Mapping Seasonal Variability of Buildings Electricity Demand profiles in Mediterranean Small Islands

In communities with a high tourist influx and warm climate, such as Mediterranean small islands, the energy demands for space cooling and domestic hot water are expected to significantly increase during summer. Considering the current energy context, for succeeding energy transition and reducing the dependency on not endogenous fossil fuels, it is paramount to increase the deployment of renewable sources of energy, especially wind and solar which, however, are aleatory and unpredictable. Hence, to reduce the high costs for energy supply in these contexts, the analysis of the variation of energy consumption is fundamental. Moreover, mapping the spatial distribution of energy profiles can be useful to have an overview at a large scale of the considered building stock. Within this frame, a Geographic-Information-System-based procedure was implemented to estimate the residential buildings energy demand profiles, focusing on the seasonal variation. The adopted method can provide a valid supporting tool for decision makers that have to implement smart energy strategies in contexts with a high variation of the energy demand and evident electricity summer peaks. The method for mapping the energy demand profiles, implemented on the small island of Pantelleria, can be applied to other similar contexts, also supporting energy policies in the implementation of renewable energy communities

Pituitary chromophobe carcinoma in a dog: clinical, tomographic and hispopathological findings

A 9 year old, male mixed-breed dog was presented for evaluation of oral dysphagia and progressive aggressiveness towards the owner and the operators. The aim of this work is to describe clinical, tomographic and histopathologic features of pituitary chromophobe carcinoma in a dog. At the clinical examination the patient was normothermic, polypnoic (>50 apm) and tachycardic (>140 bpm). The neurological evaluation revealed normal postural reaction and normal cranial/spinal reflexes, mental depression, aggressiveness and crotaphyte muscles atrophy. Due to the impossibility to establish a specific neuronal localization, the diagnostic procedure included blood analysis with leukocyte formula, chest x-rays and abdominal ultrasound, with no relevant findings detected. Due to the aggressiveness and the mental depression after five days the patient was referred for brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI revealed an intense ventricular asymmetry, discrete left deviation of the falx cerebri, enlargement of the third ventricle and the presence of a large (18x20x15mm) spheroidal mass in the sellar/parasellar region charcterized by isointense on T1 weighted images and discretely hyperintense on T2 weighted and FLAIR. In the dorso-lateral portion of the mass, a circular lesion (6 mm diameter) characterized by intense signal hyperintensity on T2 weighted images was detected After intravenously paramagnetic contrast medium administration, the mass showed dishomogeneous intense enhancement. A pituitary macroadenoma (invasive adenoma/adenocarcinoma) characterized by the presence of a necrotic/cystic lesion was suspected. Because of the invasive natur of the lesion the owner decided to euthanize the patient. Brain histopathology was performed, confirming the presence of a pituitary chromophobe carcinoma. Pituitary carcinomas have been rarely observed in old dogs, moreover, cases of pituitary neoplasm with intense cellular pleomorphism and elevate mitotic index in absence of metastatic lesions are extremely rare. These neoplasms can cause serious functional disorders due to the destruction of the pars distalis of the neurohypophysis. In humans the distinction between invasive adenoma and pituitary adenocarcinoma is based on the finding of intracranial or systemic metastasis .It is believed that adenocarcinoma originate from malignant transformation of pre-existing adenoma, after a variable latency period. In the presented case, despite the absence of systemic and intracranial metastasis, the infiltrating growth pattern and the presence of neoplastic cells that arrive and surround the third ventricle, together with the intense cellular pleomorphism, guided the diagnosis to a malignant transformation of the neoplasm

A rare case of pituitary chromophobe carcinoma in a dog: clinical, tomographic and histopathological findings

A 9 year old male mixed-breed dog was presented for progressive aggressiveness towards the owner. The neurological evaluation was consistent with a forebrain syndrome. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed enlargement of the third ventricle and presence of a large spheroidal neoplasm in the sellar/parasellar region suggestive of a pituitary macroadenoma. On the owner request, the dog was euthanized. Histopathological examination revealed the presence of a pituitary chromophobe carcinoma. To the author’s knowledge, pituitary carcinomas have been rarely described in dogs, especially the chromophobe subtype

