Search results for "Architectural engineering"

3D survey and modelling of the main portico of the Cathedral of Monreale

2018

3D survey and modelling of Cultural Heritage allow to store a great deal of 3D data that can be managed for different purposes. 3D models can be used for documentation, restoration and knowledge of historic architectures and monuments. In this work, a 3D survey of the main portico of the Cathedral of Monreale (Palermo, Italy) was carried out. The paper presents the data acquisition process and the 3D modelling phase. The work is aimed to reconstruct a 3D model that could be used also to set up an HBIM (Heritage or Historic Building Information Modelling) of the main portico. The result of this study could be considered as a first test to implement an HBIM platform for the whole monumental c…

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

2015

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.…

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

2010

Urban Smartness: Perspectives Arising in the Periphéria Project

2012

The paper discusses the concept of “urban smartness” starting from the early results of the Peripheria Project. Peripheria is a 30-month pilot B action funded by the European Commission under the CIP ICT PSP Programme and it aims at deploying convergent Future Internet platforms and services for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles in and across emergent networks of “smart” peripheral cities in Europe. Peripheria develops the Living Lab premise of shifting technology R&D out of the laboratory and into the real world in a systemic blend of technological with social innovation. It defines five archetypical “Arenas”—specific urban settings or innovation playgrounds, with defined social feat…

Smart Community Infrastructures

2016

This chapter outlines the concept of intelligent and multi-service infrastructures, addressing the interesting aspects of multi operability, potential of cogeneration and multi-carrier energy hubs, whose basic concepts were only recently described in [1]. The infrastructures that serve a community, such as energy distribution, water and waste piping, mobility and ICT networks are, in fact, the most important means for efficient operation of cities. The chapter, after outlining the contents of the document ISO TR 37150: 2014 concerning the Smart Community Infrastructures, highlights the different approaches needed to implement them within existing cities and newly built cities. At the end, t…

Nano-structured materials in new and existing buildings: to improved performance and saving of energy

2009

Improving well-being in buildings, in relation to energy conservation, represents a great challenge. In southern Italy a basic problem is that of keeping buildings cool in the summer months. This problem affects not only newly-erected buildings, but also the large number of existing buildings, some of which are of historical importance. Nano-technology represents an excellent opportunity to harness the salvage of existing buildings to the living requirements of contemporary society. The use of nano-structured materials in newly-erected buildings will lead to improved performance and a considerable saving of energy. Above all, the use of nano-structured materials in existing buildings will p…

Innovative control logics for a rational utilization of electric loads and air-conditioning systems in a residential building

2015

The paper focuses on the evaluation of the impact on residential buildings of innovative control logics defined for a rational utilization of the electric loads and air-conditioning systems. The control logics are implementable thanks to a Decision Support and Energy Management Systems developed by the same authors and easily installable in new and still-existing houses. The paper shows how a significant reduction of the primary energy consumption can be obtained by controlling the air-conditioning units together with the other electric loads of the house. After having explained how the control logics operate, a simulation tool is described, developed for a preliminary evaluation of their e…

Experimental validation of the BAC factor method for lighting systems

2017

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…

An overview of energy retrofit actions feasibility on Italian historical buildings

2017

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

Energy measurements at Skarpnes zero energy homes in Southern Norway: Do the loads match up with the on-site energy production?

2017

Five houses are designed as zero-energy homes in Skarpnes, Norway. The energy goal is to achieve net zero-energy balance on an annual basis. The houses have heat pumps and solar cells (PV). Energy use and delivered energy have been monitored from June 2015. Variations between calculations and measurements are explained by technical and non-technical reasons. For the first year, higher than expected energy loads result in a solar energy cover factor of 65–87% of delivered electricity. The PV generation performs satisfactorily, hence, it may be possible to achieve energy goals during later years provided technical adjustments or behavioral changes. Acknowledgements. This report has been writt…