Infrared Screening of Residential Buildings for Energy Audit Purposes: Results of a Field Test

Abstract: In the European Union (EU), the building sector is responsible for approximately 40% of total energy consumption. The existing building stock is inefficient and can, and indeed must be retrofitted to address this issue. The practical implementation of the European strategies requires knowledge of the energy performance of existing buildings through energy audit techniques. Application of thermography in the fields of energy are very widespread, since, through such a non-invasive investigation, and through correct interpretation of infrared images, it is possible to highlight inefficiencies in buildings and related facilities. The paper shows and discusses the results of an infrared audit campaign on 14 existing buildings located in Milan Province (Italy) made in different construction periods and characterised, therefore, by different building technologies. The U-values obtained in an indirect way through the thermography of the opaque walls of the buildings investigated, were compared with the actual known values in order to verify the reliability of the method and the possible margin of error. The study indicated that the category of buildings in which the application of this method is sufficiently reliable is that of solid-mass structure buildings, the most widespread in Italy, whereas in the case of buildings whose external walls are insulated, the percentage of deviation is very high

Improvement of the Sustainability of Existing School Buildings According to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)® Protocol: A Case Study in Italy

School-age students spend much of their time in school buildings. The sustainability of these buildings should be a priority as better comfort with a high indoor air quality contributes to an improvement in the conditions for learning. Although new school buildings are often built with high standards of sustainability and energy efficiency, the existing school building stock is generally characterised by very poor quality. The energy retrofit of existing school buildings in recent years is part of the policies of the European Union and, consequently, of the Member States. However, rarely do these measures consider aspects other than energy. This paper proposes and discusses a feasibility study which provides a considerable improvement in the environmental quality of 14 school buildings located in northern Italy: the objective is to ensure the requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ® certification. The analysis considers both the technical and economic aspects. The study shows that there is a technical feasibility: the credits are between 42 and 54, moreover the major cost (the cost of building envelope and heating systems retrofit is 82.9% of the total cost) is due to the improvement of energy efficiency. The improvement of sustainability is therefore a reasonable strategy even if the application of the LEED Protocol in the Italian context involves some critical issues that are discussed in the paper

Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings of the Lombardy Region (Italy), a Case Study of High-Energy Performance Buildings

The topic of nearly zero-energy buildings (n-ZEB), introduced by the Directive 2010/31/EU will direct the building market toward ever greater energy efficiency of new buildings. In some contexts, however, the building market for high-efficiency buildings has evolved, in recent years, on the basis of national and regional laws that have contributed to the acceleration of the process. This paper analyses the case study of the Lombardy Region (Italy), which transposed and assimilated the Directive 91/2002 (Energy Performance Building Directive), as of 2006, with regional legislation for energy efficiency of buildings. Within a few years the market for high energy-performance of buildings in the Lombardy Region had grown substantially: to date nearly 7500 energy performance certificates for buildings of Class A and Class A+ have been issued. The paper therefore analyses a success story in what is a field of great current interest, namely n-ZEB buildings. In the first part of the work, the evolution in terms of energy efficiency of the housing market in the Lombardy Region has been analyzed, with particular reference to the high energy-performance of buildings. The second part focuses on a sample of 20 n-ZEB buildings in order to highlight the design choices applied to them

A Practical Review to Support the Implementation of Smart Solutions within Neighbourhood Building Stock

The construction industry has witnessed an increase in the use of digital tools and smart solutions, particularly in the realm of building energy automation. While realising the potential benefits of smart cities, a broader scope of smart initiatives is required to support the transition from smart buildings towards smart neighbourhoods, which are considered critical urban development units. To support the interplay of smart solutions between buildings and neighbourhoods, this study aimed to collect and review all the smart solutions presented in existing scientific articles, the technical literature, and realised European projects. These solutions were classified into two main sections, buildings and neighbourhoods, which were investigated through five domains: building-energy-related uses, renewable energy sources, water, waste, and open space management. The quantitative outcomes demonstrated the potential benefits of implementing smart solutions in areas ranging from buildings to neighbourhoods. Moreover, this research concluded that the true enhancement of energy conservation goes beyond the building’s energy components and can be genuinely achieved by integrating intelligent neighbourhood elements owing to their strong interdependencies. Future research should assess the effectiveness of these solutions in resource conservation

