostenibilità ambientale e le fonti rinnovabili e valutazione dei percorsi per la diffusione delle energie rinnovabili e per lo sviluppo di un turismo sostenibile a Malta

Analisi comparata di sistemi solari per il condizionamento tramite la metodologia LCA

Lo studio mostra un'applicazione della metodologia Life Cycle Assessment finalizzata alla valutazione delle prestazioni energetico-ambientali di due differenti tipologie di sistemi di raffrescamento che utilizzano energia solare per applicazioni nel settore civili d'utenza. In dettaglio, sono analizzati sistemi energetici basati su macchine frigorifere convenzionali connesse a impianti fotovoltaici e sistemi di solar cooling alimentati da fluidi a bassa temperatura. I risultati evidenziano che le prestazioni energetico-ambientali dei sistemi connessi alla rete sono superiori a quelle degli altri sistemi, mentre la produzione dei sistemi di accumulo limita la competitività dei sistemi stand-…

Resource consumption and environmental impacts of the agrofood sector: life cycle assessment of italian citrus-based products

Though many studies concern the agro-food sector in the EU and Italy, and its environmental impacts, literature is quite lacking in works regarding LCA application on citrus products. This paper represents one of the first studies on the environmental impacts of citrus products in order to suggest feasible strategies and actions to improve their environmental performance. In particular, it is part of a research aimed to estimate environmental burdens associated with the production of the following citrus-based products: essential oil, natural juice and concentrated juice from oranges and lemons. The life cycle assessment of these products, published in a previous paper, had highlighted sign…

Optimisation of Solar Desiccant Cooling Systems for applications in the Mediterranean Climate: design and control issues

Environmental benefits due to hydrogen uses in residential buildings

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…

Improving the thermal performance of the transparent building envelope: finite element analysis of possible techniques to reduce the U-value of the glassblocks

U-value of glazed elements is often a critical issue because these components, due to their small thickness and to the poor resistance of the glass and frame materials, cause very relevant heat fluxes. This paper presents an investigation on the thermal properties of a particular glazed component: the glassblock. Generally standard glassblocks have high U- values in comparison to the maximum values allowed by energy efficiency standards for glazed surfaces. This paper reports a summary of possible solutions that could improve the performances of the glassblock. A set of new configurations of the glassblock has been defined by schematic models and their overall thermal resistance has been as…

Energy-environmental and cost assessment of a set of strategies for retrofitting a public building toward nearly zero-energy building target

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess an energy retrofit of a building representative of those in public tertiary stock, to improve energy performance toward nearly Zero-Energy Building (nZEB) requirements. The building is located in the campus of the Politecnico di Milano University (Italy). Several hypothetical improvements regarding the building envelope and plants were assessed in terms of energy savings, costs, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the study show that it is possible to reduce primary energy demand and associated emissions up to 40% from the current values by adopting market-available and well-proven technological solutions for retrofi…

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…

Dissalazione da fonte eolica in Sicilia: analisi economica

INTERVENTI PER LA RIDUZIONE DEL FABBISOGNO ENERGETICO E PER IL MIGLIORAMENTO DEL COMFORT

Nomograph for rapid technical and economic assessment of solar thermal systems for DHW production

Abstract Different types of tools, software and empirical methods to size and assess the performance of solar thermal systems are available today. A quick and easy-to-use graphical tool is proposed here. It is based on a single diagram, called a nomograph, which embeds technical and economic information, allowing the optimisation of the size and performance of a solar thermal system starting from the main input parameters, such as the specific costs of the system and the auxiliary fuel. The optimal surfaces are calculated as a function of the fuel cost through several regressions made on data from the application of the F-Chart method for a set of system configurations. The authors have fou…

Comparison between the performances of daylight linked control system at two different latitudes

The aim of this work is to compare the performance of a daylight-linked control system installed and tested in two different case studies by means of a set of indices. The two case studies are characterized by different geometry, location and windows orientation. The first one is located at the ENEA premises in Lampedusa (IT, 35° 30' N); the second one is located in Palermo (IT, 38°6' N) on the third floor of the building 9 of the Department of Engineering if the University of Palermo. In both cases, the indices were calculated by using the same daylight-linked control system and the same end-use (office). The results were reported and analysed in order to demonstrate as the performances of…

Energy and economic assessment of desiccant cooling systems coupled with single glazed air and hybrid PV/thermal solar collectors for applications in hot and humid climate

Abstract This paper presents a detailed analysis of the energy and economic performance of desiccant cooling systems (DEC) equipped with both single glazed standard air and hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/t) collectors for applications in hot and humid climates. The use of ‘solar cogeneration’ by means of PV/t hybrid collectors enables the simultaneous production of electricity and heat, which can be directly used by desiccant air handling units, thereby making it possible to achieve very energy savings. The present work shows the results of detailed simulations conducted for a set of desiccant cooling systems operating without any heat storage. System performance was investigated through h…

Usi energetici dei residui agricoli della coltivazione cerealicola in associazione con colture no food di rotazione: Studio nel Comprensorio Madonita mediante GIS

Energy performances and life cycle assessment of advanced solar DEC Freescoo units

Freescoo is a new all-in-one compact solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) air conditioner concept. The cooling process is based on the use of fixed and cooled adsorption beds and advanced evaporative cooling concepts. This solution permits to increase the energy performances of the whole cooling process in comparison to the standard desiccant rotor bases DEC cycles. The indirect evaporative cooling process is realized using optimized wet plate heat exchangers which allow low supply temperatures to the room and overall energy performances. The experimental results of an optimized configuration of the freescoo unit together with the Life Cycle Assessment of the unit are here presented an…

Road Thermal Collector for Building Heating in South Europe: Numerical Modeling and Design of an Experimental Set-Up

