Low-cost smart solutions for daylight and electric lighting integration in historical buildings

Research have shown that the correct integration of daylight and electric lighting reduces the energy use in buildings, while improving visual comfort. Smart shading systems, especially those electrically controlled, play an important role to control solar radiation. Similarly, smart and dimmable/tunable lighting can help to adjust the artificial light to the real users' needs. This paper presents preliminary results of an ongoing living lab study investigating how artificial lighting systems can be integrated with shading systems, placing human comfort at the heart of the study and yet saving energy. A manually controlled, commercial and low-cost smart system integrating two motorized shading devices and six dimmable LED luminaires with a different selection of CCT were installed in a private office in a historical building. Indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and energy consumption associated to the lighting system are constantly monitored to assess how the people use shading and lighting upon varying the boundary conditions.. Preliminary results highlight that users prefer to maximise daylight on the work plane as well as they generally use both shading and electric lighting systems in response to boundary conditions that cause serious discomfort

Immersive virtual reality as a tool for lighting design: Applications and opportunities

Immersive virtual reality offers a wide range of applications. Immersive virtual reality in particular can play an important role in lighting design, thanks to its ability to allow a quick assessment between different design choices based on spaces, colours and light. However, immersive virtual reality has to guarantee a correct reproduction of light behaviour from photometric and visual points of view, in order to be effectively used for lighting analysis. This paper presents a literature review aimed to analyse the activities of the research groups operating in this field that have addressed, with different approaches and points of view, the issue of iVR applications in the reproduction of environments illuminated by either daylight or electric lighting, as well as a combination of them

Building vicarious bridges through colour workshops for pupils with visual impairment

he inclusion of pupils with visual impairment, within Italian mainstream schools, is an area of interest for the field of special education that is involved in identifying the most effective teaching strategies to promote the teaching-learning process. The perceptive difficulties that the pupils with visual impairment encounter in the first step of development can be a significant obstacle to learning and to the development of representative thinking. For this reason, it is fundamental that the teaching style adopted is oriented to promote learning through strategies that exploit the natural vicarious activity of the brain. With this aim, the present paper describes the potential of a hands-on activity with high inclusive value, which is based on a theoretical framework, that brings together contributions from different scientific domains and which, from an interdisciplinary perspective, explores the concept of "vicariance" as proposed by the physiologist of perception Alain Bertho

Indagine sulle percezioni e sull’efficacia dei docenti in formazione verso un agire didattico inclusivo

This paper presents a study on the implicit dimensions that influence teacher agency and is aimed at investigating the teachers’ sentiments, attitudes, concerns and perceived levels of efficacy to implement inclusive practices. The sample comprised in two groups: the first included 221 pre-service teachers undergoing training to teach in secondary schools and the second were 131 in-service teachers following a course to obtain the learning support teachers’ warrant.The TEIP and the SACIE-R scales were administered to conduct the study. Results showed that the future learning support teachers had generally higher scores than the pre-service teachers. The positive attitude of the former group towards inclusive practices, however, seemed not to be linked to their greater teaching experience but more likely to the characteristics of their course of education.Questo lavoro presenta uno studio sulle dimensioni implicite che influenzano l’agire didattico finalizzato ad indagare i sentimenti, gli atteggiamenti, le preoccupazioni, e i livelli di percezione dei docenti circa la propria efficacia nell’implementare pratiche inclusive. Il campione è stato suddiviso in due gruppi, il primo comprendente 221 corsisti del Tirocinio Formativo Attivo e il secondo costituito da 131 partecipanti al corso di specializzazione per insegnanti di sostegno. Per condurre l’indagine sono state somministrate due scale: la scala TEIP e la scala SACIE-R. I risultati hanno mostrato che i futuri insegnanti di sostegno del campione raggiungono generalmente punteggi più alti. Tuttavia, sembrerebbe che l’atteggiamento positivo di questi docenti non risulti essere legato alla loro esperienza di insegnamento,bensì alle caratteristiche dei percorsi della loro formazione

Energy performances assessment of extruded and 3d printed polymers integrated into building envelopes for a south Italian case study

Plastic materials are increasingly becoming used in the building envelope, despite a lack of investigation on their effects. In this work, an extruded Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene panel has been tested as a second-skin layer in a ventilated facade system using a full-scale facility. The experimental results show that it is possible to achieve performances very similar to conventional materials. A numerical model has then been developed and used to investigate the performances of plastic and composite polymer panels as second-skin layers. The experimental data has been used to verify the behavior of the numerical model, from a thermal point of view, showing good reliability, with a root mean square error lower than 0.40◦C. This model has then been applied in different refurbishment cases upon varying: The polymer and the manufacturing technology (extruded or 3D-printed panels). Eight refurbishment case studies have been carried out on a typical office building located in Napoli (Italy), by means of a dynamic simulation software. The simulation results show that the proposed actions allow the reduction of the thermal and cooling energy demand (up to 6.9% and 3.1%, respectively), as well as the non-renewable primary energy consumption (up to 2.6%), in comparison to the reference case study