A new approach to energetic requalification of existing buildings

A good knowledge of technical features of existing building resources is necessary to improve their energetic performances. For this purpose the research analyses building systems and technologies and it identifies energetic problems and performances, proposing a critic evaluation of the possibilities of the intervention. The research pays a special attention on moisture and condensation problems which can occur as a consequence of retrofitting interventions. The impact of the planning decisions on moisture content and behaviour of the existing components with respect to building physics have to be taken into consideration when there are attempts to upgrade the building’s thermal performance of existing building to save energy. The verification of moisture transfer is generally conducted using the standardised steady-state Glaser method. This standard calculation, considering only vapour diffusion transfer, fails to produce realistic results when handling with an interior thermal insulation because overestimates the possibility of condensation at the former inner surface of the wall and doesn’t consider the moisture storage potential of the component. In this research an innovative simulation method is used; it is developed to perform more realistic and detailed simulation of the hygrothermal behaviour based on EN 15026:2008. The method allows to evaluate the real potential of interior thermal insulation on existing building components under natural conditions

The bioclimatic urban planning, a case of study: The railway workshops area in Bozen, Italy

This work develops an analysis and design method to improve the sustainability in urban planning of modern cities. As in most of the important cities across Europe, also in Bozen, city administration decided to transform the old railway workshops area into a new modern quarter near the old city centre and, to pursue this objective, it was announced an international design competition. Operating in these kind of areas can radically change all the climate environment of the city, considering the low buildings density and the nearness to the old city centre, as demonstrated by recent studies. Within this context, this article presents the planning methodology developed to reduce the impact on the climate environment of the city by improving bioclimatic solutions at urban scale. Starting from a climate datasets analysis, it was operated a complete solar and ventilation simulation of the entire city to evaluate opportunities and treads linked to the characteristics of project site. The outputs of the simulations provided a complete dataset about solar and ventilation behavior of the area, considering sun and wind the most influent variables for the micro-climatic environment of this part of the city. In conclusion, crossing these data by each other, it was possible to elaborate a zoning of the project site to identify the better strategies to improve the sustainability in urban planning of the area

"Easy Wind Tunnel", a fluid dynamic approach for everyone

Understanding the physics background of natural ventilation is not always easy for architects and designers. For them, during concept phase, the most important question is: “How is it possible to correctly design a windowing system which can improve natural ventilation in buildings?” So, they are not strictly interested to exactly calculate wind flows. In this case it look more suitable to develop some strategies for easily evaluate the problem from a qualitative point of view. This work presents how to create an affordable wind tunnel to develop user-friendly qualitative analysis of simplified models. To improve students skills, it was decided to create a wind tunnel trying to not exceed a maximum budget of 3000 euros. By this way, the instrument created could be a reference prototype easily reproducible for universities and professionals. This prototype was tested for two years, during didactic courses, asking students to interact with it. So, some simplified models were created to test simple ventilation scenarios (e.g. crossing ventilation, bypass ventilation, wind chimney, …). Regarding the results achieved during educational activities, it is possible to consider the wind tunnel as a very useful instrument for students, during didactic courses and thesis phases, or for professionals, to make affordable comparisons between simplified evaluations and CFD calculations

Recalificación energética de la edificación existente

En las politicas para reducir el consumo energético y las emisiones en la construcción, la recalificación energética representa un enorme potencial: los edificios residenciales anteriores a los años 70 representan en Italia más del 65% del patrimonio, con un consumo considerablemente más elevado respecto a las normativas preceptivas. En las nuevas construcciones las normativas, la metodología, la buena práctica y los materiales innovativos pueden garantizar las prestaciones energéticas adecuadas, mientras que en las intervenciones de rehabilitación diversos problemas y complejas variables pueden limitar la posibilidad de la intervención. El estudio propone un cuadro metodológico para verificar la aplicabilidad y la ejecución de las estrategias de reducción energética para las edificacione existentes: sistemas de análisis y de cálculo, técnicas de intervención, materiales, su compatibilidad y dimensiones. El estudio analiza la edificación pública romana del siglo XX, catalogando las intervenciones por época de construcción, sistemas constructivos, tecnologías y tipologías distributivas; a su vez, identifica problemáticas energéticas y prestacionales, proponiendo una valoración crítica de las alternativas de intervención. Propone, a medio plazo, una metodología de proyecto y a corto plazo, un primer elenco de soluciones operativas