A gis-based procedure for estimating the energy demand profiles of buildings towards urban energy policies

Assessing the existing building stock’s hourly energy demand and predicting its variation due to energy efficiency measures are fundamental for planning strategies towards renewable-based Smart Energy Systems. However, the need for accurate methods for this purpose in the literature arises. The present article describes a GIS-based procedure developed for estimating the energy demand profiles of urban buildings based on the definition of the volumetric consistency of a building stock, characterized by different ages of construction and the most widespread uses, as well as dynamic simulations of a set of Building Energy Models adopting different energy-related features. The simulation models are based on a simple Building Energy Concept where selected thermal zones, representative of different boundary conditions options, are accounted. By associating the simulated hourly energy density profiles to the geo-referenced building stock and to the surveyed thermal system types, the whole hourly energy profile is estimated for the considered area. The method was tested on the building stock of Milan (Italy) and validated with the data available from the annual energy balance of the city. This procedure could support energy planners in defining urban energy demand profiles for energy policy scenarios

Geo-Referenced Procedure to Estimate the Urban Energy Demand Profiles Towards Smart Energy District Scenarios

To effectively reduce cities’ environmental impact, current policies boost building stocks transition towards smart energy systems (i.e. distributed energy generation, renewables integration, energy storage, connection to district heating and cooling networks). Smart energy systems feature complex-related energy fluctuations, since they include the intermittent and unpredictable behaviour of renewable energies and the variable energy demand of buildings. However, the technical literature underlines the need for accurate methods adoptable in several urban contexts for detailed energy demand assessment. In this framework, a method to estimate the energy demand profiles of urban buildings has been developed with particular regard to the Italian contexts. The method includes a geo-referenced procedure to assess the volumetric consistency of a building stock by age, characterizing different technological solutions, and by the mostly diffuse urban use categories, i.e. residential and common tertiary (office), affecting different usage profiles, thanks to data available for the national territory. Specifically, spatial datasets on buildings from the TopographicDatabase, currently under standardization based on the European (INSPIRE) directive, and from the National Institution of Statistics (Istat) were used. In order to determine current hourly energy profiles, a set of dynamic energy simulations is foreseen, based on simplified reference buildings. Hence, the energy behaviour of selected building portions, representative of different heat exchanges boundary conditions, can be assessed. The derived hourly energy profiles per built volume can, therefore, be consistently associated with the considered building stock to obtain the overall hourly energy demand. Moreover, by assigning the upgraded technological properties to the reference buildings, it is possible to replicate the procedure and derive the variation of energy profiles for the defined retrofit scenario. The method has been tested on the city of Milan and is validated on a yearly basis

Methods for estimating buildings energy demand at district level as input for defining distributed energy scenarios.

In the framework of distributed energy planning, evaluating reliable energy profiles of different sectors has a prominent role. At the same time, it is a quite challenging task, since the availability of actual energy profiles is not widespread. For guiding stakeholders involved in local smart energy planning to choose the proper method for assessing the buildings energy demand, we surveyed 70 studies, adopting different methods including some case-studies applications and highlighting the ones adopting hourly energy profiles. From the methodological perspective, a set of criteria for classifying the selected contributions was defined and, as final results, tables summarizing the main methods characteristics and a selection of studies providing directly usable energy profiles are reported. The research, broadly, demonstrates that the potential replicability of analysed methods is constrained to the datasets availability and, particularly, highlights the need of reliable hourly energy profiles definition for developing accurate energy scenarios

Internal heat loads profiles for buildings’ energy modelling: comparison of different standards

