Environmental and Economic Assessment of Energy Renovation in Buildings, a Case Study in Greece

The environmental and economic evaluation of energy renovation in buildings plays a crucial role in achieving sustainability goals and the decarbonization of the built environment. This paper presents a case study of a student house in Athens, Greece, to assess the environmental and economic impacts of energy renovation and seismic reinforcement with a steel exoskeleton. This study utilizes a comprehensive approach that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies using One Click LCA. The LCA assesses the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while the LCC evaluates the economic aspects, both analyses being conducted for a lifespan of 25 years from now. The results provide an evaluation of what would happen in terms of greenhouse emissions and costs in two scenarios: with and without interventions. ProGETonE strategy results in an environmental impact with a GWP of 26.78 kgCO2eq/m2y with a reduction of 30% of the pre-renovation state. Economically, the actualized energy use costs for 25 years are 50% less in the post-renovation state, but the high construction costs make the strategy seem inconvenient. In this context, it is important to consider the non-economic benefits of seismic reinforcement, such as enhanced safety and the potential lives saved, which are critical in high seismic zones. These advantages complement the strategy's environmental and energy use impacts, underscoring the holistic value of integrated seismic and energy retrofitting approaches like ProGETonE. The study underscores the importance of LCA and LCC analyses when evaluating the feasibility of renovation projects and of an evidence-based decision-making process for policymakers, building owners, and stakeholders for energy-efficient retrofitting

Building Information Modeling as an Effective Process for the Sustainable Re-Shaping of the Built Environment

This paper focuses on the definition of a method supported by digital processes for a sustainable and user-orientated re-design of the existing building stock. Based on the analysis of the methodological and procedural aspects of the computational approach to architectural design in relation to different performance conditions, the research addresses the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM), intended as a powerful method for coordinating the complexity of the multiple, interdisciplinary and conflicting aspects involved in the rehabilitation of buildings. In addition to the advantages in terms of control and management, the BIM process has proven its effectiveness in tackling the issue of sustainability, allowing all actors involved in the research to share information and pro-actively control various outcomes of a building’s performance, such as energy and environmental quality. To show the opportunities and limitations of the digital management in information-based processes, the activities carried out in the framework of the European Horizon 2020 project “Pro-GET-onE—Proactive synergy of inteGrated Efficient Technologies on buildings’ Envelopes” are reported. The research, based on a case study method, which is applied to a student residence in Athens, demonstrates that BIM possesses great potentialities for developing effective and efficient construction and renovation processes toward buildings with high quality standards

Regenerative design processes in urban morphology

A city is an organism made of "fabrics". Social, economic, cultural, smart and environmental fabrics, on whose interaction depends the form, the functioning and the very life of a city, its urban fabrics, its public spaces. Reading and designing the city of the 21st century is therefore a complex process that involves very different needs, interests and disciplines. The aim of this research is to develop an analysis and design methodology capable of acting as a catalyst for all the main players involved in the strategies of Sustainable Urban Design. At the basis of the methodological approach lies the concept of Public Space as the preferential place for reading, designing and living a city. Operationally, the proposed methodology rests on three main disciplinary areas (and three con-sequents working toolkits): Urban Surveying, Environmental Analysis, Urban Morphology. Through the first, conducted with graphic rendering softwares and laser scanner, it is possible to detect the physical forms of the city, to read its historical and material consistency. The second focuses its attention mainly on the microclimatic analysis of public spaces and outdoor comfort, using sophisticated environmental softwares such as Envi-met, LadyBug etc. Finally, the third area is particularly important. Urban Morphology, due to its multilayer character is the discipline capable of keeping all the others together, allowing them to interact. The tools adopted for this purpose are the Morphological Map, the Geographic Information System_QGIS, the Global Positioning System_GPS. The synergistic union of these three areas allows the development of a dynamic, multilayer and transdisciplinary methodology for urban analysis, very useful for guiding the regeneration and transformation processes of the contemporary city

Multi-Objective Optimization for Cooling and Interior Natural Lighting in Buildings for Sustainable Renovation

In order to achieve the ‘nearly zero-energy’ target and a comfortable indoor environment, an important aspect is related to the correct design of the transparent elements of the building envelope. For improving indoor daylight penetration, architectural solutions such as light shelves are nowadays commercially available. These are defined as horizontal or inclined surfaces, fixed or mobile, placed on the inner and/or the outer side of windows, with surface features such to reflect the sunlight to the interior. Given the fact that these elements can influence different domains (i.e., energy need, daylighting, thermal comfort, etc.), the aim of this paper is to apply a multi-objective optimization method within the design of this kind of technology. The case study is a student house in the University of Athens Campus, subject to a deep energy renovation towards nZEB, under the frame of H2020 European project Pro-GET-onE (G.A No 723747). Starting from the numerical model of the building, developed in EnergyPlus, the multi-objective optimization based on a genetic algorithm is implemented. The variables used are various light shelves configurations by differing materials and geometry, as well as different window types and interior context scenarios. Finally, illuminance studies of the pre- and post-retrofit building are also provided through Revit illuminance rendering

Progettazione integrata per l'ottimizzazione energetica ed ambientale mediante BIM. Un caso di studio del progetto europeo Pro-GET-onE

