The urban and environmental building code as implementation tool

The frame within which the work is placed refers to the actions necessary to achieve the objectives of the coverage of the consumption of energy from renewable sources compared to the gross final consumption, posed to Regions by 2020, and that can be implemented through various actions involving local gov-ernments including the revision of the Building Regulations municipalities in a sustainable view. Theseactions are increasingly being recognized as energy plan-ning tools for the territories where administrations have committed to the Euro-pean project Covenant of Mayors. The discussion shows how the adoption by the Regions of Guidelines for sustainable Municipal Building Regulations can be a practical tool for raising the energy performance of buildings and the achievement of common goals of sustainability at regional scale. The work also aims at showing a concrete example of the definition of guidelines for the revision of the municipal Building Regulations for cities within the Sicilian Region

A methodology for the energy performance classification of residential building stock on an urban scale

An understanding of the energy performance in buildings in an entire municipality or an entire district is important for sustainable energy planning strategies that accelerate the energy renovation process in existing buildings that are not energy efficient. The methodology described in this paper is largely based on information that is already available on building stock (i.e., cartographic documentation, thematic maps, geometric data and others). Data regarding the energy performance of buildings are collected using energy audits on sample buildings, which are selected using a statistical approach. Using the tools in a GIS platform, the integration of two data sources allows for a low cost, comprehensive framework of the energy performance of buildings. This methodology was tested in a medium sized town in the Lombardy region (Italy), and the results are discussed in this paper

CONTABILIZZAZIONE ENERGETICA INDIVIDUALE, NUOVE REGOLE PER PREVENIRE LE CRITICITÀ

La contabilizzazione energetica individuale è una irrinunciabile opportunità per incentivare azioni di retrofit negli edifici residenziali collettivi quali ad esempio condomini, nei quali la complessità ad adottare determinate azioni, che devono essere approvate con la maggioranza, costituisce un reale disincentivo per il singolo utente. Il passaggio da una ripartizione basata su parametri geometrici a una basata per via indiretta sui consumi reali, potrebbe evidenzia tuttavia alcune criticità, in relazione ai passaggi di calore tra unità abitative che si trovano a temperatura diversa. Lo studio, partendo da una serie di monitoraggi su un edificio esistente, evidenzia queste criticità formulando degli elementi di riflessione per contribuire a rimuoverle

MIGLIORAMENTO DELLA SOSTENIBILITÀ ENERGETICA DEGLI EDIFICI SCOLASTICI: STRATEGIE A CONFRONTO

Il retrofit energetico degli edifici scolastici esistenti in Italia, poco efficienti, è un tema attuale. Gli interventi su questi edifici hanno una duplice valenza: non solo permettono di ridurre le spese di gestione ma contribuiscono a promuovere a cultura dell’efficienza energetica nei confronti delle fasce più giovani della popolazione. Le strategie d’intervento, tuttavia, sono molteplici in funzione degli obiettivi di efficienza ma anche delle risorse economiche disponibili. Lo studio, partendo da una analisi puntuale di una cinquantina di complessi scolastici situati in Lombardia, verifica sotto il profilo tecnico ed economico alcuni scenari di intervento, effettuando le opportune valutazioni

Chapter 8: Definition of the Green Energy Plan

The Green Energy Plan outlines strategies for improving the sustainability of a building and its related facilities. In the author's vision of energy audit, the technical report is not the final document of the process, but the starting point to promote the implementation of the retrofit measures. For this reason, its structure must be complete, rigorous and balanced between technical and economic aspects but also aimed at communicating well the results to the client/owner. This chapter provides the reader with guidelines for organising and structuring the green energy plan in accordance with these goals. © Springer-Verlag London 2013

Methods and Tools for Urban Energy Planning

Cities are responsible for around 70% of global energy demand and are considered as having a crucial role in effective abatement of global energy consump-tions. The topic is largely discussed in available literature, which reveals the great diversity of applied approaches and the necessity to move towards the concept of smart energy systems, focussing on synergies among different energy sectors. How-ever, considering the large share of responsibility of the building sector, this chapter focussed on related energy demand assessment. After an initial introduction, which spotlights the most complex elements, the chapter presents some methods of analysis to evaluate the energy performance of the existing building stocks. Subsequently an overview is presented of the methods and tools for determining the energy demand of buildings within urban energy planning, paying particular attention to those that rely on hourly profiles. The assessment of hourly energy demand of the existing building stock, as well as the prediction of its variation due to energy efficiency measures, are fundamental activities for planning strategies of distributed generation, district heating and/or cooling networks, renewables integration, energy storages, etc., all necessary in moving towards smart energy districts

Sustainable energy action plans: monitoring the implementation of strategies for sustainability for municipalities in northen Italy

A considerable number of Italian municipalities joined the “Covenant of Majors” European Project, promoting and applying the planning energy strategies by mean of Sustainable Energy Action Plans. The European Commission, after two years requires a monitoring to verify if the carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets are achieved. The paper analyzes the results of SEAP monitoring for some municipalities in northern Italy. The analysis, which deepens the civil sector in detail, allows for a detailed examination and comparison of the different strategies proposed by the municipalities, highlighting critical aspects and potentialities. SEAP has been proven to be one of the most powerful and effective strategy to promote policies in municipalities to face climate changes. The targets for the reduction of climatic gas emissions have been achieved by 7 municipalities out of 12 with an advance of 2 years and the others are very close to this target

First Results of Innovative Didactic Tools of Building Physics in Architecture Curriculum at Politecnico di Milano

This paper presents the first results of an innovative didactic experience of blended learning and flipped classroom techniques, involving the courses of Buildings Physics at the School of Architecture in Politecnico di Milano, second year bachelor. Main aim is to improve the relation between architectural design principles and their impacts, making next generation of architects more energy and environmentally conscious, more sensitive to global problems and able to operate in different contexts. Videos and online tests were the main used and most appreciated tools. The experience involved about 900 students in total, distributed in 4 courses in Italian and 1 course in English. Results clarify whether these tools effectively supported the students in learning and help professors in making the course more attractive and understandable. Furthermore, the outcomes of the evaluation on the data stored along the courses have been processed and correlated with the results of the final exams