Search results for "Building"
showing 10 items of 1985 documents
Analysis of Load Match in Nearly Zero Energy Buildings
2018
The concept of load matching refers to the degree of agreement or disagreement of the on-site generation with the building load profiles: it can be increased and optimised with modifications on both the energy demand and generation. In this context, the paper presents the load match analysis of a case study: a modular housing construction (it has an area of 45 m 2 and S/V ratio equal to 2.75 m −1 ) built in Messina (Italy). Moreover, in order to optimize the design of the next test module to be built, a parametric analysis was performed considering different scenarios on the generation side, to explore the effectiveness of the solutions sets used in current design and plan different solutio…
Towards achieving net-zero energy communities: Investigation of design strategies and seasonal solar collection and storage net-zero
2019
Abstract This paper explores a solar mixed-use community and its potential towards achieving net-zero energy status. This mixed-use community combines residential and commercial/institutional buildings. Energy performance of this neighbourhood is estimated in terms of energy consumption and generation potential by means of building integrated PV systems. A solar thermal collector system combined with a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is designed to investigate the impact on the overall performance of the neighbourhood. The design of solar thermal collectors and the sizing of short-term thermal energy storage is based on the analysis of the thermal loads for heating and domestic hot w…
A model for predicting the potential diffusion of solar energy systems in complex urban environments
2011
Abstract The necessity to reduce greenhouse gases emission produced by energy building consumptions and to cut the energy bill (mainly due to the use of fossil sources) leads to the employment of renewable energy sources in new planned scenarios. In particular, more and more often municipal energy and environmental plans pay great attention to the possibilities of employment of the solar technologies at urban scale. Solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) systems are, by far, the most suitable tools to be utilized in urban areas. Obviously, the proper adoption of such systems in buildings does call for the availability of calculation methods suitable to provide the actual level of exploitation …
Indoor lighting quality: Effects of different wall colours
2016
This paper reports the results of measurements performed in a test room to investigate the impact of using different wall colours and light scenes on indoor lighting quality. Eye level spectral irradiances were measured for a user located inside the room and seated at a desk. These measurements allow the use of the Irradiance Toolbox, which makes it possible to calculate equivalent illuminances for the photopigments in the human eye. Moreover, the CIECAM02 colour appearance model was used to investigate the variations in hue and chroma values of the different wall colours when changing the light scene. The results demonstrate that there are significant variations in eye level spectral irra…
The interaction between intermittent renewable energy and the electricity, heating and transport sectors
2012
In a global perspective, it is essential that the world transfers from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in order to minimise climate change effects. As a part of such transition energy savings are also important, as they can decrease production costs effectively. The nature of such a change is that it has to be implemented on a local level. Energy saving technologies are placed with the demand decrease and renewable energy is typically distributed where the resources are. In some parts of the world, energy savings have resulted in a stabilisation of the energy demands, however in the world as such, demands are still increasing in buildings, transport and industry. Although the deman…
A new approach to model the effect of climate change on the building sector: A climate models data fusion
2020
Several climate models have been developed and used to forecast the effects of the climate changes, however the variability of results due to different models lead to a significant uncertainty on the estimation of the building energy use for the next century. In this context, the paper analyses this uncertainty and combines different climate models in order to improve the robustness of energy consumption predictions. The data of the climate models were then used to generate hourly weather files for the future period 2020-2099 and energy simulations for a case study located in Palermo (Italy) were performed. Results show a wide variability among all models (either alone or combined with our …
Life Cycle Assessment and eco-design of building materials: the case study of a Sicilian cement plaster
2015
Buildings in the European Union (EU) account for the largest share of the total EU final energy consumption (42%), and greenhouse gas emissions (35%). Therefore, the reduction of energy use, the development of quality-oriented processes and the improvement of energy performance in the building sector are important measures needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the energy dependency of the European Union from foreign countries. In this context, it is necessary to develop sustainable building products, with low energy and environmental impacts during their life cycle, from the extraction of raw material to the manufacturing, use and end-of-life. The main goal of the study is to define…
Experimental determination of natural air ventilation rates based on CO2 concentration
2009
This study reports the first results of a survey carried out by the authors on a hall used for conferences, training courses, seminars, and aimed to determine the correlation between the concentration of CO2 and the number of air changes only through natural ventilation. The assessment of ventilation rates was based on the knowledge of the indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations and of the number of people in the hall. As it is known, the CO2 concentrations can be used as an index for the number of people present in a room and can be evaluated as a function of time by using the Meckler equation in steady-state conditions. In that case it is however necessary that some restrictive hypotheses a…
A bottom-up method for evaluating the whole energy demand of large residential building stocks: an application to a regional scale
2013
In this paper a method is described, originally conceived during the compilation of the Energy and Environmental Regional Plan of Sicily, aimed to: a) set up a lay-out model of an overall regional residential estate into a certain number of different building and heating system types; b) calculate the energy needs of every single type according to the procedures established by the national and European regulations; The method is particularly designed to evaluate the possible energy savings from the implementation of different interventions concerning the envelope and the HVAC systems to the various building types. The method, although based on several assumptions, shows to be reliable enoug…
Study of Influence of the LED Technologies on Visual and Subjective/Individual Aspects
2018
The general aim of this paper is that to further deepen and elaborate the results obtained in a previous study of the authors, in which the relationship between the characteristics of five different types of LED lamps and the humans non-image-forming reactions were investigated, by conducting a more detailed statistical analysis and by highlighting the neurological aspects.