La tesi mira a sperimentare l’importanza dei software di progettazione integrata per la costruzione di edifici a basso o bassissimo consumo di energia (nZEB), per migliorare l’efficienza energetica degli edifici e ridurre al minimo la concentrazione delle emissioni di CO2 nell’atmosfera. Questo contesto rappresenta il quadro principale del progetto di ricerca e innovazione H2020 Pro-GET-onE, acronimo di Proactive synergy of inteGrated Efficient Technologies on buildings Envelopes, che si propone, tra gli altri aspetti, di combinare sistemi integrati di facciata per massimizzare le prestazioni in termini di: a) fabbisogno energetico, intervenendo sull’esistente con soluzioni d’involucro performanti ed impianti efficienti, b) sicurezza, addossando alla costruzione esistente un’adeguata struttura esterna in grado di aumentarne la rigidezza, c) sostenibilità sociale, data dalla crescita del valore di mercato dell’edificio conseguente all’aumento di metratura delle unità abitative e dell’appetibilità degli interventi di riqualificazione coinvolgendo l’utenza attraverso soluzioni personalizzate, d) qualità dell’ambiente interno. Per raggiungere questi obiettivi è imprescindibile l’utilizzo di programmi di calcolo e di progetto che integrino tutte le aree coinvolte e che permettano la realizzazione di simulazioni il più possibili vicine alla realtà. A tal fine, verranno analizzati i dati climatici, definite le strategie bioclimatiche più appropriate, progettate, implementate ed ottimizzate le soluzioni costruttive di facciata e dei sistemi, mediante l’utilizzo del Building Information Modelling e della Tecnologia OpenBIM attraverso lo standard aperto IFC, partendo dalla nuvola di punti. La continua verifica delle prestazioni energetiche, con il motore di calcolo EnergyPlus, e di quelle illuminotecniche, grazie alla interoperabilità tra i diversi modelli ha consentito di ottimizzare le scelte progettuali

Towards low-carbon housing in Chile: Optimisation and life cycle analysis of energy-efficient solutions

Significant action is needed across the Chilean housing sector to reduce energy consumption and meet climate change mitigation goals. In this study, the performance of a typical house, an optimised house and a Passivhaus in various climates is evaluated and compared, considering eight distinct climatic zones of Chile. For the thermal optimisation of the house, an OpenBIM workflow between REVIT-CYPETHERM and EnergyPlus with JEPlus were interfaced to analyse over a thousand possible combinations of energy optimisation measures for each climate zone. Additionally, a Life Cycle Assessment is used to compare the cases studied. The results show that in the manufacturing stage, building a Passivhaus would have greater environmental impacts than a traditional house. Additionally, it is shown that in warm climatic zones, a thermally optimised house can have an energy performance equivalent to housing constructed to Passivhaus standards but with less environmental impacts in all its phases of the life cycle

Urban Form and the Sustainable Prosperous City - The International Seminar on Urban Form

A city is an organism made of "fabrics". Social, economic, cultural, smart and environmental fabrics, on whose interaction depends the form, the functioning and the very life of a city, its urban fabrics, its public spaces. Reading and designing the city of the 21st century is therefore a complex process that involves very different needs, interests and disciplines. The aim of this research is to develop an analysis and design methodology capable of acting as a catalyst for all the main players involved in the strategies of Sustainable Urban Design. At the basis of the methodological approach lies the concept of Public Space as the preferential place for reading, designing and living a city. Operationally, the proposed methodology rests on three main disciplinary areas (and three consequents working toolkits): Urban Surveying, Environmental Analysis, Urban Morphology. Through the first, conducted with graphic rendering softwares and laser scanner, it is possible to detect the physical forms of the city, to read its historical and material consistency. The second focuses its attention mainly on the microclimatic analysis of public spaces and outdoor comfort, using sophisticated environmental softwares such as Envi-met, LadyBug etc. Finally, the third area is particularly important. Urban Morphology, due to its multilayer character is the discipline capable of keeping all the others together, allowing them to interact. The tools adopted for this purpose are the Morphological Map, the Geographic Information System_QGIS, the Global Positioning System_GPS. The synergistic union of these three areas allows the development of a dynamic, multilayer and transdisciplinary methodology for urban analysis, very useful for guiding the regeneration and transformation processes of the contemporary city

Multi-Objective Optimization for Cooling and Interior Natural Lighting in Buildings for Sustainable Renovation

In order to achieve the ‘nearly zero-energy’ target and a comfortable indoor environment, an important aspect is related to the correct design of the transparent elements of the building envelope. For improving indoor daylight penetration, architectural solutions such as light shelves are nowadays commercially available. These are defined as horizontal or inclined surfaces, fixed or mobile, placed on the inner and/or the outer side of windows, with surface features such to reflect the sunlight to the interior. Given the fact that these elements can influence different domains (i.e., energy need, daylighting, thermal comfort, etc.), the aim of this paper is to apply a multi-objective optimization method within the design of this kind of technology. The case study is a student house in the University of Athens Campus, subject to a deep energy renovation towards nZEB, under the frame of H2020 European project Pro-GET-onE (G.A No 723747). Starting from the numerical model of the building, developed in EnergyPlus, the multi-objective optimization based on a genetic algorithm is implemented. The variables used are various light shelves configurations by differing materials and geometry, as well as different window types and interior context scenarios. Finally, illuminance studies of the pre- and post-retrofit building are also provided through Revit illuminance rendering