The combination/integration of renewable energy and storage systems appears to have significant potential, achieving high-energy results with lower costs and emissions. One way to cover the thermal needs of a building is through solar energy and its seasonal storage in the ground. The SMARTEP project aims to create an experimental area that provides for the construction of a road solar thermal collector directly connected to a seasonal low-temperature geothermal storage with vertical boreholes. The storage can be connected to a ground-to-water heat pump for building acclimatization. This system will meet the requirements of visual impact and reduction of the occupied area. Nevertheless, sev…

Solar desiccant cooling AHU coupled with chilled ceiling: description of a new installation at DREAM in Palermo

Cost optimal analysis of lighting retrofit scenarios in educational buildings in Italy

Abstract The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recast proposes, a comparative methodology to calculate cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings. This paper presents a method able to select the best retrofit action for lighting system, selectively analysing the daylight conditions and applying the cost-optimal methodology for different scenarios proposed for two existing educational buildings located in Italy. With the aim to improve both energy efficient and visual comfort conditions, the retrofit scenarios include lighting solutions with different combinations. They consider the replacement of lamps with more efficient lighting so…

Solar desiccant cooling systems with hybrid air-pv solar collectors for applications in the mediterranean climate

VALUTAZIONI ENERGETICHE ED ECONOMICHE RELATIVE ALL’UTILIZZO DI UN SISTEMA DI REFRIGERAZIONE AD ASSORBIMENTO ALIMENTATO DA COLLETTORI PARABOLICI

A feasibility study of some DSM enabling solutions in small islands: The case of Lampedusa

Abstract The paper addresses the issue of the transition from a traditional electrical system without automation to a newer active and smart system allowing the possibility of implementing Demand Side Management policies, for little islands not supplied by the main grid. In particular, the paper focuses on two main topics related to the definition of: • an effective control, monitoring and communication system as a tool for the full exploitation of the opportunities given by Demand Response policies; • some solutions for the automation of the end-users’ electrical installations, in order to offer to the utility flexibility to be used for the improvement of the generation and distribution ef…

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 …

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…

I metodi a punteggio per la valutazione energetica ed ambientale degli edifici

A Neural Network Model to Forecast Urban Electricity Consumptions from Weather Data

Novel techniques for wind speed spatial estimation

Decision Making in energy planning. Application of the electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology

The authors show an application of the multicriteria decision-making methodology used to assess an action plan for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies at regional scale. This methodological tool gives the decision-maker considerable help in the selection of the most suitable innovative technologies in the energy sector, according to preliminary fixed objectives. In this paper, a case study is carried out for the island of Sardinia. This region presents, on one hand, a high potential for energy resources exploitation, but on the other hand, it represents a specific case among other Italian regions, because of its socio-economic status and history.Three decision scenarios have been…

LIFE CYCLE BALANCES OF SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS

LIFE CYCLE BALANCES OF SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS

Le caratteristiche termofisiche del patrimonio edilizio della città di Palermo

Un ambiente confinato è un rapporto continuo con il contesto bioclimatico esterno attraverso l'involucro edilizio, che notoriamente svolge una funzione di protezione e di filtro rispetto agli input esterni. Una corretta ottimizzazione della interfaccia edificio clima è legata, fra gli altri fattori, anche alla selezione di materiali le cui carayyeristiche termofisiche siano tali da agevolare il conseguimento della suddetta ottimizzazione. In particolare, la conoscenza del tempo di ritardo fra l'onda termica incidente e quella emergente all'interno dello spazio confinato, associata alla stima del fattore di attenuazione del flusso di calore, è presupposto di base per una corretta progettazio…

Catalogo tipologico degli elementi della architettura mediterranea - "Le caratteristiche termofisiche del patrimonio edilizio della città di Palermo"

Studio e progettazione di un sistema di smaltimento statico del calore

Nell’ambito di questa attività sono stati svolti lo studio e la progettazione di un sistema di smaltimento statico del calore da adottare in accoppiamento con sistemi solari termici per evitare il rischio di stagnazione dovuto al mancato utilizzo dell’energia termica prodotta (bassa richiesta di energia termica, assenza dell’alimentazione elettrica). I componenti idraulici comunemente installati negli impianti solari ovvero vaso di espansione, valvole di sicurezza, sfiati e valvole di scarico termico garantiscono l’incolumità degli utilizzatori dai possibili problemi che nascono dall’aumento incontrollato di pressione e temperatura all’interno dell’impianto, ma possono portare ad un parzial…

Test funzionali ed ottimizzazione delle performance di due prototipi di condizionatore d’aria compatti Solar DEC

Nell’ambito di questo lavoro di ricerca è stata svolta una estesa campagna di monitoraggio per il sistema Solar DEC freescoo residential installato nell’estate del 2014 presso il Dipartimento DEIM dell’Università di Palermo. In una prima fase dello studio sono state svolte delle prove preliminari volte ad identificare problematiche al funzionamento di alcuni dei componenti interni. In particolare è stata posta attenzione al miglioramento del funzionamento dello scambiatore evaporativo e dei componenti coinvolti nel processo di deumidificazione dell’aria. E’stato aggiornato il sistema di monitoraggio e migliorata la logica di controllo dei letti adsorbenti. Relativamente alle prestazioni ene…

Task 38 Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration “Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Cooling Systems” A technical report of subtask D Subtask Activity D3

Renewable energy (RE) systems can certainly allow reducing the use of fossil fuels and the related environmental impacts for building air-conditioning. It is more and more clear that good design of the system and appropriateness of the technology are a key issues on the way to maximise the benefits. Therefore, for systems dealing with solar thermal systems, it has been experienced that wrong choices among RE technologies to meet specific applications could also lead to negative effects in terms of Primary Energy (PE) saving.