In absence of real data on occupants and electric devices patterns, nominal values and schedules of internal heat loads given by existing related standards can be adopted for buildings energy modelling. Since different results can be obtained depending on the standard, the choice of the proper one, based only on given nominal values and schedules, could be not straightforward. As a novelty, this study reports a comparison among the energy implications of different building internal heat load profiles from current standards. To this aim, typical building floors representing common residential and office rooms composition were defined. Then, different days’ profiles and peaks of the overall internal heat loads densities due to occupancy, equipment, and artificial lighting, obtained from selected standards, are analyzed and compared together with the resulting different annual internal heat load density components and their effect on building annual thermal energy needs. Hence, insights to choose the most suitable standard, depending on the study context, are provided. Moreover, the calculated values of internal heat loads densities can be directly adopted as an early-stage approach in energy simulation models, neglecting detailing the building rooms’ composition

Assessment of tools for urban energy planning

partially_open4noIn recent years, studies and policies have encouraged the diffusion of distributed energy supply technologies and large integration of renewable sources. This increases the need for new professionals in energy planning. Several computational tools for energy planning have been developed as described in the technical literature. However, energy planners of urban/district areas engaged in the transition towards smart systems related to buildings energy services require well-documented tools to evaluate the combination of available energy sources by proper conversion technologies. With this, after a scientific review, we selected 17 tools targeted on an urban/districts scale that can evaluate several energy services, sources and/or technologies, and provided with detailed and easily accessible documentation. These tools were classified based on their defined features: analysis type, operation spatial scale, outputs time scale, energy service, and licence. Among them, 6 user-friendly tools were identified (energyPRO, HOMER, iHOGA, EnergyPLAN, SIREN, WebOpt) that can provide hourly energy calculations and can be considered as viable for widespread use. Specifically, the general information, functionalities, structure, graphic user interface, required input data, and outputs were described. Therefore, the energy planners are guided towards choosing the most suitable tool based on their skills, aims, and data availability for a specific application.openFerrari, Simone; Zagarella, Federica*; Caputo, Paola; Bonomolo, MarinaFerrari, Simone; Zagarella, Federica; Caputo, Paola; Bonomolo, Marin

Preliminary Energy Evaluations for the Retrofit of Rural Protected Buildings in a Peripheral Context of Milan

This research is framed in the development of an agri-food hub in the city of Milan, including retrofitting an historical farmhouse. In particular, it focuses on the renovation of two historical buildings within the farmhouse. It aims to present a method to support the energy retrofit design of protected buildings, assuming the possibility of achieving high energy efficiency and integration of local renewable sources, while respecting the constraints related to the building's historical value. Two envelope scenarios, with internal and external insulation, were developed, simulated with Integrated Environmental Solutions: Virtual Environment tool and evaluated. As main results, for the demand side there are no significant differences in terms of energy loads on yearly basis in the two retrofit scenarios, on the supply side, several aspects were considered, including the local renewable potential. Concluding, the application of the described method to the mentioned case study can support in tackling the challenges of protected buildings energy retrofit

Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is strongly promoted by Agenda 2030 and peri-urban agriculture is considered strategic for agri-food sustainability. Although, innovative farming practices are being implemented, the analysis of their impacts often does not reach the required depth. Within the EU project ‘UIA-OpenAgri - New Skills for new Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture’, a regeneration process of a peri-urban area in Milan (Italy) was started, through the development of an innovative food hub. 28 innovative foodchains are assessed by a Life Cycle Assessment approach based on primary data collected from the involved start-ups. Non-Renewable Cumulative Energy Demand and the Global Warming Potential indicators are assessed and coupled with the productive land indicator. To effectively support involved operators in planning sustainable agriculture practices, the results are presented with GIS maps and insights for improving economic sustainability of involved start-ups are presented. The study shows that the impacts related to the practices implemented (i.e. organic agriculture, including intercropping, agroforestry, ancient grains, etc.) decrease by an average of 55% in energy consumption and 65% on Global Warming Potential if compared to conventional ones. Then, these practices can provide a positive contribution to the Agenda 2030 goal of ensuring sustainable farm production practices