On the Integration of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ® ND Protocol with the Energy Planning and Management Tools in Italy: Strengths and Weaknesses

Owners and municipalities face the choice to renovate or rebuild buildings in order to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. The process of upgrading the existing building stock can be supported by land management tools, i.e. , municipal energy plans (MEP) or sustainable building codes (BC), that municipalities use to plan, check and monitor actions taken. Many local and regional authorities are involved in the Covenant of Mayors supported by the European Union (EU): the sustainable energy action plan (SEAP) is the key document in which the Covenant signatory outlines how it intends to reach CO 2 reduction target by 2020. Sustainability at the urban scale is also supported by voluntary certification schemes such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ® for neighbourhood development proposed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Communities proposed by UK Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development proposed by the Japan GreenBuild Council. The fact that there are so many tools to manage urban sustainability is positive, but what happens when multiple tools are applied to the same territory? Overlap, redundancy, and conflicts in management may be critical elements. The purpose of this article is to analyze these critical issues, highlighting the elements of integration and possible synergies for effective management of sustainability at the local level

A Multi-Criteria Methodology to Support Public Administration Decision Making Concerning Sustainable Energy Action Plans

For municipalities that have joined the Covenant of Mayors promoted by the European Commission, the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) represents a strategic tool for achieving the greenhouse gas reductions required by 2020. So far as the energy retrofit actions in their residential building stock are concerned, which in the small-to-medium municipalities are responsible for more than 60% of CO2 emissions, the scenarios for intervening are normally decided on the basis of an economic (cost/performance) analysis. This type of analysis, however, does not take into account important aspects for small and medium-sized communities such as social aspects, environmental impacts, local economic development and employment. A more comprehensive and effective tool to support the choices of public administrators is the multi-criteria analysis. This study proposes a methodology that integrates multi-criteria analysis in order to support Public Administration/Local Authorities in programming Sustainable Energy Action Plans with a more targeted approach to sustainability. The methodology, based on the ELECTRE III method, was applied to a medium-size municipality in the Lombardy region of Italy. The results obtained with this approach are discussed in this pape

Integration of the environmental management aspect in the optimization of the design and planning of energy systems

The increasing concerns regarding the environmental pollution derived from anthropogenic activities, such as the use of fossil fuels for power generation, has driven many interested parties to seek different alternatives, e.g. use of renewable energy sources, use of “cleaner” fuels and use of more effective technologies, in order to minimize and control the quantity of emissions that are produced during the life cycle of conventional energy sources. In addition to these alternatives, the use of an integrated procedure in which the environmental aspect will be taken into account during the design and planning of energy systems could provide a basis on which emissions reduction will be dealt with a life cycle approach. The work presented in this paper focuses on the examination of the possibilities of integrating the environmental aspects in the preliminary phase of the conventional design and planning of energy systems in conjunction with other parameters, such as financial cost, availability, capacity, location, etc. The integration of the environmental parameter to the design is carried out within a context where Eco-design concepts are applied. Due to the multi-parameter nature of the design procedure, the tools that are used are Life Cycle Analysis and Multi-criteria Analysis. The proposed optimization model examines and identifies optimum available options of the use of different energy sources and technologies for the production of electricity and/or heat by minimizing both the financial cost and the environmental impacts, with regard to a multiple objective optimization subject to a set of specific constraints. Implementation of the proposed model in the form of a case study for the island of Rhodes in Greece revealed that an optimized solution both cost and environmental-wise, would be an almost balanced participation of renewables and non-renewable energy sources in the energy mix