The bioclimatic urban planning, a case of study: The railway workshops area in Bozen, Italy

This work develops an analysis and design method to improve the sustainability in urban planning of modern cities. As in most of the important cities across Europe, also in Bozen, city administration decided to transform the old railway workshops area into a new modern quarter near the old city centre and, to pursue this objective, it was announced an international design competition. Operating in these kind of areas can radically change all the climate environment of the city, considering the low buildings density and the nearness to the old city centre, as demonstrated by recent studies. Within this context, this article presents the planning methodology developed to reduce the impact on the climate environment of the city by improving bioclimatic solutions at urban scale. Starting from a climate datasets analysis, it was operated a complete solar and ventilation simulation of the entire city to evaluate opportunities and treads linked to the characteristics of project site. The outputs of the simulations provided a complete dataset about solar and ventilation behavior of the area, considering sun and wind the most influent variables for the micro-climatic environment of this part of the city. In conclusion, crossing these data by each other, it was possible to elaborate a zoning of the project site to identify the better strategies to improve the sustainability in urban planning of the area

Recalificación energética de la edificación existente

En las politicas para reducir el consumo energético y las emisiones en la construcción, la recalificación energética representa un enorme potencial: los edificios residenciales anteriores a los años 70 representan en Italia más del 65% del patrimonio, con un consumo considerablemente más elevado respecto a las normativas preceptivas. En las nuevas construcciones las normativas, la metodología, la buena práctica y los materiales innovativos pueden garantizar las prestaciones energéticas adecuadas, mientras que en las intervenciones de rehabilitación diversos problemas y complejas variables pueden limitar la posibilidad de la intervención. El estudio propone un cuadro metodológico para verificar la aplicabilidad y la ejecución de las estrategias de reducción energética para las edificacione existentes: sistemas de análisis y de cálculo, técnicas de intervención, materiales, su compatibilidad y dimensiones. El estudio analiza la edificación pública romana del siglo XX, catalogando las intervenciones por época de construcción, sistemas constructivos, tecnologías y tipologías distributivas; a su vez, identifica problemáticas energéticas y prestacionales, proponiendo una valoración crítica de las alternativas de intervención. Propone, a medio plazo, una metodología de proyecto y a corto plazo, un primer elenco de soluciones operativas

Lipid profile, BMI, body fat distribution, and aerobic fitness in men with metabolic syndrome

Obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance are wellknown components of metabolic syndrome and are associated to increased cardiovascular morbidity. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, body fat distribution, and selected coronary heart disease risk factors. A total of 22 untrained subjects affected by one or more features of metabolic syndrome and without clinical history of cardiovascular disease were studied. Nondiabetic subjects underwent an oral glucose tolerance test for glucose and insulin measurement; fasting glucose and insulin were measured in diabetic patients. Complete lipid profile, thyroid hormones, and thyroid-stimulating hormone were measured in all subjects. Basal energy expenditure and cardiorespiratory fitness were measured using a K4 analyzer. Cardiorespiratory fitness ( VO(2max)/kg) was assessed using a treadmill graded exercise test. Peak aerobic capacity ( VO(2max)/kg) was predicted by body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity index, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ( p<0.001). A significant relationship was found between cardiorespiratory fitness ( VO(2max)/kg) and body mass index (BMI), insulin sensitivity index, and LDL cholesterol ( r=0.60, p<0.05; r=0.66, p<0.01 and r=0.54, p<0.05, respectively). Data demonstrated that aerobic fitness is related to metabolic parameters and to body fat distribution, and suggest that its modification may improve well-known predictors of coronary artery disease