Green Buildings in Italy, I progetti green certificati in Italia

La “transizione ecologica” nel settore delle costruzioni della quale si parla molto in questi ultimi mesi è un processo che soprattutto grazie alla spinta culturale generata dei Green Building Council di tutto il mondo, ed in Italia dal nostro GBC, è partito da tempo. Per comprendere meglio questa mia affermazione è utile fare una riflessione sui cambiamenti in atto nel mercato immobiliare “green” perché i risultati che oggi possiamo percepire, e che per l’Italia sono in parte descritti in questo volume, non derivano da una improvvisazione frettolosa o dall’attuazione di una moda effimera legata alla sostenibilità, parola purtroppo abusata, ma da un grande impegno continuo durato parecchi decenni. Dietro ai GBC, associazioni senza fini di lucro che operano per promuovere progetti di sostenibilità concreti e che si sono rafforzate attraverso una rete mondiale, il World Green Buildiong Council, non ci sono solo i protocolli di certificazione energetico-ambientale o rating system, strumenti indispensabili per dare concretezza alle idee, ma ci sono le competenze, le esperienze, la cultura e la passione. C’è l’impegno dell’intera filiera dell’edilizia, dal progettista al costruttore passando attraverso le catene di produzione, che è riuscita a concentrare le proprie forze, proprio attraverso i GBC stessi e soprattutto c’è la continuità delle idee di quel movimento nato negli Stati Uniti tra la fine degli anni ’80 e l’inizio degli anni ’90, che sui principi della Carta del Nuovo urbanesimo sta producendo i risultati più tangibili di modificazione dell’assetto urbano delle nostre città. Il volume proposto si divide in tre parti: una prima parte che raccoglie visioni a carattere nazionale ed europeo riguardo le strategie in atto ed i progetti futuri per promuovere la sostenibilità nel settore delle costruzioni, una seconda parte che riporta una quarantina di casi studio recenti di edifici certificati ed una terza parte che riguarda i casi studio che hanno interessato invece la dimensione urbana dal quartiere alla città. Questo volume non vuole essere solo una testimonianza aggiornata di ciò che è stato fatto e di ciò che si sta facendo in Italia nel settore del green building certificato, non solo a scala di edificio ma finalmente anche a scala urbana, ma molto di più. Vuole essere una milestone importante a testimonianza che l’intera filiera del mondo delle costruzioni che aderisce ai Green Building Council è pronta per raccogliere le importanti sfide che ci attenderanno nei prossimi anni.The "ecological transition" in the construction sector of which there is a lot of talk in recent months is a process that above all thanks to the cultural push generated by the Green Building Councils around the world, and in Italy by our GBC, has started some time ago. To better understand this statement it is useful to reflect on the changes taking place in the "green" real estate market because the results that we can perceive today, and that for Italy are partly described in this volume, do not derive from a hasty improvisation or from the implementation of an ephemeral fashion linked to sustainability, a word unfortunately abused, but from a great continuous commitment that lasted several decades. Behind the GBC, non-profit associations engaged on promoting concrete sustainability projects and that have been strengthened through a worldwide network, the World Green Buildiong Council, there are not only energy-environmental certification protocols or rating systems, indispensable tools to give concreteness to ideas, but there are skills, experiences, culture and passion. There is the commitment of the entire construction chain, from the designer to the builder passing through the production chains, which has managed to concentrate its forces, precisely through the GBC themselves and above all there is the continuity of the ideas of that movement born in the United States between the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, which on the principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism is producing the most tangible results of modification of the urban structure of our cities. The proposed volume is divided into three parts: a first part that collects national and European visions about the strategies in progress and future projects to promote sustainability in the construction sector, a second part that reports about forty recent case studies of certified buildings and a third part that concerns the case studies that have affected the urban dimension from the neighborhood to the city. This volume is not only intended to be an updated testimony of what has been done and what is being done in Italy in the field of certified green building, not only on a building scale but finally also on an urban scale, but much more. It wants to be an important milestone as a testimony that the entire construction chain that adheres to the Green Building Council is ready to meet the important challenges that will await us in the coming years

Essays on the valuation and hedging of derivative securities

This thesis is made of three articles dealing with two main subjects: the so called "Kernel Puzzle" and the problem of immunization of portfolio of treasury and corporate bonds. For the first topic, we provide a new method to derive the state price density per unit probability based on option prices and GARCH model. We derive the risk neutral distribution using the result in Breeden and Litzenberger (1978) and the historical density adapting the GARCH model of Barone-Adesi, Engle, and Mancini (2008). For the second topic, the first article deals with the immunization of a portfolio of treasury bonds against interest rate risk and in particular we test alternative models of yield curve risk by hedging US Treasury bond portfolios through note/bond futures. The last article deals with the problem of immunization of a portfolio of corporate bonds. We test here alternative strategies for hedging a portfolio composed from BBB-rated corporate bonds. Our results highlight a change of regime. From 2000 to 2007, a hedging strategy based only on T-bond futures would have reduced the variance of the portfolio by circa 83.5%. This compares well to the maximum variance reduction of 50% reported by previous studies hedging corporate bonds through T-bond and S&P500 futures